Australian novelist Craig Silvey’s books have been withdrawn from school curriculums in Victoria and his home state, and a major stage adaptation of one of his works has been halted after the author was charged with possessing and distributing child exploitation material this week.
Silvey, 43, was arrested on Monday 12 January after detectives executed a search warrant at his Fremantle home. He appeared before the Fremantle magistrates court on Tuesday, charged with distribution of child exploitation material and possession of child exploitation material. No pleas were entered.
Sydney-based theatre company Belvoir announced on Wednesday it would “indefinitely pause” sales, development and promotion of its stage adaptation of Silvey’s children’s book, Runt, which was due to open in August.
A spokesperson for Belvoir described the matter as “deeply distressing”.
“Belvoir is taking this matter very seriously, and stands firmly with survivors of child abuse and exploitation, and their families,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“Whilst Mr Silvey is not directly involved with Belvoir’s stage adaptation of Runt, Belvoir has nonetheless indefinitely paused work on, promotion of and sales for that production while these charges are dealt with by the police and the court.”
John Leary had been adapting the book for the stage, and the play was to be directed by Belvoir’s former artistic director Neil Armfield.
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Silvey is an award-winning writer best known for his critically acclaimed coming-of-age works Jasper Jones and Runt, both of which have been adapted into feature films. Jasper Jones has also been adapted for the theatre, and staged by Barking Gecko, Belvoir, Melbourne Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre and the State Theatre Company of South Australia in the past decade.
Silvey has twice been named one of the Sydney Morning Herald’s best young Australian novelists and was a patron of the City of Subiaco’s Craig Silvey award for young writers for the past three years.
On Tuesday, the City of Subiaco mayor, David McMullen, said arrangements for the young writers award were “made on an annual basis”.
“The city has no ongoing arrangement with Craig Silvey. Mr Silvey will have no affiliation with the 2026 young writers award,” McMullen said.
Runt is one of the most successful of Silvey’s six novels. It won book of the year and the children’s prize at the 2023 Indie Book awards, and was named the children’s book of the year for younger readers by the Children’s Book Council of Australia the same year.
A new Runt book, Annie and Runt, with series illustrator, Sara Acton, was due to be released in November this year. That will be put on hold while Silvey’s matter is before the court, a spokesperson for Silvey’s publisher, Allen & Unwin, said.
“The nature of the allegations is deeply distressing,” the spokesperson said.
“We acknowledge this is an active police matter, and that Mr Silvey is entitled to procedural fairness and a presumption of innocence until the matter is dealt with by a court. Given the gravity of the charges, Allen & Unwin will pause promotional activity of Mr Silvey’s work while the legal process takes its course.”
Silvey and Acton’s 2025 release, Runt and the Diabolical Dognapping, was longlisted for the 2026 Indie Book awards but was not included in the shortlist, announced less than 24 hours after the charges against Silvey were made public. Acton has been approached for comment through her agent.
Silvey’s work has been a frequently included in school curriculums around the country and has been a widely popular choice for schools.
By Wednesday afternoon, a number of Australian book retailers, including Collins Booksellers, Dymocks, Gleebooks, QBD and Readings had removed Silvey’s books from their online stores. The books were either taken off their websites entirely or listed as temporarily out of stock.
The CEO of Dymocks, David Allen, said “due to the recent events and the unfolding situation, we have made the decision to remove all of Craig Silvey’s titles from sale”.
Western Australia’s education minister, Sabine Winton, said on Tuesday that two of Silvey’s books, Jasper Jones and Rhubarb, were on the list of 100 texts available for year 11 and 12 literature students to study in 2026. Jasper Jones was also one of 40 suggested texts for year 11 and 12 Atar and general English courses this year.
“The nature of these allegations is deeply concerning,” Winton said. “I have asked the Department of Education to ensure that schools cease using texts by Craig Silvey for the 2026 school year while the allegations are under investigation.”
The WA education department was unable to immediately determine how many schools had intended to teach from Silvey’s books, as those choices are a matter for individual schools.
“Some students may have studied these texts in previous years. The School Curriculum and Standards Authority will not penalise year 12 students who may refer to these texts in the 2026 Atar Literature course examination,” Winton said.
Teaching resources for Runt have been removed from circulation in Victoria, with a spokesperson for the Victorian Department of Education saying: “Craig Silvey’s texts have been removed from the Victorian Lesson Plans, are not on any VCE English, VCE English as an Additional Language or VCE Literature lists, and his books will not feature in the 2026 Premier’s Reading Challenge.”
A spokesperson for the Queensland department of education said none of Silvey’s books were on the prescribed text list for 2026, but it recommended state schools remove any copies of his books while the matter is under investigation.
The New South Wales education department has been approached for comment.
