Reviews
Adult fiction
Capture (Amanda Lohrey, Text)
Released May 2026
In Amanda Lohrey’s Capture, ageing psychiatrist James Mather is commissioned to research psychological explanations for alien capture experiences. His interviews with “experiencers” – whose stories he quickly finds to be frustratingly “all different, and yet somehow all the same” – seek patterns, and therefore meaning, in a phenomenon under-explored within his discipline. Lohrey’s tenth novel… Read more
Silvia (Maya Caruso, Echo)
Released May 2026
Midlife awakening lies at the heart of Maya Caruso’s impressive debut novel, Silvia. This character-driven novel follows 42-year-old Silvia, a divorced daughter of a widowed Italian matriarch, Silvia Senior, whose dream is to see her daughter married with kids and producing homemade lasagnes at an impossible speed. Silvia, however, is an independent woman paying her… Read more
Adult nonfiction
Periodic Bitch (Emma Hardy, A&U)
Released May 2026
In Periodic Bitch, Emma Hardy delivers a memoir that is both intellectually rigorous and literary in style, interrogating the cultural construction of the “female monster” alongside her lived experience of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Set against Melbourne’s Covid lockdowns – a pressure cooker that intensifies her symptoms and brings years of confusion to a head –… Read more
The Enigmatic Echidna: Secrets of the World’s Most Curious Creature (Danielle Clode, Black Inc.)
Released May 2026
In The Enigmatic Echidna: Secrets of the World’s Most Curious Creature, biologist and award-winning author Danielle Clode (Koala: A Life in Trees) draws readers into the fascinating world of one of Australia’s most unusual mammals, sharing knowledge in an accessible and enjoyable way. Her scientific background and respect for her subject shine through, resulting in… Read more
Children's picture books
The Fast Lane (Pip Harry, illus Katrin Dreiling, Larrikin)
Released May 2026
The Fast Lane by Pip Harry (August & Jones, Because of You) is a lively and funny story about Daisy, a fast-swimming and competitive pig who struggles to share the fast lane at the local pool with Frank, an easy-going, slow-swimming frog. Their clashing approaches to swimming set the stage for a humorous and realistic… Read more
Bella Grows a Bicycle (Lellie Lopter, illus Chiara Franceschetti, Five Mile)
Released May 2026
In Bella Grows a Bicycle, Lellie Lopter delivers a warm and imaginative picture book about creativity, sustainability and problem-solving. Bella dreams of owning a new bicycle, but after her dad explains it is too expensive he helps her find an alternative way to make her dream come true. What follows is a gentle tale of… Read more
Younger readers
The Prime Minister Problem (Brenton Cullen, Riveted)
Released May 2026
Brenton Cullen’s debut middle-grade novel, The Prime Minister Problem, is a tender story about loneliness and community, an ode to the power one person can have to spark change, and the strength found in collective action. The novel follows Wren, an introverted 10-year-old who struggles to express himself and walks on eggshells to keep those… Read more
Edith: The Girl Who Was 100 Years Old (Catharina Valckx, trans Antony Shugaar, Gecko)
Released May 2026
In Edith: The Girl Who Was 100 Years Old, French author and illustrator Catharina Valckx tells the bittersweet story of a little girl granted 2 extraordinary gifts, in an English translation by Antony Shugaar. As a newborn, Edith is visited by 2 fairies who bestowed upon her the gifts of eternal childhood and the ability… Read more
Young adult
Tearing Myself Together (Anna Whateley, A&U Children’s)
Released May 2026
Anna Whateley’s raw, authentic representations of neurodivergent young women in Tearing Myself Together offer the kind of windows and mirrors that are still too rare in Australian young adult fiction. Drawing on lived experience, Whateley (author of the CBCA-shortlisted Peta Lyre’s Rating Normal) explores the endurance required to navigate a society that often lacks understanding… Read more
Once Upon Tomorrow (Karen Comer, Lothian)
Released May 2026
Once Upon Tomorrow is a complex young adult verse novel by CBCA-winning author Karen Comer (Grace Notes). The novel weaves together 3 alternating perspectives: Miri, an ambitious Year 12 student in 2025; Aleita, a 16-year-old in 2125; and Sylvie, who lives in a fairytale world. Miri discovers she is pregnant and faces a tough decision… Read more
Recently released titles
A Far-flung Life (ML Stedman, Penguin)
Released March 2026
From the acclaimed author of The Light Between Oceans comes A Far-flung Life, ML Stedman’s much-anticipated second novel. Set in rural Western Australia in 1958, the story follows the MacBride family, who have lived and worked on the sprawling sheep station at Meredith Downs for generations. Phil and Lorna MacBride and their three children, Warren,… Read more
Haze (Sam Elliott, Macmillan)
Released March 2026
Samuel Elliott’s debut novel, Haze, introduces constable Dahlia Turner, newly returned to her coastal hometown of Broughlet – a place defined by terrible surf, an ice problem and the unsettling presence of The People’s Cleansing Light cult. While evacuating homes ahead of an approaching bushfire, Dahlia discovers that her best friend and his husband have… Read more
