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Meltdown (Lauren Novak, HarperCollins)
Released February 2026
Meltdown is a heavily researched yet highly accessible examination of “mum rage”, the gendered term the book uses to describe anger experienced in motherhood, exploring why it happens and how... Read more
Red Star Rebels (Amie Kaufman, A&U Children’s)
Released February 2026
Amie Kaufman is a well-known name in young adult speculative fiction, particularly for the bestselling Starbound and Illuminae Files series (co-authored with Megan Spooner and Jay Kristoff respectively). Red Star... Read more
Romeo v Juliet (RA Spratt, Penguin)
Released February 2026
Bestselling author RA Spratt’s Romeo v Juliet is a light-hearted time-travelling comedy that will appeal to older middle-grade and younger YA audiences aged 12 and up. When 16-year-old Selby, a... Read more
My Brother Otto (Ingrid Laguna, Text)
Released February 2026
In My Brother Otto, Ingrid Laguna (Edie Tells a Lie) explores the emotional upheaval of welcoming and losing a new sibling. Quinn is 11 years old and happy being an... Read more
The World from Here (Cassy Polimeni, illus Mel Armstrong, CSIRO Publishing)
Released February 2026
Cassy Polimeni, whose junior fiction novel Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra won the Wilderness Society’s Environment Award, brings her gift for accessible science to The World from Here. In... Read more
Saving Shark Pup: The Incredible True Story (Sharon Dalgleish, illus Amandine Thomas, A&U Children’s)
Released February 2026
Saving Shark Pup: The Incredible True Story is an intriguing and emotive retelling of a great white shark pup’s dramatic rescue from Manly Beach, sure to captivate readers aged 4... Read more
Two Tongues (Maria van Neerven, UQP)
Released February 2026
Two Tongues is a memoir of language and memory told through poetry. Mununjali woman from the Yugambeh nation Maria van Neerven structures the collection in three chronological parts, tracing her... Read more
A Time of Living Graciously: Reflections on Growing Older (Brigid Lowry, Fremantle)
Released February 2026
In a culture obsessed with youth and productivity, it’s easy to forget that rest is not laziness, aging is not failure and our worth is not measured by output. Brigid... Read more
Bugger (Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Hachette)
Released February 2026
Bugger by Michael Mohammed Ahmad (The Lebs, The Tribe) is a heart-wrenching investigation into child sex abuse. Its protagonist, Hamoodi, is an isolated 10-year-old who adores Power Rangers and lives... Read more
The Sisterhood Rules (Kathy Lette, Aria)
Released February 2026
Bawdy, cheeky and resoundingly “punny”, Kathy Lette’s latest romp, The Sisterhood Rules, is 100% on brand. Twin sisters Isabel and Verity have been estranged for five years, ever since Verity... Read more
How to Make Friends and Go Viral by Accident (YK Willemse, Rhiza Edge)
Released February 2026
The novella How to Make Friends and Go Viral by Accident by YK Willemse (Jerry’s Window) follows 13-year-old Hayden Connor as he struggles with a speech impediment and the anxiety... Read more
How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates (Shailee Thompson, Atria Australia)
Released February 2026
Shailee Thompson’s debut, How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates, is a genre-blending good time that captures the zeitgeist with its mélange of romantic comedy and horror, movie quotes... Read more
Bush Tukka Guide for Kids (Samantha Martin, Hardie Grant Explore)
Released February 2026
Bush Tukka Guide for Kids by Samantha Martin, a descendant of the Jaru people, is an exceptional book about so much more than food. Known as the “Bush Tukka Woman”,... Read more
Muttonfish Magic (Ruth Simms & Lucy Robertson, illus Jasmine Seymour, Magabala)
Released February 2026
Muttonfish Magic honours the Kameragyl and Bidjigal people, the traditional custodians of the land around Kamay (Botany Bay) and Guriwal (La Perouse). With sensory lyricism, Bidjigal Elder Ruth Simms and... Read more
My Sister, the Todzilla (Jacinta Froud, illus Matt Shanks, Affirm)
Released February 2026
Many parents and older siblings of toddlers will relate to the premise of Jacinta Froud’s My Sister, the Todzilla – a hilarious and entirely recognisable take on toddler tantrums, presented... Read more
Wurnan: Sharing on Ngarinyin Country (Wilinggin Aboriginal Corporation, Magabala)
Released February 2026
Wurnan: Sharing on Ngarinyin Country, created by the Wilinggin Aboriginal Corporation, is a powerful cultural record that documents the people, artists, stories, traditions and artefacts of Ngarinyin Country in the... Read more
The Break Up (It’s a Twin Thing! #1) (Kristin Darell, illus A Yi, Penguin)
Released February 2026
Kristin Darell’s The Break Up, the first in a new series illustrated by A Yi, is a middle-grade novel that explores the complexities of primary school friendships with drama, humour... Read more
Plotting the Oceans: Stories of Powerful Maps and Their Makers (Sarah Hamylton, Monash University Publishing)
Released February 2026
In Plotting the Oceans: Stories of Powerful Maps and Their Makers, Sarah Hamylton reveals how maps chart landscapes and shape how we understand and connect with the world around us.... Read more
The Duke’s Secret (Sue Williams, A&U)
Released February 2026
In The Duke’s Secret, the latest historical fiction by Sue Williams (The Governor, His Wife and His Mistress), journalist Ava Washington sets out to verify a family legend. According to... Read more
In a Common Hour (Sita Walker, Ultimo)
Released February 2026
Dedicated to the Queensland state school teachers she works alongside, Sita Walker’s debut novel, In a Common Hour, offers readers a story with universal school politics. Over the course of... Read more
