What’s happening?
Four Australian writers have been named as the 2026 recipients of James Cook University’s Writers on the Reef residency.
The program is hosted by James Cook University’s Roderick Centre for Australian Literature (RCAL) and Creative Writing and will bring the winners to Waterfront Villa Kembali at Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island from 7 to 13 September 2026.
The writers will use the residency to progress new work shaped by environment, place and coastal life.
This year’s recipients are journalist and Guggenheim Fellow Sonia Shah, award-winning novelist Laura Jean McKay, poet and critic Dimitra Harvey, and best-selling children’s author Andrea Rowe.
Head of the Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing Professor Victoria Kuttainen said the program had attracted a strong field.
“We are so excited to announce our winners this year. The panel found this a particularly competitive cohort to judge, including a mix of career stages, genres and projects, and an exceptional level of talent,” she said.
“What stood out was how unique this residency is, and how it draws out distinctive projects that speak to the capacity of creative work to engage with global environmental challenges.
“There is no other residency like this in Australia, and we are very grateful to the Roderick Trust for supporting this program as part of the Centre’s commitment to literature and creative writing.”
Why it matters
Writers on the Reef gives Australian writers time and space to work in one of North Queensland’s most distinctive coastal settings.
The residency supports projects linked to environmental and place-based themes, including conservation, sustainability, islands, oceans and community life.
Its focus on Magnetic Island also gives the program a strong local connection, drawing on the island’s natural and cultural setting as part of the creative process.
By the numbers
The 2026 residency will run for seven days, from 7 to 13 September.
Four writers have been selected for this year’s program.
The residency will be based at Villa Kembali in Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island.
The Roderick literary legacy dates back to 1966, when the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies was established.
Zoom in
The 2026 group spans several forms of writing, including journalism, fiction, poetry, criticism and children’s literature.
The selected writers are also at different career stages, which the judging panel noted as part of the strength of this year’s cohort.
Their projects will be developed while they are immersed in Magnetic Island’s coastal environment.
Zoom out
The residency is part of the wider work of the Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing.
The centre continues the legacy of Professor Colin Roderick and Margaret Roderick, whose commitment to Australian storytelling helped establish the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies and the Colin Roderick Literary Award.
According to JCU, The Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award remains one of the richest literary prizes in Australia.
Local Impact
For Townsville and Magnetic Island, the residency strengthens the region’s place in Australia’s literary and creative landscape.
By bringing nationally recognised writers to Horseshoe Bay, the program also highlights Magnetic Island as more than a visitor destination. It becomes a working creative setting for stories about oceans, islands, community and environmental change.
What to look for next
The four recipients will take part in the residency at Horseshoe Bay from 7 to 13 September 2026, where they will continue developing their selected projects through the Writers on the Reef program.
