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...
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...
LIT (Anna Woods, Echo)
Tuesday, 28 April 2026
Auckland-based writer Anna Woods’ debut novel, LIT, is a psychological thriller set in the same city, centring on 3 emotionally and professionally entangled architects: Virginia Ishak (Gin), Clarissa Taylor (Clary)...
Later, Only Love Remains (Leah Swann, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 28 April 2026
In Later, Only Love Remains, Leah Swann (Sheerwater) returns with another literary thriller, following Jack Wolfe in the aftermath of a car crash that killed his wife while he was...
The Secret Garden Club (Wendy Lynn Newton, Macmillan)
Tuesday, 28 April 2026
Whimsical, witty and genuinely heartwarming, Wendy Lynn Newton’s The Secret Garden Club is a striking debut. When 52-year-old lapsed artist Hilary finds her husband of 30 years, newly retired engineer...
I’m Not Afraid of Spiders (Caitlin Henderson, illus Annie Henderson, CSIRO Publishing)
Tuesday, 28 April 2026
For many children, fear of spiders can get in the way of appreciating just how fascinating they really are. In I’m Not Afraid of Spiders, nature-loving sisters – award-winning wildlife...
Smoke, Rice, Water: Recipes and Stories from a Bengali Home (Kishwar Chowdhury, Hardie Grant)
Tuesday, 28 April 2026
Kishwar Chowdhury first captured national attention on MasterChef with her ambition to bring Bengali cuisine into the spotlight; Smoke, Rice, Water: Recipes and Stories from a Bengali Home is the...
Josie Mack and the MEGA Division (Bethany Loveridge, illus Jade Goodwin, Wombat Books)
Tuesday, 28 April 2026
Josie Mack and the MEGA Division by Bethany Loveridge (Renegade Timeline Officer) is a fun, adventurous tale that shows how children can respectfully interact with and safeguard native wildlife. Josie...
Night Swimming (Sharon Kernot, Text)
Tuesday, 21 April 2026
Sharon Kernot’s first foray into adult fiction, Night Swimming, is both a suspenseful verse novel and a ghost story in which the narrator of the book haunts herself. Night Swimming...
A Flash in the Dust (Meg Caddy, UQP)
Tuesday, 21 April 2026
Set in Western Australia in 1899, Meg Caddy’s queer YA historical novel A Flash in the Dust follows Gilberta and Norah, who are imprisoned in Fremantle Asylum and escape into...
I Remember Everything (Fiona Wilkes, Fremantle)
Tuesday, 21 April 2026
Fiona Wilkes’s debut novel, I Remember Everything, memorialises the LGBTQIA+ communities lost to the AIDS crisis. In this fictionalised memoir, Billie recounts her formative years from 1979 to 1990, moving...
Floating by the Clouds (Mohammad Awad, illus Niña Nill, Penguin)
Tuesday, 21 April 2026
Floating by the Clouds by Mohammad Awad is a lyrical debut picture book that explores the highs and lows of emotions, encouraging children to acknowledge and express their feelings. The central...
Seasons of Clementine (Jess Galatola & Jasmine Berry, Perentie Press)
Tuesday, 21 April 2026
Seasons of Clementine, written by Jess Galatola and illustrated by Jasmine Berry, is a sweet and reflective graphic novel about growing up and learning to cope with change. Aimed at...
The Sisters of Serendib (Ayesha Inoon, HQ Fiction)
Tuesday, 21 April 2026
The Sisters of Serendib, the sophomore novel from Ayesha Inoon (Untethered), opens in 1990 with a flurry of events as Tamil Muslims board boats to escape the escalating violence of...
Wormhole (Hannah McElhinney, Affirm)
Tuesday, 21 April 2026
How far should you go in search of answers when mainstream medicine can’t help? Wormhole is author Hannah McElhinney’s attempt to answer that question through a blend of memoir, cultural...
Touch Grass (Mary Colussi, Penguin)
Tuesday, 14 April 2026
Mary Colussi’s debut novel, Touch Grass, is the sharp and inventive winner of the 2025 Penguin Literary Prize. This work of speculative fiction takes readers into the not-too-distant future, where strawberries are...
Where the Heart Is (Shirley Marr, illus Michael Speechley, Walker)
Tuesday, 14 April 2026
In Where the Heart Is, Shirley Marr (Countdown to Yesterday) (with illustrations by Michael Speechley) crafts a wistful picture book for readers aged 3 to 6 that plays with the...
What’s That Splat? (Johanna Bell, illus Amelia Luscombe, Thames & Hudson)
Tuesday, 14 April 2026
What’s That Splat? is the picture-book equivalent of the famous Rorschach test – the psychological assessment that analyses a person’s response to a series of inkblots. Here, writer Johanna Bell...
Detention (Ralph Jackman, A&U)
Tuesday, 14 April 2026
Detention is a powerful memoir about Australia’s youth detention system, told from the perspective of a rookie teacher and his fight for the rights of some of our country's most...
