Meet the Judges
To help us identify Australia’s most original and distinctive new writers, The Next Chapter draws on the expertise of literary professionals experienced in reading, writing and the processes of publishing and editing.
2027 JUDGES
Melissa Lucashekno
Micaela Sahhar
Melanie Saward
Cher Tan
PAST JUDGES
Robert Skinner (2026)
Anne-Marie Te Whiu (2026)
Sisonke Msimang (2026)
Bebe Oliver (2026)
Leah Jing McIntosh (2026)
Bruce Pascoe (2023)
Maria Tumarkin (2020, 2023)
Maxine Beneba Clarke (2018, 2023)
Claire G. Coleman (2021)
Sophie Cunningham (2019)
Ambelin Kwaymullina (2019)
Benjamin Law (2018, 2019)
Tony Birch (2020)
Nam Le (2020)
Jeanine Leane (2021)
Ellen van Neerven (2018)
Christos Tsiolkas (2018, 2019)
Alison Whittaker (2020)
Fiona Wright (2021)
Arnold Zable (2021)
In the first round of assessment, The Next Chapter judges were supported by a team of experienced readers: Adolfo Aranjuez (2019, 2020, 2021), Bridget Caldwell (2019, 2020, 2021), Jo Case (2019), Maddee Clark (2020, 2021), Elizabeth Flux (2019, 2020,2021), Leanne Hall (2019, 2020, 2021), Laniyuk (2020), Adalya Nash Hussein (2020, 2021), Hella Ibrahim (2019), Zoya Patel (2019), Melanie Saward (2020, 2021), Jeff Sparrow (2019) and Kahlid Warsame (2021).