‘Many family stories’: Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet takes out ABC radio poll of top 100 Australian books
First reported Sun, 18 Oct 2026 07:15:53 GMT · Last updated
Analysis updated · By Newsei
Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet was voted Australia’s favourite book in an ABC Radio National poll, with Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief and Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe placing second and third.
Why it matters: The result highlights enduring public affection for Australian literary classics and contemporary works alike.
Newsei analysis
Inference, not reporting: this section is Newsei's AI-assisted synthesis of the sources below (nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b:free). Facts come only from the linked original articles.
The poll was run by ABC Radio National and invited listeners across Australia to nominate and vote for their favourite books.
Over the weekend the broadcaster released the top 100 list, with Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet emerging as the overall winner.
Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief came in second, while Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe took third place, completing a podium dominated by male authors.
What we know
Still unclear
- Cloudstreet received the highest number of votes in the ABC Radio National poll.The Guardian
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ranked second in the poll.The Guardian
- Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton ranked third in the poll.The Guardian
- The poll was conducted nationwide by ABC Radio National to determine Australia’s top 100 books.The Guardian
1 source in this cluster
- The Guardian‘Many family stories’: Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet takes out ABC radio poll of top 100 Australian books
<p>Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief secures second place, while Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe rounds out podium dominated by men</p><p>Cloudstreet, Tim Winton’s sprawling Australian family epic, has been voted Australia’s favourite book in a poll run by ABC Radio National.</p><p>The broadcaster announced over the weekend the results of a nationwide poll to determine a list of readers’ top 100 Australian books.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/oct/18/tim-winton-cloudstreet-abc-poll-top-100-australian-books">Continue reading...</a>
Sun, 18 Oct 2026 07:15:53 GMT
Timeline
- 2026-10-18 07:15 UTC · The Guardian
Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe rounded out the podium in third place.
- 2026-10-18 07:15 UTC · The Guardian
Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief secured second place in the poll.
- 2026-10-18 07:15 UTC · The Guardian
Tim Winton’s novel Cloudstreet received the most votes and was named Australia’s favourite book.
- 2026-10-18 07:15 UTC · The Guardian
ABC Radio National announced the results of its nationwide poll to find Australia’s favourite book.
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Explainer, claims and timeline generated automatically from the sources above by nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b:free on Sun, 18 Oct 2026 23:56:56 GMT. Always check the original reporting.