What's New
BY Sarah Patterson May 21, 2026
What's New September 1, 2025
ABC Radio National launches epic Top 100 books countdown
Reporter
ABC Radio National is calling on book lovers across Australia to be part of a new national tradition: The Top 100 Books Countdown.
Across Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 October 2025, the national broadcaster will count down the books that have shaped Australia’s cultural memory in a special two-day live broadcast event.
From The 13-Storey Treehouse to Margaret Atwood, from poetry to politics, readers are invited to vote for the stories that moved them, challenged them or stayed with them long after the first chapter.
The theme for the inaugural countdown is The Top 100 Books of the 21st Century – a celebration of the most powerful, beloved and talked-about books published in English between January 1, 2000, and August 31, 2025.
All genres are welcome. If you’ve read it, you can vote for it.
Voting is now open via the Top 100 Books website. If your favourite title isn’t listed, you can add it manually. Connect with fellow readers by joining the ABC Book Club Facebook Group.
ABC Radio National presents the ABC’s weekly flagship book programs The Book Show on Mondays at 10am and The Bookshelf on Fridays at 10am featuring author interviews, reviews, and commentary. Tune in live or catch up on the ABC listen app.
Is this all ABC stations do now, countdowns. How about leaving the countdowns to real radio, the commercial radio stations. One’s that pay their own way and dont bludge of us taxpayers.
No Rick, this is not all that ABC does these days. Unlike commercial broadcasters, our ABC does a million things, mostly on a shoestring budget, and all of them incredibly interesting to Aussies of every kind, and in every part of the world. There’s even something that would blow your cynical little socks off when you get tired of whingeing and have a proper look at all that’s on offer on your ABC. Here’s hoping you don’t waste too much more of your life before that thrilling day arrives!
I would like to vote for the top 100 books but I am not on facebook or twitter