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Night Swimming (Sharon Kernot, Text)
Released June 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... Read more
A Flash in the Dust (Meg Caddy, UQP)
Released June 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... Read more
I Remember Everything (Fiona Wilkes, Fremantle)
Released June 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... Read more
Floating by the Clouds (Mohammad Awad, illus Niña Nill, Penguin)
Released June 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... Read more
Seasons of Clementine (Jess Galatola & Jasmine Berry, Perentie Press)
Released June 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... Read more
The Sisters of Serendib (Ayesha Inoon, HQ Fiction)
Released June 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... Read more
Wormhole (Hannah McElhinney, Affirm)
Released June 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... Read more
Touch Grass (Mary Colussi, Penguin)
Released June 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... Read more
Where the Heart Is (Shirley Marr, illus Michael Speechley, Walker)
Released June 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... Read more
What’s That Splat? (Johanna Bell, illus Amelia Luscombe, Thames & Hudson)
Released June 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... Read more
Detention (Ralph Jackman, A&U)
Released June 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... Read more
The Palace of Lost Virtue (Anthea Hodgson, Penguin)
Released June 2026
In The Palace of Lost Virtue, Anthea Hodgson follows her bestselling novel The War Nurses with a stirring work of historical fiction. Spanning 1898 to 1926, this new novel offers... Read more
Song of the Shadow of a Seed (Luisa Mitchell, Fremantle)
Released June 2026
For Whadjuk Nyungar writer Luisa Mitchell, seeds represent the longevity of the past and sustainability of the future. From seeds grow roots and trees, a living representation of connection to... Read more
Cleopatra: The Girl Who Would Be King (Heroes in the Ancient World #1) (Jackie French, Angus & Robertson)
Released June 2026
Bestselling author and historian Jackie French (Tigg and the Bandicoot Bushranger) tackles the question of what the Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra was up to during her tween years in Cleopatra: The... Read more
Over to You (Georgie Tunny, A&U)
Released June 2026
In her emotionally turbulent debut, Over to You, Georgie Tunny captures the highs and lows of working in television news. The novel follows 3 friends – Carter, Naya and Greta... Read more
Deprivation (Roy V Marshan, New Dawn)
Released June 2026
In Deprivation, Roy V Marshan explores cannibalism as a feature of late-stage capitalism. In the 1973 film Soylent Green, cannibalism is presented as the solution to overpopulation, while in Agustina... Read more
Geigi the Stubborn Boy (Elliot Passi & Michael Passi, illus Elliot Passi, ILF)
Released June 2026
In Geigi the Stubborn Boy, Torres Strait Islander authors Elliot and Michael Passi (with illustrations by Elliot Passi) draw on their cultural heritage to tell a simple but resonant morality... Read more
Kid (Peter Carnavas, UQP)
Released June 2026
Award-winning author Peter Carnavas is something of a master of timeless children’s novels full of heart and gentle lessons about life, family, grief and love. This most recent addition to... Read more
Possible Springs (Samantha Ross, Penguin)
Released June 2026
In Possible Springs, Samantha Ross blends magical realism with rural noir in Australia across the late 1980s and 1990s. The novel follows Jimny Adams, who, after an accident at age... Read more
How to Raise Rich Kids: Build Lasting Wealth for Your Children (Sarah Megginson, Pantera)
Released June 2026
Sarah Megginson’s How to Raise Rich Kids is a practical and reassuring guide for parents who want to give their children a strong financial future, regardless of their current income.... Read more
