Refugee Week 2026: A Million Stories

As Europe recovered from the devastation of World War II, Australia responded to an international call to offer a future to people with nowhere to call home. Since that initial agreement in 1947 to receive 4000 refugees from Central Europe, Australia has issued one million permanent humanitarian visas – welcoming people from all parts of the globe, people who have helped to build modern Australia.

Refugee Week 2026 is a moment to reflect on that milestone and to celebrate the million stories behind it: each story is unique, each story is powerful.

Updated May 15, 2026
W
Wyndham Library
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Small boat
Delecroix, Vincent
Paper Book
Exit west
Hamid, Mohsin
Paper Book
One of The New York Times's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century FINALIST FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE & WINNER OF THE L.A. TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR FICTION and THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE "It was as if Hamid knew what was going to happen to America and the...
On earth we're briefly gorgeous
Vuong, Ocean
Paper Book
** Sunday Times Bestseller ** Brilliant, heart-breaking and highly original, TikTok has fallen in love with Ocean Vuong's shattering portrait of a family. This is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little...
The lucky ones
Ham, Melinda
Paper Book
The Lucky Ones is a moving and meticulously researched book of refugee stories from award-winning journalist and former foreign correspondent Melinda Ham. Though they are from different generations, countries and cultures, the families in this book all have one thing in common:...
The girl who smiled beads
Wamariya, Clemantine
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The plot provided by the universe was filled with starvation, war and rape. I would not--could not--live in that tale."   Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to...
The ungrateful refugee
Nayeri, Dina
Paper Book
A timely, provocative and personal examination of the refugee experience.
The kite runner
Hosseini, Khaled
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestselling novel beloved by millions of readers the world over. New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century "A vivid and engaging story that reminds us how long his people [of Afghanistan] have been struggling to...
Prophet song
Lynch, Paul
Paper Book
No friend but the mountains : writing from Manus prison
Boochani, Behrouz
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE VICTORIAN PREMIER''S LITERARY PRIZE FOR LITERATURE AND FOR NON-FICTION 2019 Where have I come from? From the land of rivers, the land of waterfalls, the land of ancient chants, the land of mountains... In 2013, Kurdish journalist Behrouz Boochani was illegally detained on Manus Island....
Seeking asylum : our stories
Paper Book
100% of the proceeds from this title will go to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre This beautifully illustrated hardback captures the stories of those who have lived the experience of seeking asylum. In their own voices, contributors share how they came to be in Australia,...
The beekeeper of Aleppo
Lefteri, Christy
Paper Book
The International Number One Bestseller, for readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Kite Runner.
A man of two faces : a memoir, a history, a memorial
Nguyen, Viet Thanh
Paper Book
'A triumphant memoir' Cathy Park Hong, author of MINOR FEELINGS, finalist for the Pulitzer PrizeThe highly original, blistering, and unconventional memoir by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer, which has now sold over one million copies worldwideWith...
Safe haven
Chandran, Shankari
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKPEOPLE FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR THE DAVITT AWARD FOR ADULT FICTION  A SHAMELESS BOOK CLUB PICK AN AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY GREAT READ ...
Unknown : a refugee's story
Anyieth, Akuch Kuol
Paper Book
A moving, confronting and ultimately uplifting story about a young girl's escape, with her family, from war-torn South Sudan to Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, and then to Australia. In 1996, when Akuch Kuol Anyieth is five, her mother flees to Kakuma with her children, intent on finding...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.