Open Book 2026 interns announced

The successful interns for the 2026 Open Book: Australian Publishing Internship have been announced.

Chosen from over 500 applicants, the 2026 interns and their placements are:

• Paula Campos – Giramondo Publishing and Hardie Grant Books (Ultimo Press and Pantera Press) in Sydney
• Mabel Gibson – Fremantle Press and UWA Publishing in Perth
• Charo Palenzuela – University of Queensland Press (UQP) in Brisbane
• Savi Ross – Allen & Unwin (Children’s) and Cambridge University Press in Melbourne.

The interns were each described as follows by Open Book:

“Paula Campos is a writer, bookseller and student, in her last year studying English and creative writing at UNSW. She was born into a Timorese family of six boys, and much to their dismay, when she was old enough to have pocket money, she used it on fiction books. Her favourite books question and subvert the English language and traditional narrative forms. They also tend to be about unlikeable female narrator/s, Western Sydney and the experience of love in the lives of people of colour, by people of colour. She has experience editing her university’s literary magazine, UNSWeetened. Most recently, her first short story, ‘Palm trees, piercings, and a more lowkey, chill place to live,’ was published in Voiceworks [and] won the inaugural Kat Muscat Award.

“Mabel Gibson is a Yamatji woman living, reading, and writing in Western Australia. Mabel’s writing has been featured in multiple anthologies published by Magabala Books, Portside Review, Artery zine and Night Parrot Press. Mabel has been invited to writers festivals across the country, including the Emerging Writers’ Festival and Festival of Fiction. In 2024, Mabel was awarded a grant to undergo a mentorship with Night Parrot Press, as well as to write her debut book, CryBaby. Mabel hopes to shed light on the talent emerging from the Western Australia writing scene.

“Charo Palenzuela is a Filipino-Australian writer born in Sydney and raised on the Gold Coast. A graduate of UQ’s Bachelor of Communication and NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute, she is passionate about highlighting diverse Australian perspectives through literature, especially within children’s and genre fiction. Charo has previously worked as an Events Assistant at Storyfest youth writers’ festival and gained literary agency experience as an intern at Curtis Brown Australia. Along with pursuing a career in publishing, she is currently on submission for her debut novel – an epic fantasy inspired by pre-colonial Filipino mythology.

“Savi Ross is an African American, Torres Strait Islander creative, with a deep love for books, storytelling, and artmaking. Born and raised in the mountains of Gimuy (Cairns), Savi moved to Narrm (Melbourne) to complete a Bachelor of Arts Honours (Anthropology) at Monash University. Always lost in books as a child, she appreciates that great power of books to entertain, educate, and inspire. She’s enjoyed supporting artists through her previous work as assistant curator and project coordinator at the Koorie Heritage Trust, growing an appreciation for cultural storytelling and the collective canon we all share throughout the past, present, and future. Outside of her work, Savi freelances as an illustrator and is always exploring a new craft (recently, filet crochet and 3D modelling!). As a lifelong lover of reading, she is excited to learn more about how books come to be, through great collaboration, exchanging ideas, and human experiences.”

The four successful interns will be supported through their placements by Open Book mentor Camha Pham. According to Open Book, 12 interns have completed the program to date, including 7 from First Nations backgrounds. Open Book reported that, of the alumni, “over 75% have gone on to secure ongoing work in the sector”.

Open Book program manager Rebecca Slater said the Open Book program has “made a significant impact on the Australian publishing industry”.

“This success of the program speaks to the high standard of emerging publishing professionals across the country, as well as publishers’ ongoing commitment to fostering greater cultural diversity in the sector,” said Slater. “We’d like to congratulate Mabel, Savi, Paula and Charo, and thank our new and returning participating publishers for this year.”

Launched in 2021, the Open Book paid internship program aims to foster cultural diversity in the Australian publishing industry. This is the first year it has offered internship placements in Perth.

Details of the 2026 interns and shortlisted candidates can be found on the Open Book website.

Category: Awards Local news