Arts & Culture
10 February, 2026
Andy Griffiths named 2026-2027 Children’s Laureate
Popular children’s author Andy Griffiths has been named Australian Children’s Laureate for 2026 and 2027.
Popular children’s author Andy Griffiths has been named Australian Children’s Laureate for 2026 and 2027.
The Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation (ACLF) made the announcement earlier today before Griffiths launched his laureate program at the State Library to a live audience of children and invited guests around Australia.
Griffiths, 64, describes himself as a writer of “funny books for kids”.
He is best known for the Treehouse series, the JUST! books and more recently the YOU & ME series.
His books have sold more than 10 million copies in Australia alone and have won dozens of awards.
In 2015 he was awarded the Dromkeen Medal to honour his outstanding achievement in the creation of Australian children’s literature.
Griffiths says he is passionate about the power of literacy to change lives and is dedicated to encouraging children all over the world “to love reading, writing, being creative, and most importantly of all, to enjoy and celebrate the funny side of life”.
He is also an ambassador for The Indigenous Literacy and the Pyjama Foundation – an organisation created to instil a love of reading in children in care.
Griffiths says he loves writing about “multi-storey treehouses, flying cats, boxing elephants, underpants, un-inventors, runaway prams, runaway bums, food-fights, time travel, monkeys, giant bananas, dinosaurs, killer koalas, lost socks and dirty double-crossing knuckleheads”.
He says his readers are an “amazingly creative, funny and passionate community who share their feedback, ideas and enjoyment me wherever they are in the world. And I love that!”
The Children’s Laureate is the national ambassador for reading and Australian children’s literature, championing issues affecting everyone in the industry including creators, reading advocates, educators, librarians, booksellers and publishers.
The Children’s Laureate is appointed every two years “to promote the importance and transformational power of reading, imagination and story in the lives of young Australians”.
In his new role, Griffiths will spend extensive time speaking with children, families, education specialists, government ministers and librarians in metropolitan and regional communities across the nation.
Past Children’s Laureates have included Gabrielle Wang, Alison Lester, Jackie French, Leigh Hobbs, Morris Gleitzman, Boori Monty Pryor, Ursula Dubosarsky and Sally Rippin.
The ACLF is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2008 and working to empower the lives of young Australians through the power of story.
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