Graham Akhurst

Graham Akhurst is a Kokomini writer from Northern Queensland who grew up in Meanjin. His debut Indigenous YA horror novel, Borderland (UWAP, 2023), was a CBCA Notable Book and a finalist for the Aurealis, Queensland Literary and NSW Literary Awards.

The first Indigenous recipient of the Fulbright W.G. Walker Award, Graham holds an MFA in Fiction from Hunter College, where Peter Carey was his mentor and thesis advisor, and as a Hertog Fellow he was a research assistant on Hernan Diaz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Trust. His short story “Staffy” was nominated for the PEN Dau Award, Best American Short Stories, O. Henry Prize and Pushcart Prize, and his writing has appeared in Kweli, Meanjin, Island and Westerly. His essay “Exile” appeared in the Sydney Review of Books in 2026.

A Senior Lecturer in Indigenous Studies and Creative Writing at the University of Technology Sydney, Graham is a contributing editor at Kweli and sits on the board of the Sydney Review of Books. He is completing a novel-in-stories and co-authoring a critical monograph. A featured reader at festivals including Sydney, Perth, Byron, Brisbane, Singapore and Dhaka, he enjoys in-conversation talks with school and community audiences.