Cure (Katherine Brabon, Ultimo)
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Katherine Brabon’s Cure is a natural extension and companion to her novel Body Friend; both are introspective literary works centred on women living with autoimmune diseases – conditions Brabon herself...
Deep History: Country and Sovereignty (ed by Ann McGrath & Jackie Huggins, UNSW Press)
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Deep History: Country and Sovereignty is a layered and collaborative work that challenges dominant narratives and asks whose voices are heard in telling history. Edited by Jackie Huggins, a Bidjara...
Be a good girl, Valerie (Marcia van Zeller, Ventura Press)
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Be a good girl, Valerie by Marcia van Zeller is a quietly absorbing novel set predominantly in 2018 Perth with flashbacks to 1974 Toronto and 1978 London. It explores enduring...
Dead Ends (Samantha Byres, UQP)
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Is closure possible, or is it just a convenient fiction? This is the central question explored in Dead Ends, the meditative debut novel by Aotearoa New Zealand–born Naarm/Melbourne-based writer Samantha...
NSS 2025 book The Truck Cat back in top 10
Friday, 23 May 2025
Top 10 bestsellers The Let Them Theory (Mel Robbins & Sawyer Robbins, Hay House) Cozy Corner (Coco Wyo, Penguin) Cozy Cuties (Coco Wyo, Penguin) The Unquiet Grave (Dervla McTiernan, HarperCollins)...
Books in the media this weekend, 24–25 May
Friday, 23 May 2025
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend. National The Saturday Paper The Book of Guilt (Catherine Chidgey, Penguin) The Shortest History of...
Love Overdue (Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus, A&U)
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Love Overdue, the new novel by Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus (Fancy Meeting You Here), is an uneven but ultimately charming contemporary romance for readers who enjoy Jodi McAlister (An...
What Kept You? (Raaza Jamshed, Giramondo)
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Raaza Jamshed’s debut novel, What Kept You?, is a dazzling, poignant tale of defiance and metamorphosis in an ever-changing world. Whipping between the past and present, we first meet Jahan...
Modern Australian Baking (Christopher Thé, Hardie Grant)
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Christopher Thé’s Modern Australian Baking is visually arresting, thoughtfully structured and creatively ambitious. Best known as the founder of Black Star Pastry and creator of the viral Strawberry Watermelon Cake,...
Edie Tells a Lie (Ingrid Laguna, Text)
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Ingrid Laguna’s Edie Tells a Lie is a gentle story of friendship and family. After the loss of her father, Edie mourns the large family she wishes she had. Edie’s...
Nock Loose (Patrick Marlborough, Fremantle)
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Patrick Marlborough’s Nock Loose is a wryly postmodern and cynically satirical novel that hits the ground running and never lets up. Marlborough scorns the ‘dire humourlessness’ of Australian literature in...
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...
Books in the media this weekend, 17–18 May
Friday, 16 May 2025
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend. National The Saturday Paper Little World (Josephine Rowe, Black Inc.) The Nights are Quiet in...
McTiernan remains top Aussie book; Burr enters the charts
Friday, 16 May 2025
Top 10 bestsellers The Let Them Theory (Mel Robbins & Sawyer Robbins, Hay House) The Unquiet Grave (Dervla McTiernan, HarperCollins) RecipeTin Eats: Tonight (Nagi Maehashi, Macmillan) Sunrise on the Reaping...
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...
Books in the media this weekend, 10–11 May
Friday, 9 May 2025
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend. This week's round-up will be updated as information becomes available. National The Saturday Paper The...
McTiernan debuts in fourth place, takes Australian number one
Friday, 9 May 2025
Top 10 bestsellers The Let Them Theory (Mel Robbins & Sawyer Robbins, Hay House) Sunrise on the Reaping (Suzanne Collins, Scholastic) King of Envy (Ana Huang, Piatkus) The Unquiet Grave...
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...
