The Walkley Foundation announced the longlist for the Walkley Book Award, part of Australia’s most prestigious journalism accolades, the Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism.
The Walkley Book Award, supported by Bookoccino, celebrates Australian writers who take enduring subjects from news, eyewitness accounts, investigations and history. Their books bring readers immersive detail, clear analysis and new revelations.
Books entered this year spanned politics, war, business, crime, history, art, Indigenous issues, biography, sport, social change and investigative journalism. From these, eight books have been longlisted, and of this selection, three will be shortlisted as finalists on 16 October.
Bookoccino co-owner, journalist and author, Ray Bonner and Bookoccino co-owner and 2025 BookPeople Bookseller of the Year, Sally Tabner, said : “Bookoccino values the power and importance of rigorous journalism and longform writing to shape how we see and better, the world. That’s why supporting the Walkley Book Award feels not just fitting, but essential in today’s environment. Congratulations to all the talented authors who made this year’s longlist.”
Walkley Foundation CEO Shona Martyn added: “It was a privilege to sit in on the lively judging conversations. The quality of entries was extremely high this year and much consideration went into the longlist. My huge thanks to the judges for taking on an immense task. This is a very impressive list of titles.”
The winner of the 2025 Walkley Book Award will be announced as part of the 70th Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism on 27 November, 2025.
The eight books longlisted for this award are:
- Joe Aston, The Chairman’s Lounge (Simon & Schuster)
- Ittay Flescher, The Holy and the Broken (HarperCollins Publishers)
- Alyx Gorman, All Women Want (HarperCollins Publishers)
- John Lyons, A Bunker in Kyiv (HarperCollins Publishers)
- Quentin McDermott, Meadow’s Law (HarperCollins Publishers)
- Rick Morton, Mean Streak (HarperCollins Publishers)
- Geoff Raby, Great Game On: The Contest for Central Asia and Global Supremacy (Melbourne University Publishing)
- Clare Wright, Naku Dharuk The Bark Petitions: How the People of Yirrkala Changed the Course of Australian Democracy (Text Publishing)
