Blueberries (Ellena Savage, Text)
15 October 2019
Ellena Savage’s debut collection of essays, Blueberries, is a breathtaking interrogation of the self in the world; the self within structures of power and oppression. Each essay examines a memory,...
The Medicine: A doctor’s notes (Karen Hitchcock, Black Inc.)
15 October 2019
When discussing modern medicine there is a lot to consider. There are the complexities of the doctor/patient relationship. The wellbeing of doctors. How responsible treatment and the law sometimes intersect...
Ten Doors Down: The story of an extraordinary adoption reunion (Robert Tickner, Scribe)
15 October 2019
As the rolling apologies for forced adoptions swept Australia in 2012 and 2013, it was too late for Robert Tickner’s mother—she had died, taking her secrets to the grave. But...
Contest for the Indo-Pacific: Why China won’t map the future (La Trobe University Publishing, Chris Saliba)
15 October 2019
How does the world balance China’s emergence as a global superpower? What are the risks ahead? How do nation states dilute China’s hegemony and avoid capitulation to its interests? These...
Shirl (Wayne Marshall, Affirm)
15 October 2019
Wayne Marshall’s Shirl is a collection of bizarre, consistently funny stories that delights in dismantling the tropes of Australiana. From the adventures of a bereaved yowie at a Desperate and...
Cherry Beach (Laura McPhee-Browne, Text)
15 October 2019
When best friends Ness and Hetty move to Canada together, it seems as though a new phase of their lives is beginning—but their shared past won’t relinquish its grip so...
Return Ticket (Jon Doust, Fremantle Press)
15 October 2019
Jon Doust has now devoted three books to wilful, semi-autobiographical protagonist Jack Muir. While 2009’s Boy on a Wire and 2012’s To the Highlands saw Jack fumbling towards manhood, Return...
Bird (Adam Morris, Puncher & Wattmann)
15 October 2019
A novel told from multiple viewpoints, Bird examines the Western Australian prison system via the cultural and social constructs that prop it up, while also exploring Indigenous and non-Indigenous identity....
In the Clearing (J P Pomare, Hachette)
15 October 2019
If J P Pomare’s Call Me Evie was a slow-burner of a psychological thriller, his follow-up, In the Clearing, is a pared-back firecracker where the danger is clear and present—even...
Fauna (Donna Mazza, A&U)
15 October 2019
Donna Mazza’s Fauna is set in a near-future Western Australia, recognisable but markedly bleaker. Stacey and her family have signed up to an experimental research procedure in which Stacey’s embryo’s...
The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants (Philip Bunting, Scholastic)
15 October 2019
Ants. What exactly do these tiny, easily overlooked creatures have to teach us? Quite a bit, according to Philip Bunting, whose picture book is funny and informative as he goes...
Extraordinary! (Penny Harrison, illus by Katie Wilson, New Frontier)
15 October 2019
What a magical book this is! In Extraordinary! Penny Harrison, author of Emily Green’s Garden and Dance With Me, and New Zealand-based illustrator Katie Wilson take the reader on a...
The Threads of Magic (Alison Croggon, Walker)
15 October 2019
This first foray by Alison Croggon—best known for her ‘Pellinor’ fantasy series—into middle-grade is a sophisticated story of power, friendship and magic. The city of Clavel is in a medieval-style...
Ready, Set, Code! (Heather Catchpole & Nicola O’Brien, CSIRO Publishing)
15 October 2019
Ready, Set, Code! teaches computer programming skills to kids aged 8–12 using the open source Scratch language created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This book presents introductory programming concepts...
The Secrets of Magnolia Moon (Edwina Wyatt, illus by Katherine Quinn, Walker)
3 October 2019
The Secrets of Magnolia Moon is the first middle-grade novel from Edwina Wyatt, who has been twice listed as a CBCA notable author for her work in picture books. Magnolia...
No Place for an Octopus (Claire Zorn, UQP)
3 October 2019
This is Claire Zorn’s first picture book and it comes as rather a surprise—she is well known as an author of novels for young adults, for which she has won...
Paddy T and the Time-travelling Trampoline (Adam France, illus by Zahra Zainal, A&U)
3 October 2019
Paddy’s just an average 12-year-old. He lives with his mum and dad, his older sister Nina, brother Troy and baby sister Bella. His best mate at school is Marty. He’s...
I See, I See (R Henderson, A&U)
3 October 2019
This extremely clever book will be loved by kids, who will want to turn it upside down to read it again as soon as they finish it—and it will be...
Three (Stephen Michael King, Scholastic)
3 October 2019
Stephen Michael King is an accomplished picture book writer and illustrator, with award-winning books such as Rainbow Bear, Mutt Dog! and Leaf just a selection of his publications. This book...
Antarctica (Moira Court, Fremantle Press)
3 October 2019
This picture book by artist and author Moira Court has a distinctive visual style that makes it stand out from other books for readers aged three to five. Exploring the...
Nop (Caroline Magerl, Walker)
3 October 2019
Nop is a teddy bear who is ‘not plush in places’. He waits patiently to be bought from Oddmint’s Dumporeum, a magical sort of toy shop, but to no avail....
True West (David Whish-Wilson, Fremantle Press)
26 September 2019
Opening on a Western Australian freeway in 1988, True West immediately introduces Lee Southern, a teenager on the run from the militaristic bikie gang in which he grew up. Such...
Nothing New: A history of second-hand (Robyn Annear, Text)
26 September 2019
Opportunity shops—or op shops, as they’re lovingly referred to—are a well-established and much-loved feature of the Aussie retail landscape. In this entertaining and insightful history, Robyn Annear looks at where...
Peace (Garry Disher, Text)
26 September 2019
In Peace, Garry Disher returns to the rural South Australian town of Tiverton and to the hero of his 2013 novel Bitter Wash Road, Constable Paul ‘Hirsch’ Hirschhausen. Hirsch has...
Fascists Among Us: Online hate and the Christchurch massacre (Jeff Sparrow, Scribe)
26 September 2019
In the wake of the Christchurch massacre, Jeff Sparrow turns his eye to the recent rise of far-right violence. Fascists Among Us traces the history of fascism and seeks to...
The Great Divide (L J M Owen, Echo)
26 September 2019
In her fourth novel, L J M Owen, author of the ‘Dr Pimms, Intermillenial Sleuth’ series, gives us Australian rural crime at its most atmospheric: mist-shrouded streets, ruined vineyards, an...
Maurice Blackburn: Champion of the people (David Day, Scribe)
26 September 2019
Maurice Blackburn (1880–1944) was an influential member of the Australian Labor Party and a barrister, specialising in cases defending socialist causes. He held seats at both the state and federal...
The Bee and the Orange Tree (Melissa Ashley, Affirm)
26 September 2019
The Bee and the Orange Tree is Melissa Ashley's second historical novel. Set in the literary salons of 17th-century Paris, it follows the lives of three women: Marie Catherine d'Aulnoy, a...
The Tiny Star (Mem Fox, illus by Freya Blackwood, Puffin)
5 September 2019
Individually, a new book by either Mem Fox or Freya Blackwood, both award-winners and bestselling children’s book creators, would be welcomed by their readers. This book combines the two, with...
Invisible Boys (Holden Sheppard, Fremantle Press)
5 September 2019
In the coastal town of Geraldton, several young men struggle with the restrictions placed on them by culture, parental expectations and peer pressure. With the threat of violence a constant,...
