News Cowboys (Mike Amor, Echo)
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
In News Cowboys, veteran Australian foreign correspondent Mike Amor shares stories from a decades-long career covering some of the biggest news events of the 21st century. From the 9/11 terrorist...
The Set-Up Girl (Sasha Vey, A&U Children’s)
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
The Set-Up Girl is a rollercoaster of awkward crushes and friendships set against the warmth and chaos of a tight-knit family and the bittersweet final year of high school. Amalia...
The Nanny’s Handbook to Magic and Managing Difficult Dukes (Amy Rose Bennett, Atria)
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
Amy Rose Bennett's The Nanny’s Handbook to Magic and Managing Difficult Dukes is a charming historical romance that defies expectations and blends genres with flair. The novel combines a Victorian-era...
Until the Red Leaves Fall (Alli Parker, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 17 June 2025
Until the Red Leaves Fall is the second novel by Japanese-Australian author and screenwriter Alli Parker (At the Foot of the Cherry Tree). Set primarily in 1950s Melbourne, Emmy Darling...
The Eagle and the Crow (JM Field, UQP)
Tuesday, 17 June 2025
The Eagle and the Crow is a work of many layers – lyrical, intellectual and political – all grounded in Gamilaraay knowledge and resistance. JM Field (Etta and the Shadow...
The Wicked Ship (Oceanforged #1) (Amelia Mellor, Affirm)
Tuesday, 17 June 2025
Amelia Mellor follows The Grandest Bookshop series, her bestselling, award-winning historical fantasy trilogy, with the new swashbuckling Oceanforged series for readers aged 8–10. The Wicked Ship is the first of...
Olivia De Zilva on ‘Plastic Budgie’
Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Tarndanya/Adelaide-based writer Olivia De Zilva’s debut, Plastic Budgie (Pink Shorts Press, August), is described as a ‘sharply funny, sad and sentimental reflection on the people, places and cultural forces that...
Stillwater (Tanya Scott, A&U)
Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Tanya Scott’s debut, Stillwater, masterfully weaves together the past and present in a suspenseful, emotionally charged crime thriller. Luke Harris returns to his hometown of Melbourne seeking a 'normal life'...
In Spite of You (Patrick Lenton, Pantera)
Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Genuinely funny and smartly observed, In Spite of You channels the charm of classic rom-coms – idealistic and entertaining – but adds a fresh twist with a plot driven by...
Plastic Budgie (Olivia De Zilva, Pink Shorts Press)
Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Olivia De Zilva’s autofiction debut Plastic Budgie is a sharply funny, sad and sentimental reflection on the people, places and cultural forces that shape us as we grow up. In the novel,...
A Gift from the Birds (Caroline Stills, Text)
Tuesday, 3 June 2025
A Gift from the Birds is the first middle-grade novel by picture book author Caroline Stills. Winner of the 2024 Text Prize – and the final recipient before the prize...
The Golden Sister (Suzanne Do, Macmillan)
Tuesday, 3 June 2025
The Golden Sister is a fast-paced mystery set in a small fictional NSW coastal town, exploring complex and dysfunctional family dynamics and the impact of grief. Suzanne Do’s prose is...
Where the River Runs Free (Vikki Conley, illus Jedda Robaard, Windy Hollow)
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Where the River Runs Free is a celebration of time spent outdoors by multi-award-winning author Vikki Conley (Where the Lyrebird Lives) and illustrator Jedda Robaard (The Littlest Penguin and the...
Cure (Katherine Brabon, Ultimo)
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Katherine Brabon’s Cure is a natural extension and companion to her novel Body Friend; both are introspective literary works centred on women living with autoimmune diseases – conditions Brabon herself...
Deep History: Country and Sovereignty (ed by Ann McGrath & Jackie Huggins, UNSW Press)
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Deep History: Country and Sovereignty is a layered and collaborative work that challenges dominant narratives and asks whose voices are heard in telling history. Edited by Jackie Huggins, a Bidjara...
Edie Tells a Lie (Ingrid Laguna, Text)
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Ingrid Laguna’s Edie Tells a Lie is a gentle story of friendship and family. After the loss of her father, Edie mourns the large family she wishes she had. Edie’s...
When Sleeping Women Wake (Emma Pei Yin, Hachette)
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Expansive yet tightly plotted, When Sleeping Women Wake is a deeply empathetic novel that examines the devastation of war. Set in 1940s Hong Kong, it traces the city’s transformation from...
Who Might You Be? (Robert Henderson, A&U Children’s)
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Inspired by the popular tangram puzzle, Who Might You Be? is a unique picture book that celebrates the power of transformation. Robert Henderson (I See, I See) has created a...
The Frog’s First Song (Jazz Money, illus Jason Phu, UQP)
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Award-winning Wiradjuri poet Jazz Money (how to make a basket, mark the dawn) and three-time Archibald Prize finalist illustrator Jason Phu have come together to create an uplifting, joyous tale...
The Revisionists (Michelle Johnston, Fourth Estate)
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Michelle Johnston’s third novel, The Revisionist, is a beautifully crafted story that follows the journey of Christine Campbell, a young woman with strong beliefs and misguided ambitions. Christine goes to great lengths...
Moonlight and Dust (Jasmin McGaughey, A&U Children’s)
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Jasmin McGaughey’s debut YA fantasy Moonlight and Dust is set in Cairns and follows 16-year-old Zillah, a responsible Torres Strait Islander who always thinks before she acts – unlike her...
The Big Fix (Albert Palazzo, Melbourne University Publishing)
Tuesday, 6 May 2025
In a hostile world, does Australia’s only path to national security require it to remain subservient to a global power? Generations of political leaders have said yes. Albert Palazzo puts...
Your Friend and Mine (Jessica Dettmann, Atlantic)
Tuesday, 6 May 2025
Margot is a middle-aged, married mother of one who runs a busy restaurant in Balmain with her husband. Life is full, but not necessarily fulfilling – she’s growing weary of...
Cloudmaker (Helen Milroy, Magabala)
Tuesday, 6 May 2025
Acclaimed author-illustrator Helen Milroy, a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia, returns with a creation story in her distinctive style, as seen in Sunny...
Lady’s Knight (Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner, A&U Children’s)
Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner’s latest novel, Lady’s Knight, is a tantalising forbidden love story for the ages. Gwen has spent years manning the village blacksmith under the guise of...
An Academic Affair (Jodi McAlister, S&S)
Tuesday, 22 April 2025
Jodi McAlister, who has previously written for young adults, made her adult rom-com debut with the Marry Me, Juliet trilogy. Continuing in this genre, An Academic Affair introduces us to...
The Secret Year of Zara Holt (Kimberley Freeman, Hachette)
Tuesday, 22 April 2025
The Secret Year of Zara Holt is a compelling novel inspired by the real-life story of Dame Zara Bate, wife of former Australian prime minister Harold Holt. While many know...
Foreign Country (Marija Peričić, Ultimo)
Tuesday, 22 April 2025
In Marija Peričić’s lyrical and haunting third novel, the foreign country is the site of dislocation and alienation wrought by migration, grief and trauma. Croatian-Australian nurse Eva, who resides in...
Golden (Jade Timms, Text)
Tuesday, 22 April 2025
Jade Timms’s affecting debut novel, Golden, shortlisted for the 2023 Text Prize, is a charming book about friendship, first love, and reclaiming happiness after a devastating trauma. Seventeen-year-old Eddie’s cheerful...
Music Camp (Penny Tangey, UQP)
Tuesday, 15 April 2025
Penny Tangey (Granbad, As Fast As I Can) returns to middle grade with Music Camp, a story set during a selective five-day interschool music camp. Miley lives with her mum...
