Gunpowder Creek (Alex Dook, Echo)
Tuesday, 22 July 2025
Alex Dook’s debut novel, Gunpowder Creek, explores the question of how far a parent would go to save their child. Emily is a single mother whose teenage son, Zach, is...
Train of Thought (Jess Horn, illus Hayley Wells, Bright Light)
Tuesday, 22 July 2025
Concentrating can be hard, especially when you have an active imagination! Jess Horn’s Train of Thought is a whimsical and beautifully illustrated picture book that explores a common problem with...
Renegade Timeline Officer (Harper Wells #1) (Bethany Loveridge, Wombat)
Tuesday, 22 July 2025
Harper Wells: Renegade Timeline Officer, the first book in the Wollemi trilogy by Bethany Loveridge, introduces a reluctant young time traveller thrust into a world of missing persons, mysterious portals...
Desolation (Hossein Asgari, Ultimo)
Tuesday, 22 July 2025
Desolation, the latest novel from Miles Franklin–shortlisted author Hossein Asgari (Only Sound Remains), is a taut and haunting exploration of trauma, memory and meaning. It traces the psychological unravelling of...
Once I Was a Giant (Zeno Sworder, T&H)
Tuesday, 22 July 2025
Zeno Sworder’s Once I Was a Giant is a poetic and richly drawn picture book about memory, connection and renewal. In a dim apartment, a ‘picture-book maker’ has run out...
Promises and Other Lies (Sue Whiting, Walker Books)
Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Set one year after a devastating bushfire, Sue Whiting’s Promises and Other Lies is a compelling middle-grade novel that explores the lingering impact of disaster on a close-knit coastal community....
Black River (Ruby Jean Cottle, Atria Australia)
Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Ruby Jean Cottle’s debut, Black River, is a strong addition to the young adult paranormal romance genre. Dusty is a 17-year-old introvert who finds comfort in books and nature. After a...
Going for Pippies (Wilaaran Hunter Laurie, illus Tori-Jay Mordey, Magabala)
Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Going for Pippies is a joyful celebration of First Nations culture created by debut Yaegl author Wilaaran Hunter Laurie and established Torres Strait Islander illustrator Tori-Jay Mordey (Our Flag, Our...
Role Model (Samantha Harris & Myrna Davison, Murdoch)
Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Role Model: Taking up space in the fashion world is an inspiring and deeply personal memoir by model Samantha Harris and her mother, Myrna Davison. Blending fashion, family and First...
Discipline (Randa Abdel-Fattah, UQP)
Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Discipline asks urgent questions about who gets to speak, who stays silent and what we owe our communities. Randa Abdel-Fattah (Does My Head Look Big in This?) chronicles the experiences...
Slashed Beauties (A Rushby, HQ Fiction)
Tuesday, 8 July 2025
Slashed Beauties is a lush historical fantasy and an adult debut by A Rushby (The Wish Sisters, The Ghost Locket). The novel is by turns macabre and emotional but always...
Sing to Me (Jelena Curic, WestWords)
Tuesday, 8 July 2025
Jelena Curic’s debut novel Sing to Me follows drinking, smoking and womanising anti-hero Pero Petrović on a reluctant hero’s journey to confront family secrets, betrayal and the legacy of his war-torn...
Cannon (Lee Lai, Giramondo)
Tuesday, 8 July 2025
In Lee Lai’s latest graphic novel Cannon, a young chef struggles to navigate the stresses of her late twenties while burdened by family obligations and a chaotic workplace. Central to...
A Guide to Falling Off the Map (Zanni L Arnot, Lothian)
Tuesday, 8 July 2025
A Guide to Falling Off the Map is the absorbing YA debut from Zanni L Arnot, who has previously published books for younger children under the name Zanni Louise (Hazel’s...
58 Facets: On law, violence and revolution (Marika Sosnowski, MUP)
Tuesday, 8 July 2025
‘This is a strange book,’ Marika Sosnowski writes in the acknowledgements of 58 Facets, and she isn’t wrong. Part poetic inquiry, part legal ethnography and part dreamscape of inherited trauma,...
The Making of Martha Mayfield (Jo Dabrowski, Affirm)
Tuesday, 8 July 2025
In The Making of Martha Mayfield, Jo Dabrowski (Get Your Act Together Doris Kozlowski) tells the story of 11-year-old Martha and her quest to overcome her shyness ahead of the...
Whispers and Roars (Patrick Guest, illus Jonathan Bentley, Little Book Press)
Tuesday, 1 July 2025
Whispers and Roars reunites Patrick Guest and Jonathan Bentley, the creative duo behind the bestselling picture book Windows. Their latest collaboration is a thoughtful story about a young girl dealing...
Robo-teacher (Charlotte Barkla, illus Gabriella Petruso, Larrikin)
Tuesday, 1 July 2025
When Miss Horrid cancels the Fun Park excursion, it’s the last straw for Class 5H in Robo-teacher by Charlotte Barkla (All Bodies Are Good Bodies). Led by the industrious 10-year-old...
The Man Who Planted Canberra (Robert Macklin, NLA)
Tuesday, 1 July 2025
The Man Who Planted Canberra examines the life and legacy of Charles Weston, an Englishman whose extraordinary foresight and dedication transformed the landscape of Australia’s capital city through planting three...
The Farm (Jessica Mansour-Nahra, Hachette)
Tuesday, 1 July 2025
Atmospheric and quietly unnerving, The Farm is a haunting debut by Jessica Mansour-Nahra. The psychologically taut novel steadily draws the reader into its isolated setting and the protagonist’s unravelling reality....
Fierceland (Omar Musa, Penguin)
Tuesday, 1 July 2025
Fierceland is a spellbinding novel by multi-hyphenate artist Omar Musa (Killernova), following his widely acclaimed and Miles Franklin–longlisted debut, Here Come the Dogs. In this self-proclaimed ghost story set across...
Tenderfoot (Toni Jordan, Hachette)
Tuesday, 1 July 2025
In Tenderfoot, Toni Jordan returns to the literary style of her earlier novels, Addition and The Fragments, shifting away from the light tones and commercial narratives found within more recent...
The Style Secrets of Gareth McGreen (Kelly Brodie-Brown, illus Natasha Carty, Scholastic)
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
The Style Secrets of Gareth McGreen by Kelly Brodie-Brown, illustrated by Natasha Carty (Time to Rest, The Two-nicorn), is a vibrant debut picture book for readers aged 3+ who enjoy...
News Cowboys (Mike Amor, Echo)
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
In News Cowboys, veteran Australian foreign correspondent Mike Amor shares stories from a decades-long career covering some of the biggest news events of the 21st century. From the 9/11 terrorist...
Playing Nice Was Getting Me Nowhere (Alex Cothren, Pink Shorts Press)
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
Playing Nice Was Getting Me Nowhere is a collection of satirical stories by award-winning short fiction writer Alex Cothren and is one of the first releases from new independent publisher Pink...
Hailstones Fell without Rain (Natalia Figueroa Barroso, UQP)
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
Hailstones Fell without Rain is a rich, multi-generational debut that spans two continents and three generations, exploring memory, identity and the quiet revolutions of everyday women. In this semi-autobiographical familial story...
The Set-Up Girl (Sasha Vey, A&U Children’s)
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
The Set-Up Girl is a rollercoaster of awkward crushes and friendships set against the warmth and chaos of a tight-knit family and the bittersweet final year of high school. Amalia...
The Nanny’s Handbook to Magic and Managing Difficult Dukes (Amy Rose Bennett, Atria)
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
Amy Rose Bennett's The Nanny’s Handbook to Magic and Managing Difficult Dukes is a charming historical romance that defies expectations and blends genres with flair. The novel combines a Victorian-era...
This Bird: Noticing Our Urban Birds (Astred Hicks & Holly Parsons, CSIRO Publishing)
Tuesday, 17 June 2025
Created by author and illustrator Astred Hicks in collaboration with ecologist Holly Parsons, This Bird: Noticing Our Urban Birds is a vibrant celebration of Australian birdlife, designed to inspire wonder...
Isn’t It Nice We Both Hate the Same Things (Jessica Seaborn, PRH)
Tuesday, 17 June 2025
Isn’t It Nice We Both Hate the Same Things by Jessica Seaborn has a lengthy title that might be tricky to remember, but its characters are anything but forgettable. Seaborn...
