AWC’s bookish & wordy summer quiz!

Welcome to this fun holiday quiz of all things bookish and wordy! There are 31 separate questions (for reasons that will become clear below) – and you are given the number of letters in the answer at the end of each of the clues.

The questions are a mix of cryptic clues and general book/pop-culture knowledge – see how many you can get without needing to Google! (Oh, and unless stated otherwise, if we specifically ask for an author, we just want the surname.)

• If done correctly, your answers should each begin with a different letter of the alphabet – however they are in random order, so you’ll need to keep track.
• And as there are 31 questions, you’ll have FIVE words left over.
• Rearrange the first letters of these extras into a word to find our wish for the coming year!

Challenge yourself, challenge your family, friends and pets – and crown your own bookish and wordy things champion. (Answers are provided at the end.) Good luck!

THE QUIZ STARTS NOW: 

1. This precious-sounding author didn’t want you to let him in this year. (6)
2. Meanwhile, this author theorised that you should just Let Them. (7)
3. What wouldn’t let Trent go this year? (7)
4. Booker winner that you can’t wait to sink your teeth into. (5)
5. The first name of the Maryland-based letter-writing correspondent in this popular 2025 book. (5)
6. This food (plural) became a sudden topic for books and true crime podcasts in Australia in the second half of the year. (9)
7. The surname of the title character in McFadden’s novel – recently released as a film. (8)
8. This author had two movies made of his works this year, one walking and the other running. (4)
9. Cambridge Dictionary announced this as their 2025 word of the year, and we already feel like we know it. (10)
10. This author likely made an impossible fortune off his latest instalment. (5)
11. According to Aussie cosy crime writer Benjamin Stevenson, where is everyone a thief? (4)
12. This Aussie author had fun gatecrashing funerals this year. (4)
13. This author stole our hearts 20 years ago while his protagonist stole books. (5)
14. This 2025 favourite (and TJ’s eighth novel) takes us to 1970s Brisbane. (10)
15. Frank-N-Furter’s 2025 memoir had this title. (8)
16. Creating a gulf in public opinion, maps had to be changed when Mexico was changed to this in early 2025. (7)
17. Toothy collectibles that took the world by storm this year. (7)
18. According to Daywalt, these just up and quit in 2013. (7)
19. How McTiernan described the grave in her 2025 crime novel. (7)
20. If you mess up a sorry, you get this romantasy author. (6)
21. Wake up and smell the reaping – it’s this character’s 50th story! (8)
22. This Henry has great big beautiful covers. (5)
23. What can it mean?? In true Dan Brown fashion, identify the most common letter in the name of his latest novel. (1)
24. It’s what this Poppy trio Hunts, K? (6)
25. This popular 2025 novel, set in the early 1980s, asked the question: “What if we gave a lesbian couple space?” (10)
26. This Andy will see Ryan playing Ryland on the big screen in 2026. (4)
27. In 2025, this high-flying magazine had a Leek for an Editor-in-Chief. (6)
28. Bestselling crime-writer Candice certainly has this factor – in fact, she’d be unfinished without it. (1)
29. Anuradha Roy and Arundhati Roy are often confused, but there is no confusion over their home country. (5)
30. Palindromic French magazine and Aussie who has graced its cover many times. (4)
31. The city in which an avid reader will find Shakespeare & Company (5)

ANSWERS BELOW:

1. Jewell 2. Robbins 3. Gravity 4. Flesh 5. Sybil 6. Mushrooms 7. Calloway 8. King 9. Parasocial 10. Osman 11. Bank 12. Nell 13. Zusak 14. Tenderfoot 15. Vagabond 16. America 17. Labubus 18. Crayons 19. Unquiet 20. Yarros 21. Haymitch 22. Emily 23. E 24. Demons 25. Atmosphere 26. Weir 27. Qantas 28. X 29. India 30. Elle 31. Paris / Leftover answers spell P-E-A-C-E