Melanie Kembrey
Melanie Kembrey is National Books Editor at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Your favourite journalists’ favourite books from the first half of 2026
You might know our journalists and editors through the stories they write, but what are they reading when they’re off the clock?
- Melanie Kembrey
Latest
Sad or stressed? I promise this book will make you feel better
When so many contemporary novels seem laced with the internet’s house style, this novel feels almost radical.
- Melanie Kembrey
- Exclusive
- Literature
Sydney Writers’ Festival director steps down as leadership shake-up continues
Ann Mossop exits after record ticket sales and a challenging year navigating political debate.
- Melanie Kembrey
Everyone is crying – and texting their old crushes – over this novel
Even if you haven’t read the novel, you’ve probably seen it: photographed beside expensive coffees with heavily underlined pages on Instagram.
- Melanie Kembrey
How a gamble on a remote island saved Charlotte McConaghy’s novel
The Australian novelist was among the big winners at the book industry’s night of nights.
- Melanie Kembrey
Randa Abdel-Fattah among authors on longlist for $60,000 Miles Franklin Literary Award
The longlist includes Randa Abdel-Fattah’s Discipline, selected after controversy surrounding the novelist’s removal from Adelaide Writers’ Week.
- Melanie Kembrey
The history book running out of room for awards stickers has won again
The NSW Literary Awards honoured a mix of established names and breakout voices on Monday night.
- Melanie Kembrey
Meet the trio crowned 2026’s Best Young Australian Novelists
As the prize for young writers marks a milestone anniversary, we introduce to this year’s winners.
- Melanie Kembrey
A generous mind and a towering talent: David Malouf remembered
Some writers leave their mark on the page; others leave it on the people around them. The Australian writer did both.
- Melanie Kembrey
On a bench by the beach, one of Australia’s funniest writers is working it out
Steve Toltz’s fourth novel dwells on some hefty subjects - AI, alienation, consciousness - but it all started with a joke.
- Melanie Kembrey