When Sleeping Women Wake (Emma Pei Yin, Hachette)
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Expansive yet tightly plotted, When Sleeping Women Wake is a deeply empathetic novel that examines the devastation of war. Set in 1940s Hong Kong, it traces the city’s transformation from...
Who Might You Be? (Robert Henderson, A&U Children’s)
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Inspired by the popular tangram puzzle, Who Might You Be? is a unique picture book that celebrates the power of transformation. Robert Henderson (I See, I See) has created a...
We Saw What You Started (Carla Salmon, Pan Australia)
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Carla Salmon’s debut novel, We Saw What You Started, is set in Red Sands, a classic Australian coastal town with a ‘barefoot and boardshorts’ summer holiday vibe, where Instagram-worthy scenery...
The Silken Thread (Gabrielle Wang, Penguin)
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
When 12-year-old Moonie’s Ma Mi leaves home, an apparition of a boy, Little Dipper, appears. Moonie regularly sees three ghost siblings in her 1930s Carlton house, so she is unfazed...
The Frog’s First Song (Jazz Money, illus Jason Phu, UQP)
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Award-winning Wiradjuri poet Jazz Money (how to make a basket, mark the dawn) and three-time Archibald Prize finalist illustrator Jason Phu have come together to create an uplifting, joyous tale...
Eden (Mark Brandi, Hachette)
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Mark Brandi has established himself as a master of gritty yet lyrical thrillers that appeal to connoisseurs of Australian crime fiction since his explosive 2017 debut, Wimmera, which won him...
A Forbidden Alchemy (Stacey McEwan, S&S)
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
A Forbidden Alchemy is an enthralling romantasy that blends magic, politics and passion in a world on the brink of revolution. It follows a talented dreamer, a quick-witted loyalist, and...
The Pearl of Tagai Town (Lenora Thaker, Text)
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Lenora Thaker’s debut novel, The Pearl of Tagai Town, is a fast-paced story that follows Pearl, a young Torres Strait Islander descendant, growing up in a northeastern Australian shantytown in the...
The Revisionists (Michelle Johnston, Fourth Estate)
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Michelle Johnston’s third novel, The Revisionist, is a beautifully crafted story that follows the journey of Christine Campbell, a young woman with strong beliefs and misguided ambitions. Christine goes to great lengths...
Moonlight and Dust (Jasmin McGaughey, A&U Children’s)
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Jasmin McGaughey’s debut YA fantasy Moonlight and Dust is set in Cairns and follows 16-year-old Zillah, a responsible Torres Strait Islander who always thinks before she acts – unlike her...
The Big Fix (Albert Palazzo, Melbourne University Publishing)
Tuesday, 6 May 2025
In a hostile world, does Australia’s only path to national security require it to remain subservient to a global power? Generations of political leaders have said yes. Albert Palazzo puts...
Your Friend and Mine (Jessica Dettmann, Atlantic)
Tuesday, 6 May 2025
Margot is a middle-aged, married mother of one who runs a busy restaurant in Balmain with her husband. Life is full, but not necessarily fulfilling – she’s growing weary of...
Danger Road (A L Tait, Scholastic)
Tuesday, 6 May 2025
In Danger Road, seasoned middle-grade author A L Tait has created a compelling standalone mystery about a cold case, small-town secrets, and the difficulties surrounding sibling dynamics. Set in a quiet...
George Goes to the Farm (Sinead Saint, Wild Dog)
Tuesday, 6 May 2025
Playful and charming, George Goes to the Farm marks the debut of writer-illustrator Sinead Saint. Based on Saint’s own 11-year-old Groodle, the story follows George, a city dog who spends...
The Occupation (Chloe Adams, Penguin)
Tuesday, 6 May 2025
Chloe Adams’ debut, The Occupation, brings to life the constraints placed on Australian women in the aftermath of the Second World War. The story follows Mary as she travels to...
The Haunting of Mr and Mrs Stevenson (Belinda Lyons-Lee, Transit Lounge)
Tuesday, 6 May 2025
Ghosts from the past awaken strange obsessions in Belinda Lyons-Lee’s second novel, The Haunting of Mr and Mrs Stevenson, a gothic retelling of the stranger-than-fiction history of Robert Louis Stevenson's...
Cloudmaker (Helen Milroy, Magabala)
Tuesday, 6 May 2025
Acclaimed author-illustrator Helen Milroy, a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia, returns with a creation story in her distinctive style, as seen in Sunny...
Salvage (Jennifer Mills, Picador)
Tuesday, 29 April 2025
In Salvage, Jennifer Mills (The Airways, Dyschronia) weaves a haunting, speculative tale of two sisters navigating the fallout of a fractured world. Jude, rootless and always on the move, once...
Fault Lines: Australia’s Unequal Past (ed by Seumas Spark & Christina Twomey, Monash University Publishing)
Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Fault Lines: Australia’s Unequal Past is a powerful essay collection that invites readers to engage with past and ongoing injustices embedded in Australia’s national story. Edited by Seumas Spark and...
A Lemon for Safiya (Jemima Shafei-Ongu, illus Nisaluk Chantanakom, Lothian)
Tuesday, 29 April 2025
A Lemon for Safiya is a gentle and respectful story about a family’s compassionate response to a disoriented older woman whose ‘eyes held a sadness as deep as the ocean’....
Lady’s Knight (Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner, A&U Children’s)
Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner’s latest novel, Lady’s Knight, is a tantalising forbidden love story for the ages. Gwen has spent years manning the village blacksmith under the guise of...
Wait Here (Lucy Nelson, S&S)
Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Lucy Nelson’s debut short story collection, Wait Here, is a striking reflection on women’s lives in all their beautiful complexity. Through narratives of varying lengths, Nelson deftly incorporates many perspectives...
The Bookshop on Lemon Tree Lane (Mike Lucas, illus Sofya Karmazina, Little Hare)
Tuesday, 29 April 2025
The Bookshop on Lemon Tree Lane by Mike Lucas (What We All Saw, Let’s Build a Backyard) is a charming story about the comfort of familiar places and the emotions...
An Academic Affair (Jodi McAlister, S&S)
Tuesday, 22 April 2025
Jodi McAlister, who has previously written for young adults, made her adult rom-com debut with the Marry Me, Juliet trilogy. Continuing in this genre, An Academic Affair introduces us to...
A Beautiful Family (Jennifer Trevelyan, A&U)
Tuesday, 22 April 2025
The narrator of Jennifer Trevelyan’s debut, A Beautiful Family, is 10-year-old Alix, a likeable and perceptive child. When her family arrive at their summer holiday house, she and her new friend Kahu...
The Secret Year of Zara Holt (Kimberley Freeman, Hachette)
Tuesday, 22 April 2025
The Secret Year of Zara Holt is a compelling novel inspired by the real-life story of Dame Zara Bate, wife of former Australian prime minister Harold Holt. While many know...
Foreign Country (Marija Peričić, Ultimo)
Tuesday, 22 April 2025
In Marija Peričić’s lyrical and haunting third novel, the foreign country is the site of dislocation and alienation wrought by migration, grief and trauma. Croatian-Australian nurse Eva, who resides in...
Gone (Michel Streich, T&H)
Tuesday, 22 April 2025
Writer and illustrator Michel Streich tackles the sensitive subject of loss and the mysteries surrounding death in his accessible and poignant picture book, Gone. The story centres on a child who...
Golden (Jade Timms, Text)
Tuesday, 22 April 2025
Jade Timms’s affecting debut novel, Golden, shortlisted for the 2023 Text Prize, is a charming book about friendship, first love, and reclaiming happiness after a devastating trauma. Seventeen-year-old Eddie’s cheerful...
The Pull of the Moon (Pip Smith, UWAP)
Tuesday, 15 April 2025
In this bold, brave and boundary-pushing young adult novel, author Pip Smith (Half Wild) draws on her experience teaching asylum seekers and years of research to explore complex social themes....
