First-Time Author Wins Queensland's $30,000 Top Book Prize

Lenora Thaker won Queensland's $30,000 top prize for a book important to the state, for her first novel The Pearl of Tagai Town. The author, of Meriam and Wagedagam heritage, drew on her ancestors' lives in Cairns-Malay Town. The win was announced 8 October 2026 at Brisbane Powerhouse during the city's writers festival.