Cass and the Beast (Claire Mabey, illus Jill Calder, Gecko Press)
Tuesday, 9 June 2026
In Claire Mabey’s Cass and the Beast, a young girl, Cass, fears the townsfolk more than the creature they call Beast. She empathises with the creature, offering bread to assuage...
Blue Giant (Jordan Prosser, University of Queensland Press)
Tuesday, 9 June 2026
A Danish tech billionaire announces he’s seeking volunteers for the first colony on Mars. Abby Horne, a 30-something woman in Melbourne, knows in her bones that it’s her destiny to...
Juicy: How to Live a Life in the Wreckage of Expectations (Sheree Joseph, Pantera Press)
Tuesday, 9 June 2026
In her debut memoir, Juicy: How to Live a Life in the Wreckage of Expectations, Lebanese Australian journalist and writer Sheree Joseph traces her 30s through grief, family, relationships and...
Bestsellers, media mentions, Junior Book Club and reviews
Friday, 5 June 2026
In the bestsellers charts this week, Yesteryear has made it to number one, though The Divorce is the highest new entry with only a half week of sales. Today we...
Books in the media this week
Friday, 5 June 2026
A round-up of books being reviewed and discussed in key media this week, updated as information becomes available. National The Bookshelf, ABC Radio National Land (Maggie O’Farrell, Tinder Press) A...
“Yesteryear” climbs to number one
Friday, 5 June 2026
Top 10 bestsellers Yesteryear (Caro Claire Burke, 4th Estate) The Deal (Elle Kennedy, Piatkus) (combined editions) The Divorce (Freida McFadden, Poisoned Pen Press) The Ballad of Falling Dragons (Sarah A...
Junior Book Club – this month’s reads
Friday, 5 June 2026
Searching for your next great read to share with kids? Our Junior Book Club highlights new titles each month that are perfect for classrooms, libraries and family reading time. From...
Sophie, Standing There (Meg Mason, 4th Estate)
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
Sophie, Standing There is the long-awaited new novel from Meg Mason (Sorrow and Bliss). Newly single 37-year-old sound technician Sophie Pattison is adjusting to life as an “unregarded” divorcee. Just...
Us in the Bright Lights (Zanni L Arnot, Lothian)
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
Zanni L Arnot returns with Us in the Bright Lights, a romantic adventure that builds on the promise of her YA debut, A Guide to Falling Off the Map. Arnot...
Dying Days (Anthony Byrt, Affirm Press)
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
Anthony Byrt’s debut novel, Dying Days, is a fast-paced, assured espionage novel that expertly weaves compelling fiction with real historical events. Set in Trieste in May 1945, in the immediate...
The Festival of Ice and Snow (Angie Cui, illus Anna Wilson, University of Queensland Press)
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
In The Festival of Ice and Snow, Angie Cui (My Mum Is a Bird) and illustrator Anna Wilson (A Taste of Home) transport readers aged 5 to 8 to the...
Theodora’s Tea Shop (Christy Anne Jones, Hachette)
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
Christy Anne Jones has brewed a bewitching concoction in Theodora’s Tea Shop, her first adult fantasy novel. Dot, a timid girl from a seaside town, strikes out for the capital...
Stuck in the Middle (Anton Clifford-Motopi, Allen & Unwin Children’s)
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
Anton Clifford-Motopi’s Stuck in the Middle is a lively, heartfelt comedy for readers aged 8 to 12, capturing the chaos and warmth of life in a big family. Leon, one...
A Bigger Book (Hannah Sommerville, Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
In A Bigger Book, Hannah Sommerville’s first solo picture book for readers aged 4 to 8, the author-illustrator captures the difficult transition some children experience when they move from picture...
Alice’s Dreaming (Tom Griffiths, Black Inc.)
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
Historian and author Tom Griffiths was 14 when he discovered Alice Duncan-Kemp’s Where Strange Paths Go Down at his school library. Detailing life in rural south-west Queensland at the turn...
Sarah A Parker everywhere
Friday, 29 May 2026
Sarah A Parker tops the bestsellers; and is featured across NewsCorp books pages this weekend; and we bring you our latest unlocked picture book reviews. Happy Friday, and thanks for...
Parker’s dragon romantasy debuts at number one
Friday, 29 May 2026
Top 10 bestsellers The Ballad of Falling Dragons (Sarah A Parker, HarperCollins) Fever Dream (Elsie Silver, Atria) The Deal (Elle Kennedy, Piatkus) (combined editions) Yesteryear (Caro Claire Burke, 4th Estate)...
Books in the media this week
Friday, 29 May 2026
A round-up of books being reviewed and discussed in key media this week, updated as information becomes available. National The Bookshelf, ABC Radio National My Year in Paris with Gertrude...
Funny Fairytales (Tim Harris, illus Christopher Nielsen, Penguin)
Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Funny Fairytales by Tim Harris, illustrated by Christopher Nielsen, sees the creator of the Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables series turn his trademark humour to fractured fairytales. He reworks 5 familiar stories...
Rat Daniels (Alex Sawyer, Hachette)
Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Rat Daniels, the debut novel by Alex Sawyer and winner of the 2023 Richell Prize, is a coming-of-age story of loyalty and friendship. Jimmy never quite belonged until he moved...
Parramatta: A Dictionary of Place and Memory (Yumna Kassab, Giramondo)
Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Written during her time as the inaugural Parramatta Laureate in Literature, Yumna Kassab (Politica, The Lovers) turns her eye to nonfiction with Parramatta: A Dictionary of Place and Memory, though...
Neighbours: Australia and the Pacific (Joanne Wallis & Jack Corbett, La Trobe)
Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Neighbours: Australia and the Pacific by Joanne Wallis (Girt by Sea) and Jack Corbett examines Australia’s relationship with the Pacific Islands, a region that may not be front of mind...
Tight Lines (Allee Richards, Summit)
Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Set in a small coastal town in regional Victoria, Allee Richards’s Tight Lines is a literary coming-of-age novel steeped in nostalgia and shaped by loss. On the cusp of adulthood,...
My Dad Makes the World Go Around and Around (Maddy Mara, illus Andrew Joyner, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 26 May 2026
My Dad Makes the World Go Around and Around by Maddy Mara – the pen name for Hilary Rogers and Meredith Badger – is an uplifting story celebrating all the...
“Yesteryear” climbs to number two
Friday, 22 May 2026
Top 10 bestsellers Three Reasons for Revenge (Dervla McTiernan, HarperCollins) Yesteryear (Caro Claire Burke, 4th Estate) The Daisy Chain Flower Shop (Laurie Gilmore, One More Chapter) Project Hail Mary (Andy...
A children’s picture book wins ABIA Book of the Year
Friday, 22 May 2026
A children’s picture book took out Book of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards in Sydney last night; tradwife novel Yesteryear shoots up the charts; this week’s media...
Books in the media this week
Friday, 22 May 2026
A round-up of books being reviewed and discussed in key media this week, updated as information becomes available. National Guardian Art Cure (Daisy Fancourt, Cornerstone) Caroline Aherne: Rebel in Disguise...
I Wrote My Own Eulogy: The Art of Appreciating Your Own Life (Bradley Dryburgh, S&S)
Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Bradley Dryburgh has done more than write his own eulogy: he has created a memento mori – a reminder of mortality – despite being one of the last people who...
Joey and the Junjardy (Allison Rocca, illus Brenton E McKenna, UQP)
Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Wakka Wakka and Kaanju author Allison Rocca’s debut middle-grade novel, Joey and the Junjardy, is a fast-moving, vibrant comedy-drama. Joey is an 11-year-old, well-meaning yet misjudged prankster who has just...
Lovesick (Lillian Telford, HQ Fiction)
Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Lillian Telford’s debut novel, Lovesick, explores love, obsession, abandonment, addiction and heartbreak, exposing the emotional fractures of characters shaped by trauma. When the lives of two lonely young people collide...
