Good Intentions (Jessy Wu, Macmillan)
Fiction
Released July 2026, reviewed by Alida Galati.
Personal and professional integrity face off in Jessy Wu’s highly engaging debut, Good Intentions – a fast-paced millennial romance set...
One Word (Melissa-Jane Fogarty, Lothian)
Children’s picture book
Released July 2026, reviewed by Merril Darling.
Melissa-Jane Fogarty’s One Word is a gentle yet powerful First Nations story about a young girl, Myra, who loves to...
Without a Trace (Susannah Glenn, Pantera)
Fiction
Released June 2026, reviewed by Bohdi Byles.
Susannah Glenn’s second novel, Without a Trace, follows Charlotte Clarke, a once confident pilot and the daughter of a scenic...
Worlds Within a World (ed Casey Mulder, Fremantle)
Nonfiction
Released July 2026, reviewed by Anica Boulanger-Mashberg.
In Worlds Within a World, Carol Foley, Deborah Green, Barb Hostalek, Lois May and Valerie Swift – 5 First Nations...
Worry Doll (Laura McPhee-Browne, Scribe)
Fiction
Released July 2026, reviewed by Danielle Bagnato.
Worry Doll is the immersive and introspective third novel by Laura McPhee-Browne (Cherry Beach, Little Plum). It follows 2 women:...
Goose on the Loose (Catherine Meatheringham, illus Annabelle Hale, Affirm Kids)
Children’s picture book
Released July 2026, reviewed by Karys McEwen.
Goose on the Loose by Catherine Meatheringham, illustrated by Annabelle Hale, is a lively picture book that follows one determined...
Seen Again: Light on Matrescence (Benita Bensch, The Kind Press)
Nonfiction
Released July 2026, reviewed by Megan Cheong.
Following her 2019 infertility memoir, The Art of Trying, clarity coach Benita Bensch’s second book, Seen Again: Light on Matrescence,...
LIT (Anna Woods, Echo)
Fiction
Released June 2026, reviewed by Sonia Nair.
Auckland-based writer Anna Woods’ debut novel, LIT, is a psychological thriller set in the same city, centring on 3 emotionally...
Later, Only Love Remains (Leah Swann, HarperCollins)
Fiction
Released June 2026, reviewed by Rhea Candy.
In Later, Only Love Remains, Leah Swann (Sheerwater) returns with another literary thriller, following Jack Wolfe in the aftermath of...
The Secret Garden Club (Wendy Lynn Newton, Macmillan)
Fiction
Released June 2026, reviewed by Michelle Atkins.
Whimsical, witty and genuinely heartwarming, Wendy Lynn Newton’s The Secret Garden Club is a striking debut. When 52-year-old lapsed artist...
I’m Not Afraid of Spiders (Caitlin Henderson, illus Annie Henderson, CSIRO Publishing)
Children’s picture book
Released June 2026, reviewed by Emma Nield.
For many children, fear of spiders can get in the way of appreciating just how fascinating they really are. In...
Smoke, Rice, Water: Recipes and Stories from a Bengali Home (Kishwar Chowdhury, Hardie Grant)
Nonfiction
Released June 2026, reviewed by Jess Lomas.
Kishwar Chowdhury first captured national attention on MasterChef with her ambition to bring Bengali cuisine into the spotlight; Smoke, Rice,...
Josie Mack and the MEGA Division (Bethany Loveridge, illus Jade Goodwin, Wombat Books)
Younger readers
Released June 2026, reviewed by Abbey Taylor.
Josie Mack and the MEGA Division by Bethany Loveridge (Renegade Timeline Officer) is a fun, adventurous tale that shows how...
Night Swimming (Sharon Kernot, Text)
Fiction
Released June 2026, reviewed by Alex Durac.
Sharon Kernot’s first foray into adult fiction, Night Swimming, is both a suspenseful verse novel and a ghost story in...
A Flash in the Dust (Meg Caddy, UQP)
Young adult
Released June 2026, reviewed by Emily Wyatt.
Set in Western Australia in 1899, Meg Caddy’s queer YA historical novel A Flash in the Dust follows Gilberta and...
I Remember Everything (Fiona Wilkes, Fremantle)
Fiction
Released June 2026, reviewed by Eleanor Jackson.
Fiona Wilkes’s debut novel, I Remember Everything, memorialises the LGBTQIA+ communities lost to the AIDS crisis. In this fictionalised memoir,...
Floating by the Clouds (Mohammad Awad, illus Niña Nill, Penguin)
Children’s picture book
Released June 2026, reviewed by Emma Nield.
Floating by the Clouds by Mohammad Awad is a lyrical debut picture book that explores the highs and lows of emotions,...
Seasons of Clementine (Jess Galatola & Jasmine Berry, Perentie Press)
Graphic novel
Released June 2026, reviewed by Anneliese Gates.
Seasons of Clementine, written by Jess Galatola and illustrated by Jasmine Berry, is a sweet and reflective graphic novel about...
The Sisters of Serendib (Ayesha Inoon, HQ Fiction)
Fiction
Released June 2026, reviewed by Marina Sano.
The Sisters of Serendib, the sophomore novel from Ayesha Inoon (Untethered), opens in 1990 with a flurry of events as...
Wormhole (Hannah McElhinney, Affirm)
Nonfiction
Released June 2026, reviewed by Anthony Morris.
How far should you go in search of answers when mainstream medicine can’t help? Wormhole is author Hannah McElhinney’s attempt...
