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WBN advance reviews >

De’Ath Takes a Holiday (Shaun Micallef, Ultimo) 

The cover of "De’Ath Takes a Holiday" by Shaun Micallef. Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Best known for his steady stream of diverse television series, comedian Shaun Micallef has shown a similar level of variety in his print work. As an author, he has children’s...

The Paradise Pact (Anita Heiss, S&S) 

The cover of "The Paradise Pact" by Anita Heiss. Tuesday, 10 February 2026
The Paradise Pact by Anita Heiss (Dirrayawadha) is not a romance novel, but it is a love letter to friendships, self-discovery and life’s capacity to surprise you. The novel centres...

The Escape Game (Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss, Penguin) 

Tuesday, 10 February 2026
The Escape Game is the new, immediately captivating YA mystery by Marissa Meyer (Cinder, Renegades) and Tamara Moss (Lintang and the Pirate Queen), set in the world of reality television, where...

The Endling (Keely Jobe, Scribe) 

Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Keely Jobe’s debut novel, The Endling, tells an enthralling story of an isolated feminist collective hidden on a mountain in the Australian bush where all the women mysteriously fall pregnant...

Life and Breath: Stories (Ursula Dubosarsky, Christmas Press) 

Tuesday, 3 February 2026
Life and Breath: Stories brings together 13 short stories by Ursula Dubosarsky, offering a delightful showcase of her distinctive ability to inhabit the shifting borderlands between memory, imagination and self-discovery. Though...

What Rhymes with Murder? (Penny Tangey, Summit) 

Tuesday, 3 February 2026
Penny Tangey’s debut cosy crime novel, What Rhymes With Murder?, is set within a charming, close-knit Melbourne community filled with nosy neighbours and a local café. The story follows new mother...

Bound (Samantha WL Lee, WestWords) 

Tuesday, 3 February 2026
In Bound, Samantha WL Lee traces 3 generations of women across a century and 4 countries, bound by tradition, family and the pursuit of freedom. The novel opens in China...

Life Drawing (Emily Lighezzolo, UQP) 

The cover of "Life Drawing" by Emiliy Lighezzolo. Tuesday, 3 February 2026
Emily Lighezzolo’s debut novel, Life Drawing, is an intimate literary romance that explores desire, body image, mental health, art and love. The novel switches between the perspectives of artists Charlie and...

The Minstrels (Eva Hornung, Text) 

The cover of "The Minstrels" by Eva Hornung. Tuesday, 3 February 2026
A beautiful yet distressing work of rural fiction, The Minstrels by Eva Hornung (The Last Garden; Dog Boy) draws together the epic moral scope of John Steinbeck, the dystopian unease...

Bring Back Yesterday (Bob Carr, A&U) 

The cover of "Bring Back Yesterday" by Bob Carr. Tuesday, 27 January 2026
In Bring Back Yesterday, journalist and former politician Bob Carr reflects on the sudden death of his wife, Helena, and the life they shared over 5 decades. The memoir records...

Forever & Ever (Allanah Hunt, Text) 

Forever&Ever Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Forever & Ever is Barkindji and Malyangapa author Allanah Hunt’s debut novel and a devastating exploration of first love, loss and the perilous work of growing up. Set in the...

Finding the Bones (Natalie Conyer, Echo) 

Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Finding the Bones by Ned Kelly Award–winning author Natalie Conyer is a gritty, slow-burn Australian crime thriller that exposes the fine line between belief and obsession – and the lengths...

The Last Poem (Courtney Peppernell, Atria) 

Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Courtney Peppernell’s The Last Poem is a tender, modern work of fiction infused with poetic sensibility, echoing the emotional gentleness of writers such as Robyn Carr. With a slow, deliberate...