LONDON (AP) 鈥� Helen Garner, an acclaimed Australian writer whose celebrity fans include singer Dua Lipa, won the prestigious for nonfiction on Tuesday for what judges called her addictive and candid diaries.
Garner, 82, was named winner of the 50,000 pound ($65,000) prize at a ceremony in London for 鈥淗ow to End a Story.鈥� Journalist Robbie Millen, who chaired the prize jury, said Garner was the unanimous choice of the six judges.
Millen said the judges were captivated by the sharp observation and 鈥渞eckless candor鈥� of Garner鈥檚 800-page book, which covers her life and work between 1978 and 1998.
He said it is 鈥渁 remarkable, addictive book. Garner takes the diary form, mixing the intimate, the intellectual, and the everyday, to new heights.
鈥淭here are places it鈥檚 toe-curlingly embarrassing. She puts it all out there,鈥� Millen said, adding that Garner ranks alongside those of Virginia Woolf in the canon of great literary diarists.
Garner, who has published novels, short stories, screenplays and true crime books, said she was 鈥渟taggered鈥� to have won the prize for diaries she wrote entirely for herself.
鈥淚 never thought that I was writing for anyone but myself and that鈥檚 what鈥檚 good about them, I think 鈥� that I鈥檓 free when I鈥檓 writing,” she told The Associated Press from Melbourne, Australia.
鈥淭hose are the hours of practice that in a sense turned me into a writer. Because I鈥檝e been keeping a diary since I was a girl 鈥� and I鈥檝e burnt most of it, of course. I burnt it up until about the late 1970s. But it鈥檚 my 10,000 hours and it鈥檚 my enormous daily practice. So you never expect that to be out in the public eye. But it is.鈥�
鈥淗ow to End a Story鈥� is a deeply intimate book that among other things recounts, with unsparing detail and flashes of humor, the breakdown of a marriage.
Despite the risk involved in such public soul-baring, Garner says the reaction of readers has made the experience life-affirming.
鈥淲hat I write about 鈥� my life and my experience and my, not to put too fine a point on it, soul 鈥� there are so many people who know what I mean and who鈥檝e been there. And that鈥檚 been a great joy to me to discover that,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he deeper I go, the more other people I find there.鈥�
Garner鈥檚 book is the first set of diaries to win the prize, which was founded in 1999 and recognizes English-language books in current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts.
Garner鈥檚 1977 first novel 鈥淢onkey Grip鈥� 鈥� the semi-autobiographical story of a single mother in bohemian inner-city Melbourne 鈥� is considered a modern Australian classic. Her work includes the novella 鈥淭he Children鈥檚 Bach,鈥� screenplays including 鈥淭he Last Days of Chez Nous鈥� and true crime books including 鈥淭his House of Grief,鈥� which chose this year for her monthly book club.
The singer said Garner鈥檚 work was 鈥渁 thrilling discovery. She鈥檚 one of the most fascinating writers I have come across in years.鈥�
Garner is co-author of 鈥淭he Mushroom Tapes: Conversations on a Triple Murder Trial,鈥� a book about , the Australian woman who killed three of her estranged husband鈥檚 relatives with a lunch containing death cap mushrooms. It is published in Australia and the U.K. this month.
Garner is less well known outside her home country, with U.S. and U.K. publishers only recently publishing many of her books.
鈥淚t has taken us a long while to work out how good she is,鈥� Millen said. 鈥淔inally her status is being recognized, and I hope this will cement it.鈥�
Garner is the second Australian in a row to win the Baillie Gifford prize. Last year鈥檚 winner was for his genre-bending memoir 鈥淨uestion 7.鈥�
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
