Michael Alexandratos from Roselands, NSW has been awarded the 2026 National Book Collecting Prize for his collection of fugitive literature: Greek Weird Books; Strange and curious books in the Modern Greek language, encompassing poetry, fiction and non-fiction works.
Alexandratos collects Greek-language books that he describes as “marginal literatures” which are “written by marginalised people, or about topics and in genres that never secured a place in the canon,” often challenging conventional ideas of Greece and “Greekness.”
Influenced by rebetika music, folklorist Elias Petropoulos, and Athenian bookseller Nektarios Papadimitriou, his collection emphasises the “weird” and highlights how private collecting can diverge from institutional priorities, while being shaped by geographical limits.
Alexandratos’ interest in seeking out rare and unsual books began in his early teens but has also served practical purposes. “As a researcher and publisher, it became a necessity to build my own archives. Living on the other side of the world, I lacked easy access to Greek libraries, and even then, when I made trips to Greece I realised there were serious gaps in their collections,” he said.
“This is partly due to Greece’s unreliable legal deposit system, and that the books which interested me were never acquisition priorities for major institutions. Today, my collection numbers around 100 titles, dating from the late 19th century to the present day, spanning rare pulp fiction works, bibliophilic art editions and out-of-print paperbacks, all linked by their odd and erratic content.”
Alexandratos’ collection goes beyond personal interest, aiming to place neglected Greek-language books in conversation with world literature. He explained, “My collection made… sense as the starting point for a writing project, narrating and contextualising these books anew for non-Greek audiences.”
His essay for this year’s National Book Collecting Prize impressed judges for its passion, clarity, and accessibility, allowing appreciation of the collection without prior knowledge of the titles.
Alexandratos will receive a prize to the value of nearly $2,000 AUD which includes a cash prize, a return flight to the 2026 ANZAAB Rare Book Fair in Melbourne, gift vouchers, and memberships to the Bibliographic Society of Australia and New Zealand (BSANZ) and the Book Collectors’ Society of Australia (BCSA). He has also been invited to speak about his prize-winning collection during Melbourne Rare Book Week in July.
The National Book Collecting Prize, for Australians up to age 35, was founded in 2019 by Dawn Albinger of Archives Fine Books, which administers and sponsors the award alongside BSCA, BSANZ, and private donors.
Source: International League of Antiquarian Booksellers
