Fresh Voices: The Penguin Literary Prize Shortlist

Name: Fresh Voices: The Penguin Literary Prize Shortlist
Start: 2026-03-11T18:30:00+11:00
End: 2026-03-11T18:30:00+11:00
Location: Upstairs at Gleebooks

About

6pm for 6.30pm Wednesday 11th March

From the initial spark of inspiration to the final edits, hear from debut authors Mary Colussi, Sophie Stern, Michelle See-Tho and James McKenzie Watson as they speak to Penguin Random House publisher Meredith Curnow on both the challenges and triumphs of bringing a book to life, before the exciting announcement of the 2026 Penguin Literary Prize shortlist.

Mary Colussi | Touch Grass

Mary Colussi is an Australian American writer currently based in Sydney. She’s a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and the National Institute of Dramatic Art.

Wry and inventive, Touch Grass explores identity, consent and the hilariously messy business of being a friend, sister and person – especially when someone keeps editing the footnotes.

James McKenzie Watson | Denizen

Winner of the 2021 Penguin Literary Prize, James McKenzie Watson writes short and novel-length fiction with a focus on health and rural Australia. Denizen was informed by his upbringing in regional NSW. James co-hosts the health and writing podcast James and Ashley Stay at Home and works as a nurse.

Denizen is a thriller exploring rural Australia’s simultaneous celebration of harsh country and stoic people – a tension that forces its inhabitants to dangerous breaking points.

Michelle See-Tho | Jade and Emerald

Michelle See-Tho is a freelance writer and copywriter. She has had articles and stories published in Kill Your Darlings, Meanjin, Overland and The Big Issue Fiction Edition. Jade and Emerald, her first novel, won the 2023 Penguin Literary Prize.

Jade and Emerald is a fierce and deeply felt novel about the joys and pains of growing up, of accepting who you are and where you come from.

Sophie Stern |What Is Left For Us

Sophie Stern is from Sydney, Australia, where she lives with her husband and son. Her short fiction has been published in magazines and literary zines including Yen Magazine and Ellipsis Zine, and shortlisted for the Bridport Prize. The manuscript of her first novel was shortlisted for the Penguin Literary Prize in 2024.

With fierce and complicated family dynamics and a suspenseful edge, What Is Left For Us will have you switching and dividing allegiances until the last page.