Donna Fisher, the 2026 Libraro Prize winner, reveals her current reads and the literary influences that have shaped her life. She is currently immersed in two books: Bodily Harm by Margaret Atwood and The Society Of Literary Marauders by Sasha Wasley.
What Are You Reading Now?
Bodily Harm follows a journalist on assignment in the Caribbean who is reassessing her life after a cancer scare. She becomes entangled in a world of corruption and espionage. Fisher describes it as a thriller with a literary edge, perfectly suited to her tastes.
The Society Of Literary Marauders is a slower-paced narrative about four women studying at Oxford in the 1920s who form a club to read banned books. This book combines Fisher's two nerdy obsessions: history and books. It serves as ideal reading material for the many hours spent flying between the UK and Australia, where she resides.
What Book Would You Take to a Desert Island?
Fisher recalls that when she was 11, her father bought her a subscription to a book club that sent a hardback classic every fortnight. These books were expensive for her working-class family, so she treasured them and read each one, including the one that frightened her: The Fall Of The House Of Usher and Other Stories by Edgar Allan Poe. The north-east weather battering her bedroom window likely intensified the scare factor. She has loved and feared Poe's stories ever since. She muses that a desert island might make them less scary and plans to test this theory at the beach near her home in Australia, still reading the copy her father bought her. She believes The Fall of the House of Usher would be perfect for a desert island, as the gorgeous scenery would make his tales a little less terrifying.
What Got You into Reading?
It wasn't a book but the stories her mother would tell her. Her mother is a natural storyteller who could invent tales on the spot. Fisher vividly remembers one about an adventurous swordfish named Sammy. The stories were so engaging that she would pester her mother to reveal what happened next. She struggled with reading as a child, but the love of stories instilled by her mother encouraged her to keep trying. Once she cracked it, reading felt like a superpower, allowing her to disappear into a story anytime she wanted.
What Book Left You Cold?
Fisher has owned a copy of The Artist's Way for 20 years—though not the same copy. Many friends have told her the 12-week programme is life-changing. She has made several attempts but always abandons it around week four. Then she gives her copy away, only to decide a few years later to try again, buy a new copy, and repeat the process.
