Omar Musa wins 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award for Fierceland

Congratulations to Omar Musa who has won the 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award for his novel Fierceland, a family saga interrogating ideas of inheritance, complicity and colonialism. This is a tremendous win which Omar has described as “I am honoured, grateful and completely blown away to have won the Miles Franklin Award. It feels strange and wonderful. I worked very hard on Fierceland over many years, but it’s also the culmination of many other people’s feedback and advice. I’d like to thank my family in Malaysian Borneo, my mother Helen, my wife Mariel, my editors Jojo and Jo, my agent Tara, my publisher Nikki and the team at Penguin Random House Australia, my friend Nam, the rivers, the jungle in Borneo with its many faces, and the countless others who enriched me with conversations and spirit.”

You can read more about the prize here.