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Friday newsletter >

Tenderfoot (Toni Jordan, Hachette) 

Tuesday, 1 July 2025
In Tenderfoot, Toni Jordan returns to the literary style of her earlier novels, Addition and The Fragments, shifting away from the light tones and commercial narratives found within more recent...

Books in the media this weekend, 28–29 June 

The cover of 'Joss: A history' by Grace Yee. Friday, 27 June 2025
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend.  National The Saturday Paper  Australian House: The Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture since 1981...

News Cowboys (Mike Amor, Echo) 

Tuesday, 24 June 2025
In News Cowboys, veteran Australian foreign correspondent Mike Amor shares stories from a decades-long career covering some of the biggest news events of the 21st century. From the 9/11 terrorist...

Hailstones Fell without Rain (Natalia Figueroa Barroso, UQP) 

Tuesday, 24 June 2025
Hailstones Fell without Rain is a rich, multi-generational debut that spans two continents and three generations, exploring memory, identity and the quiet revolutions of everyday women. In this semi-autobiographical familial story...

The Set-Up Girl (Sasha Vey, A&U Children’s) 

Tuesday, 24 June 2025
The Set-Up Girl is a rollercoaster of awkward crushes and friendships set against the warmth and chaos of a tight-knit family and the bittersweet final year of high school. Amalia...

Books in the media this weekend, 20–21 June 

Friday, 20 June 2025
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend. National The Saturday Paper King of Dirt (Holden Sheppard, Pantera Press) The Life, Old Age,...

The Locked Room (Adam Cece, PRH) 

Tuesday, 17 June 2025
Adam Cece’s The Locked Room is built on an excellent premise: four teenagers trapped in an escape room must solve a series of puzzles – each on a one-hour countdown...

The Eagle and the Crow (JM Field, UQP) 

Tuesday, 17 June 2025
The Eagle and the Crow is a work of many layers – lyrical, intellectual and political – all grounded in Gamilaraay knowledge and resistance. JM Field (Etta and the Shadow...

Starry Eyed (Katharine Pollock, Wakefield Press) 

Tuesday, 17 June 2025
Katharine Pollock’s Starry Eyed is delightfully hard to categorise, combining romantic comedy and science fiction elements and loosely held together by a fan fiction narrative. Fundamentally, it’s a touching story...

The Wicked Ship (Oceanforged #1) (Amelia Mellor, Affirm) 

Tuesday, 17 June 2025
Amelia Mellor follows The Grandest Bookshop series, her bestselling, award-winning historical fantasy trilogy, with the new swashbuckling Oceanforged series for readers aged 8–10. The Wicked Ship is the first of...

Book Club – this month’s reads

Friday, 13 June 2025
Looking for your next great group read? Our monthly Book Club rounds up new release titles that are perfect for sparking conversation and perhaps even some debate. From compelling fiction...

Books in the media this weekend, 14–15 June 

Inconvenient Women cover Friday, 13 June 2025
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend.  National The Saturday Paper The Death of Stalin (Sheila Fitzpatrick, Black Inc.) Inconvenient Women (Jacqueline Kent,...

Stillwater (Tanya Scott, A&U) 

Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Tanya Scott’s debut, Stillwater, masterfully weaves together the past and present in a suspenseful, emotionally charged crime thriller. Luke Harris returns to his hometown of Melbourne seeking a 'normal life'...

In Spite of You (Patrick Lenton, Pantera) 

Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Genuinely funny and smartly observed, In Spite of You channels the charm of classic rom-coms – idealistic and entertaining – but adds a fresh twist with a plot driven by...

Run (Sarah Armstrong, HGCP) 

Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Sarah Armstrong’s latest middle-grade novel, Run, is a fast-paced survival tale that explores themes of trust, resilience and complicated families. It follows Armstrong’s previous titles for younger readers, Big Magic and Magic Awry, and her...

Plastic Budgie (Olivia De Zilva, Pink Shorts Press) 

Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Olivia De Zilva’s autofiction debut Plastic Budgie is a sharply funny, sad and sentimental reflection on the people, places and cultural forces that shape us as we grow up. In the novel,...