Books in the media this weekend, 20–21 June
Friday, 20 June 2025
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend. National The Saturday Paper King of Dirt (Holden Sheppard, Pantera Press) The Life, Old Age,...
This Bird: Noticing Our Urban Birds (Astred Hicks & Holly Parsons, CSIRO Publishing)
Tuesday, 17 June 2025
Created by author and illustrator Astred Hicks in collaboration with ecologist Holly Parsons, This Bird: Noticing Our Urban Birds is a vibrant celebration of Australian birdlife, designed to inspire wonder...
Isn’t It Nice We Both Hate the Same Things (Jessica Seaborn, PRH)
Tuesday, 17 June 2025
Isn’t It Nice We Both Hate the Same Things by Jessica Seaborn has a lengthy title that might be tricky to remember, but its characters are anything but forgettable. Seaborn...
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 Locked Room (Adam Cece, PRH)
Tuesday, 17 June 2025
Adam Cece’s The Locked Room is built on an excellent premise: four teenagers trapped in an escape room must solve a series of puzzles – each on a one-hour countdown...
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...
Starry Eyed (Katharine Pollock, Wakefield Press)
Tuesday, 17 June 2025
Katharine Pollock’s Starry Eyed is delightfully hard to categorise, combining romantic comedy and science fiction elements and loosely held together by a fan fiction narrative. Fundamentally, it’s a touching story...
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...
Book Club – this month’s reads
Friday, 13 June 2025
Looking for your next great group read? Our monthly Book Club rounds up new release titles that are perfect for sparking conversation and perhaps even some debate. From compelling fiction...
Ardern, Reid debut in top 10, Melaleuca tops heat-seekers
Friday, 13 June 2025
Top 10 bestsellers Cozy Corner (Coco Wyo, Penguin) The Let Them Theory (Mel Robbins & Sawyer Robbins, Hay House) Cozy Cuties (Coco Wyo, Penguin) A Different Kind of Power (Jacinda...
Books in the media this weekend, 14–15 June
Friday, 13 June 2025
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend. National The Saturday Paper The Death of Stalin (Sheila Fitzpatrick, Black Inc.) Inconvenient Women (Jacqueline Kent,...
What Would Adam Smith Make of Modern Australia? (Joseph Healy, Major Street)
Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Adam Smith, the 18th-century moral philosopher, is best known for coining the phrase ‘invisible hand’ to describe how the economic self-interest of an individual can lead to fair and efficient...
Our History: A House Divided (Clare Hallifax, Walker Books)
Tuesday, 10 June 2025
In Our History: A House Divided, Clare Hallifax places the political turmoil of the 1975 Dismissal of the Whitlam government within the everyday rhythms of family life in Canberra. The...
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...
Run (Sarah Armstrong, HGCP)
Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Sarah Armstrong’s latest middle-grade novel, Run, is a fast-paced survival tale that explores themes of trust, resilience and complicated families. It follows Armstrong’s previous titles for younger readers, Big Magic and Magic Awry, and her...
How to Train a Dad (Sally Barns, illus Noémie Gionet Landry, Affirm)
Tuesday, 10 June 2025
How to Train a Dad, written by Sally Barns and illustrated by Noémie Gionet Landry, is a funny and imaginative picture book that presents itself as a manual for kids...
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,...
Four titles debut in top 10; Stella winner gets a boost
Friday, 6 June 2025
Top 10 bestsellers The Let Them Theory (Mel Robbins & Sawyer Robbins, Hay House) Cozy Corner (Coco Wyo, Penguin) Releasing 10 (Chloe Walsh, Piatkus) Cozy Cuties (Coco Wyo, Penguin) Nightshade...
Introducing Junior Book Club – A bunch of this month’s brilliant books
Friday, 6 June 2025
Searching for your next great read to share with kids? Our Junior Book Club picks highlight 10 new titles each month that are perfect for classrooms, libraries and family reading...
Books in the media this weekend, 7–8 June
Friday, 6 June 2025
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend. This week's round-up will be updated as information becomes available. National The Saturday Paper The...
The Ghost Walk (Karen Herbert, Fremantle)
Tuesday, 3 June 2025
Ruby Rose Gillespie lives with cystic fibrosis and is admitted to the hospital for a fever on the same day the body of Dr Gabriel Beaufort – her high school...
Yilkari (Nicolas Rothwell & Alison Nampitjinpa Anderson, Text)
Tuesday, 3 June 2025
Yilkari is a book that resists easy categorisation – it’s part character study, part travel narrative, part history lesson and part meditation on the connection between people and place. This...
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 Giant (Sophie Masson, illus Lorena Carrington, MidnightSun)
Tuesday, 3 June 2025
The award-winning duo of author Sophie Masson and illustrator Lorena Carrington reunite for The Giant. Their previous title, Satin, was a 2024 CBCA Notable book. In this mystical and poignant...
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...
Death at Booroomba (AL Booth, Ventura Press)
Tuesday, 3 June 2025
On the eve of his deployment to the Western Front in 1915, Jack O’Rourke has a chance encounter with an elderly Russian man, Samuel Lomond, that will profoundly impact his...
Readers cuddle up to cosy, Connelly debuts at 4
Friday, 30 May 2025
Top 10 bestsellers The Let Them Theory (Mel Robbins & Sawyer Robbins, Hay House) Cozy Corner (Coco Wyo, Penguin) Cozy Cuties (Coco Wyo, Penguin) Nightshade (Michael Connelly, A&U) Sunrise on...
Books in the media this weekend, 31 May – 1 June
Friday, 30 May 2025
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend. National The Saturday Paper Letters to our Robot Son (Cadance Bell, Ultimo) Always Home Always...
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...
