An Ocean and a Day (Hannah Richell, 4th Estate)
Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Hannah Richell’s profoundly moving memoir, An Ocean and a Day, is both a tender love letter and a study of loss and hope, shaped by a devastating voyage through grief...
The Mortons (Scott Westerfeld & Justine Larbalestier, Penguin)
Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Justine Larbalestier (My Sister Rosa) and Scott Westerfeld (the Leviathan series) join forces for the crime-family thriller The Mortons, which delivers plenty of grit and dark academia charm. Jessica Morton...
I Made This Just for You (Chris Ames, Ultimo)
Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Chris Ames’s short story collection, I Made This Just for You, is an astonishing debut and a highly anticipated one after winning the 2025 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished...
The Mushroom and the Flower (Sally Soweol Han, T&H)
Tuesday, 19 May 2026
In The Mushroom and the Flower, written and illustrated by Sally Soweol Han (The Colours of Home), a small forest community is centred around a striking pink-and-white mushroom who is...
Fish Don’t Hop (JoJo Leslie, Woodslane Press)
Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Fish Don’t Hop! by JoJo Leslie is a heartwarming story that takes children on a journey of discovery through nature and the ways animals grow and change. Maeve is excited...
“The Thornbacks” gets some attention
Friday, 15 May 2026
Chloe Wilson’s debut novel The Thornbacks is getting some media attention this week; Sarah Wilson’s latest is the highest new entry by an Australian author in this week’s charts; plus...
“I Eat the Stars” is this week’s highest Australian new entry
Friday, 15 May 2026
Top 10 bestsellers Three Reasons for Revenge (Dervla McTiernan, HarperCollins) Fury Bound (Sable Sorensen, Wayward TxF) Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir, Penguin) (combined editions) My Mother’s Life (Chartwell) The Final...
Books in the media this week
Friday, 15 May 2026
A round-up of books being reviewed and discussed in key media this week, updated as information becomes available. National The Bookshelf, ABC Radio National Famesick: A Memoir (Lena Dunham, 4th...
Book Club – this month’s reads
Friday, 15 May 2026
Looking for your next great group read? Our monthly Book Club rounds up new release titles perfect for sparking conversation and perhaps even some debate. From compelling fiction to thought-provoking...
A Short History of Longans (Mirandi Riwoe, UQP)
Tuesday, 12 May 2026
Mirandi Riwoe’s A Short History of Longans follows 4 members of the same family across 2 centuries, moving backwards through time from a climate-changed Queensland in 2049 to colonial New...
The Rebound (Fiona Harris, A&U Children’s)
Tuesday, 12 May 2026
The Rebound, by award-winning author Fiona Harris (The Embarrassing Confessions of Gracie Sparks), is a topical, reflective middle-grade novel about a basketball-loving boy navigating the pressures of growing up in...
The End of Romance (Maria Takolander, Text)
Tuesday, 12 May 2026
In her debut novel, The End of Romance, Maria Takolander presents a dystopian world in which all boys are conscripted to the army at 16, sent on a mission from...
Don’t Forget to Smile (Ariane Beeston, Black Inc.)
Tuesday, 12 May 2026
Don’t Forget to Smile by Ariane Beeston is a rare Australian young adult novel set in the world of dance, a setting not often seen in local teen fiction. The...
Neighbourhood Watch (Lauren Williams, Affirm)
Tuesday, 12 May 2026
Lauren Williams’s debut novel, Neighbourhood Watch, is a compulsive crime thriller that opens with a bang and delivers a series of shocking twists, a side of dark humour and a...
Being: Why It’s Harder to Be Human Than a Hamster or a Herring (Rachel E Menzies & Ross G Menzies, A&U)
Tuesday, 12 May 2026
In Being: Why It’s Harder to Be Human Than a Hamster or a Herring, daughter–father writing team Rachel E Menzies and Ross G Menzies (Mortals: How the Fear of Death...
The Frumpling (Jo van der Borgh, illus Jo Beasley, Walker)
Tuesday, 12 May 2026
The Frumpling by Jo van der Borgh, illustrated by Jo Beasley, is a playful rhyming picture book about a lonely creature whose life begins to change after one honest conversation...
Dervla McTiernan is very grateful
Friday, 8 May 2026
The Age Book of the Year winners were announced at the opening of the Melbourne Writers Festival last night; Dervla McTiernan is very grateful for the readers who have put...
McTiernan debuts in top spot
Friday, 8 May 2026
Top 10 bestsellers Three Reasons for Revenge (Dervla McTiernan, HarperCollins) King of Gluttony (Ana Huang, Piatkus) Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir, Penguin) (combined editions) Yesteryear (Caro Claire Burke, Fourth Estate)...
Junior Book Club – this month’s reads
Friday, 8 May 2026
Searching for your next great read to share with kids? Our Junior Book Club highlights new titles each month that are perfect for classrooms, libraries and family reading time. From...
Books in the media this week
Friday, 8 May 2026
A round-up of books being reviewed and discussed in key media this week, updated as information becomes available. National The Bookshelf, ABC Radio National The Director (Daniel Kehlmann, trans by...
Good Intentions (Jessy Wu, Macmillan)
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
Personal and professional integrity face off in Jessy Wu’s highly engaging debut, Good Intentions – a fast-paced millennial romance set in the worlds of investigative journalism and futures trading. Nadia...
One Word (Melissa-Jane Fogarty, Lothian)
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
Melissa-Jane Fogarty’s One Word is a gentle yet powerful First Nations story about a young girl, Myra, who loves to stay with Pop. When she overhears him speaking to his...
Without a Trace (Susannah Glenn, Pantera)
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
Susannah Glenn’s second novel, Without a Trace, follows Charlotte Clarke, a once confident pilot and the daughter of a scenic flight company owner. While Charlotte is grieving the loss of...
Worlds Within a World (ed Casey Mulder, Fremantle)
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
In Worlds Within a World, Carol Foley, Deborah Green, Barb Hostalek, Lois May and Valerie Swift – 5 First Nations women – reflect on the experiences and relationships that have...
Worry Doll (Laura McPhee-Browne, Scribe)
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
Worry Doll is the immersive and introspective third novel by Laura McPhee-Browne (Cherry Beach, Little Plum). It follows two women: Heloise, a 36-year-old Melburnian living with her partner, a man,...
Goose on the Loose (Catherine Meatheringham, illus Annabelle Hale, Affirm Kids)
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
Goose on the Loose by Catherine Meatheringham, illustrated by Annabelle Hale, is a lively picture book that follows one determined goose as she races away from the farm, creating a...
Seen Again: Light on Matrescence (Benita Bensch, The Kind Press)
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
Following her 2019 infertility memoir, The Art of Trying, clarity coach Benita Bensch’s second book, Seen Again: Light on Matrescence, blends memoir and self-help to guide readers through the chaos...
Hampson’s “The Model Murder” debuts at number 6
Friday, 1 May 2026
Top 10 bestsellers Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir, Penguin) (combined editions) The Titanic Story of Evelyn (Lisa Wilkinson, Hachette) Comfy Corner (Coco Wyo, Penguin) Hope Rises (David Baldacci, Macmillan) The...
Books in the media this week
Friday, 1 May 2026
A round-up of books being reviewed and discussed in key media this week, updated as information becomes available. National The Bookshelf, ABC Radio National Capture (Amanda Lohrey, Text) The Last...
Mother’s Day recommendations from B+P reviewers
Friday, 1 May 2026
In the lead-up to Mother’s Day, one of the busiest book-buying times of the year, we’ve rounded up some of our reviewers’ favourite April and May releases, with an eye...
