Something He Did (SK Lynch, Ultimo Press)
Fiction
Released October 2026, reviewed by Tara Lee.
Thriller buffs will devour SK Lynch’s assured crime-fiction debut, Something He Did, a tightly plotted novel exploring how a single...
The Starving Bride (Catherine Chidgey, Penguin)
Fiction
Released October 2026, reviewed by Abe Theobald.
Catherine Chidgey’s latest novel, The Starving Bride, imagines a dystopian near-future England where extreme dieting becomes the stuff of literal...
50 Ways to Die in the Ocean (Eileen O’Hely, illustrated by Nico O’Sullivan, Hawkeye Publishing)
Graphic novel
Released October 2026, reviewed by Tony Doyle.
Eileen O’Hely and Nico O’Sullivan’s graphic novel 50 Ways to Die in the Ocean is a saltwater standalone sequel to...
The Unpronounceables (Balli Kaur Jaswal, Allen & Unwin Children’s)
Young adult
Released October 2026, reviewed by Joy Lawn.
Navkiranjhot (Navy) Ahloowalia, the protagonist of Balli Kaur Jaswal’s debut YA novel, The Unpronounceables, has Punjabi–Sikh heritage. She and her...
The Country Schoolmaster: A Mystery in 88 Letters (Kate Grenville, Black Inc.)
Nonfiction
Released October 2026, reviewed by Alex Durac.
Kate Grenville (The Secret River, Unsettled) returns to familiar ground in The Country Schoolmaster: A Mystery in 88 Letters, a...
The Lonely Generation: Why Our Kids Are in Crisis – and How We Can Fix It (Michelle Lim, Pantera Press)
Nonfiction
Released October 2026, reviewed by Megan Cheong.
The belief that loneliness primarily affects older people is one of the first myths associate professor Michelle Lim dispels in...
Armchair Bear (Gavin Bishop, Gecko Press)
Children’s picture book
Released October 2026, reviewed by Thuy On.
In Gavin Bishop’s Armchair Bear, Uncle Norman is happily settled in his comfy armchair, about to watch TV, when he...
Ordinary Funny Tragic (Bridie Jabour, HarperCollins)
Fiction
Released September 2026, reviewed by Joanne Shiells.
For readers who like rollicking rom-coms packed with quirky characters and family dynamics, Ordinary Funny Tragic delivers. In her second...
The Burn (Jessica Mansour-Nahra, Hachette)
Fiction
Released September 2026, reviewed by Jess Lomas.
How well do we ever really know the people closest to us? Jessica Mansour-Nahra poses this unsettling question in The...
Protector of Beyond 1 (Shara Curlett, Penguin)
Younger readers
Released September 2026, reviewed by Ananya Thirumalai.
Shara Curlett’s Protector of Beyond, the first instalment in a new middle-grade fantasy series, follows Elder, who leaves the walled...
Between Reading and Screens: Navigating Changes in Children’s Digital Lives (Sybil Nolan, Wonsun Shin, Katherine Day & Xin Pei, Melbourne University Press)
Nonfiction
Released September 2026, reviewed by Jess Lomas.
Parents, teachers, librarians and booksellers are all grappling with the same question: how do we encourage children to read in...
Our Dark Unravelling (Margot McGovern, Penguin)
Young adult
Released September 2026, reviewed by Anneliese Gates.
Our Dark Unravelling by Margot McGovern (This Stays Between Us, Neverland) is the story of two girls who don’t know...
Crimson in Quietus (Eugen Bacon, Meerkat Press)
Fiction
Released September 2026, reviewed by Stefen Brazulaitis.
Eugen Bacon’s Crimson in Quietus is a standalone science fiction novel set within the Sauútiverse, a shared fictional setting created...
Tail Not Included (Michael Debenham, Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
Younger readers
Released September 2026, reviewed by Karys McEwen.
Michael Debenham’s Tail Not Included is an original middle-grade adventure that combines humour, warmth and oceanic absurdity. When 12-year-old Becky...
Betsy and Bon (Simon Howe, University of Queensland Press)
Children’s picture book
Released September 2026, reviewed by Jess Lomas.
Simon Howe’s Betsy and Bon contains 3 delightful stories – “The Hive”, “The Good Idea” and “The Sunny Spot” –...
Fight for the Franklin (Jane Jolly, illustrated by Lois Bury, NLA Publishing)
Children’s picture book
Released September 2026, reviewed by Merril Darling.
In Fight for the Franklin by award-winning children’s author Jane Jolly (Captain Thunderbolt’s Recital) and illustrator Lois Bury, Grandpa recounts...
The Phantom Surrealist (Geoffrey Gates, Transit Lounge)
Fiction
Released September 2026, reviewed by Becca Whitehead.
Told through dual narratives, Geoffrey Gates’s The Phantom Surrealist follows present-day academic Christopher Tiffen and the fictional Australian surrealist artist...
Scran: Modern Scottish Food Inspired by Tradition (Ali Stoner, Mitchell Beazley)
Nonfiction
Released September 2026, reviewed by Jess Lomas.
For readers who think Scottish cuisine begins and ends with haggis, Scran: Modern Scottish Food Inspired by Tradition offers a...
Loneliness Is a Molecule (Helena Fox, Picador)
Fiction
Released September 2026, reviewed by Nikki Taylor.
Helena Fox is known for her powerful YA books, How It Feels to Float and The Quiet and the Loud....
Gone Guru (Nadine Browne, Fremantle Press)
Fiction
Released September 2026, reviewed by Hannah Cartmel.
Nadine Browne’s debut novel, Gone Guru, is a light-hearted and witty cosy mystery that brings together characters from different walks...
