After readings from previous winners Anne Casey-Hardy and Greg Foyster, and a video message from Peter Carey himself, judge Laura Jean McKay delivered her final result to a packed room at Bacchus Marsh Library.
Huge congratulations to:
- Winner: "Under a Damaged Moon" by Alison Martin
- Runner Up: "Famous Friend" by Oscar Revelins
- Best Local Moorabool Entry: "MCS and Other Student Maladies" by Stephanie Pama
The Peter Carey Short Story Award is delighted to announce its shortlist for 2026.
From a longlist of fourteen standout stories, our head judge Laura Jean McKay has had the difficult task of narrowing that to a shortlist of six, ahead of her final verdict in June.
Laura’s selection is as follows:
2026 Peter Carey Short Story Award Shortlist:
Big Country, Cowboy ~ Alaina Dean
Famous Friend ~ Oscar Revelins
Honeymoon ~ Alex Philp
Leash ~ Alistair Bone
Spent ~ Alison Richards
Under a Damaged Moon ~ Alison Martin
The winner and runner-up will be announced at a special awards ceremony at the Lerderderg Library in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, on Saturday 13 June at 3pm. The recipient of Best Local Entry will also be announced at the ceremony, along with the winners of Moorabool Young Writers’ Awards. Please follow this link to reserve a ticket, as bookings are essential.
We would like to thank all the writers who submitted work to this year’s award and wish the finalists the very best of luck.
The 2026 Peter Carey Short Story Award Committee in partnership with Moorabool Libraries.
The Peter Carey Short Story Award is excited to announce its longlist for 2026.
For our milestone tenth year, we were thrilled to receive over 400 short stories from writers Australia-wide after opening for entries in February. Our longlisting panel (Brooke Dunnell, Gillian Hagenus and Adam Brannigan) faced the difficult job of narrowing that submission pool to just a small number of standout entries.
Please be advised of the panel’s selection of a longlist of 14 stories:
All inclusive ~ Scott Steensma
Big Country, Cowboy ~ Alaina Dean
Famous Friend ~ Oscar Revelins
Fault line ~ Maree Badgery-Parker
Fish Guts ~ Jodie Haid
Homecoming ~ Jess Woods
Honeymoon ~ Alex Philp
Leash ~ Alistair Bone
So… ~ Jodie Kewley
Spent ~ Alison Richards
Telstra ~ Joshua Lee Shimmen
The Hole in the Hedge ~ Chris Chacos
The Market Value of Lao Gan Ma ~ Kate Benjamin
Under a Damaged Moon ~ Alison Martin
Judging for Best Local Entry is still underway, with the winner announced along with the first and second-placed stories in the general category on Saturday 13 June at a special awards ceremony at the Lerderderg Library in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Further details for this event will be announced with the posting of the shortlist later in May.
As always, we would like to send a heartfelt thank you to the many writers who submitted work, and to wish the finalists the very best of luck. Our head judge, Laura Jean McKay, – author of the recent short story collection Gunflower, as well as the novel The Animals in that Country and the short story collection Holiday in Cambodia – has commenced her deliberation on the longlist.
The 2026 Peter Carey Short Story Award Committee