No Hiding from the Woman in the Moon (Bruce Pascoe, Magabala)
Poetry
Released May 2026, reviewed by Ananya Thirumalai.
Bruce Pascoe’s No Hiding from the Woman in the Moon is a quiet, contemplative collection that looks upward to the...
Periodic Bitch (Emma Hardy, A&U)
Nonfiction
Released May 2026, reviewed by Jess Lomas.
In Periodic Bitch, Emma Hardy delivers a memoir that is both intellectually rigorous and literary in style, interrogating the cultural construction...
The Fast Lane (Pip Harry, illus Katrin Dreiling, Larrikin)
Children’s picture book
Released May 2026, reviewed by Bohdi Byles.
The Fast Lane by Pip Harry (August & Jones, Because of You) is a lively and funny story about Daisy,...
Tearing Myself Together (Anna Whateley, A&U Children’s)
Young adult
Released May 2026, reviewed by Ilona Urquhart.
Anna Whateley’s raw, authentic representations of neurodivergent young women in Tearing Myself Together offer the kind of windows and mirrors...
The Enigmatic Echidna: Secrets of the World’s Most Curious Creature (Danielle Clode, Black Inc.)
Nonfiction
Released May 2026, reviewed by Ellie Pope.
In The Enigmatic Echidna: Secrets of the World’s Most Curious Creature, biologist and award-winning author Danielle Clode (Koala: A Life...
Capture (Amanda Lohrey, Text)
Fiction
Released May 2026, reviewed by Anica Boulanger-Mashberg.
In Amanda Lohrey’s Capture, ageing psychiatrist James Mather is commissioned to research psychological explanations for alien capture experiences. His interviews...
The Greatest Goal in the Galaxy (Uranus FC #1) (Mick Elliott, Scholastic)
Graphic novel
Released May 2026, reviewed by George Banach-Salas.
The Greatest Goal in the Galaxy is a fun start to a new series, with author and illustrator Mick Elliott...
Silvia (Maya Caruso, Echo)
Fiction
Released May 2026, reviewed by Nadia Heisler.
Midlife awakening lies at the heart of Maya Caruso’s impressive debut novel, Silvia. This character-driven novel follows 42-year-old Silvia, a...
A Little Unwell (Kerry Jewell, Hachette)
Fiction
Released May 2026, reviewed by Shannon Grey.
Kerry Jewell’s debut novel, A Little Unwell, is a candid medical drama that draws back the privacy curtain on the...
Once Upon Tomorrow (Karen Comer, Lothian)
Young adult
Released May 2026, reviewed by Clare Millar.
Once Upon Tomorrow is a complex young adult verse novel by CBCA-winning author Karen Comer (Grace Notes). The novel weaves...
The Ruiners (Ellena Savage, Summit)
Fiction
Released May 2026, reviewed by Ellie Fisher.
Ellena Savage’s debut novel, The Ruiners, introduces a narrator suspended between self-awareness and self-sabotage: a 29-year-old waitress, working at casino-adjacent...
The Prime Minister Problem (Brenton Cullen, Riveted)
Younger readers
Released May 2026, reviewed by Sophie Helfgott.
Brenton Cullen’s debut middle-grade novel, The Prime Minister Problem, is a tender story about loneliness and community, an ode to...
Women Who Win: Celebrating Courage, Conviction and Change (Antoinette Lattouf, Penguin)
Nonfiction
Released May 2026, reviewed by Eman Mourad.
Before “Lattoufed” entered the lexicon as shorthand for an unjust dismissal, Antoinette Lattouf (How to Lose Friends and Influence White...
Margaret, Are You Leaving? (Dianne Yarwood, Hachette)
Fiction
Released May 2026, reviewed by Lisa Schuurman.
Following her much-loved debut, The Wakes, Dianne Yarwood’s latest novel, Margaret, Are You Leaving?, is a contemplative exploration of mother–daughter relationships,...
Drawing Nudes While Making Other Plans (Zoe Gaetjens, Penguin)
Young adult
Released May 2026, reviewed by Andrea Kress.
Zoe Gaetjens’s Drawing Nudes While Making Other Plans is a tender, thoughtful young adult novel about self-discovery, first love and...
Mantle (Romy Ash, Ultimo)
Fiction
Released May 2026, reviewed by Ananya Thirumalai.
Romy Ash’s Mantle is a novel that settles slowly and irrevocably, like sediment. Set on a windswept Tasmanian coastline, it...
Edith: The Girl Who Was 100 Years Old (Catharina Valckx, trans Antony Shugaar, Gecko)
Younger readers
Released May 2026, reviewed by Sophie Pusz.
In Edith: The Girl Who Was 100 Years Old, French author and illustrator Catharina Valckx tells the bittersweet story of...
Bella Grows a Bicycle (Lellie Lopter, illus Chiara Franceschetti, Five Mile)
Children’s picture book
Released May 2026, reviewed by Nikki Taylor.
In Bella Grows a Bicycle, Lellie Lopter delivers a warm and imaginative picture book about creativity, sustainability and problem-solving. Bella...
The Northern Tomb (Isabelle Li, Puncher & Wattman)
Fiction
Released May 2026, reviewed by Emma Pei Yin.
Isabelle Li’s The Northern Tomb is a quietly powerful, deeply human novel that unfolds in 4 parts, blending personal stories...
The Thornbacks (Chloe Wilson, Hamish Hamilton)
Fiction
Released May 2026, reviewed by Kate Dunphy.
Chloe Wilson’s debut novel, The Thornbacks, follows stepsisters Gertie and Tabitha: a pair of morticians who – apart from a...
