Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

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Reviews

 

Adult fiction

How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates (Shailee Thompson, Atria Australia)
The Duke’s Secret (Sue Williams, A&U)
In a Common Hour (Sita Walker, Ultimo)
The Watchmaker’s War (Danny Ben-Moshe, HarperCollins)
The Last Resort (Amanda Hewitt, Echo)
The Other Child (Susi Fox, Penguin)
Dreamwives (Claire Novak, HarperCollins)
Might Cry Later (Kay Kerr, Macmillan)
Dark Desert Road (Tim Ayliffe, Echo)
The Last Encore (Rebecca Heath, Head of Zeus)

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How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates (Shailee Thompson, Atria Australia)

Released February 2026

Shailee Thompson’s debut, How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates, is a genre-blending good time that captures the zeitgeist with its mélange of romantic comedy and horror, movie quotes and Taylor Swift references. The story follows Jamie, a horror-film expert, who attends a local speed-dating event with her best friend, Laurie. When a sudden… Read more

The Duke’s Secret (Sue Williams, A&U)

Released February 2026

In The Duke’s Secret, the latest historical fiction by Sue Williams (The Governor, His Wife and His Mistress), journalist Ava Washington sets out to verify a family legend. According to the story, her great, great, great grandmother, Mary Ann Marshal, bore an illegitimate daughter fathered by the Duke of Wellington. Mary Ann had joined the… Read more
 

Adult nonfiction

Bush Tukka Guide for Kids (Samantha Martin, Hardie Grant Explore)
Wurnan: Sharing on Ngarinyin Country (Wilinggin Aboriginal Corporation, Magabala)
Plotting the Oceans: Stories of Powerful Maps and Their Makers (Sarah Hamylton, Monash University Publishing)
AI for Business: A Guide to AI Adoption (Jon Whittle, CSIRO Publishing)
Yet She Lives: Fierce and Fantastical Women of Norse Mythology (Lisa Hannett, T&H)
A Brain That Breathes: Essential Habits for an Overwhelming World (Jodi Wilson, Murdoch)
The Wardrobe Project (Emma Edwards, Wiley)
The Mushroom Tapes: Conversations on a Triple Murder Trial (Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper & Sarah Krasnostein, Text)
Lucky Dragon Supper Club: Asian-inspired Dinner Party Ideas for Home Cooks (Stephanie Feher, Murdoch)
Provecho: Real Mexican Food at Home (Daniella Guevara Muñoz, Murdoch)

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Bush Tukka Guide for Kids (Samantha Martin, Hardie Grant Explore)

Released February 2026

Bush Tukka Guide for Kids by Samantha Martin, a descendant of the Jaru people, is an exceptional book that is about so much more than food. Known as the “Bush Tukka Woman”, Martin invites children aged 7 to 12 to explore thousands of years of First Nations knowledge and ways of living on Country. While the… Read more

Wurnan: Sharing on Ngarinyin Country (Wilinggin Aboriginal Corporation, Magabala)

Released February 2026

Wurnan: Sharing on Ngarinyin Country, created by the Wilinggin Aboriginal Corporation, is a powerful cultural record that documents the people, artists, stories, traditions and artefacts of Ngarinyin Country in the Kimberley. Wurnan is the traditional Ngarinyin system of sharing and a guiding philosophy for caring for community, culture and Country. The book moves between personal… Read more
 

Children's picture books

Muttonfish Magic (Ruth Simms & Lucy Robertson, illus Jasmine Seymour, Magabala)
My Sister, the Todzilla (Jacinta Froud, illus Matt Shanks, Affirm)
How to Get Home (Deborah Frenkel, illus Karen Blair, Affirm)
Let’s Make an Adventure (Carrie Gallasch, illus Kïa Hing Fay, Little Book Press)
How to Have the Best School Year Ever (Jess Sanders, illus Andrea Onishi, Affirm)
Otto’s Ink-Redible First Day of School (Rory H Mather, illus by Rebel Challenger, Larrikin)
The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef (Sophie Masson, illus Cheryl Orsini, HGCP)
Dogs with Jobs: The Heroic Hounds Who Make a Difference (Andrea Rowe, illus Julia Murray, HGCP)
How to Go to Big School (Sarah Ayoub, illus Mimi Purnell, HarperCollins)
The Very Stinky Fly Hunt (Andrea Wild, illus Karen Erasmus, CSIRO Publishing)

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Muttonfish Magic (Ruth Simms & Lucy Robertson, illus Jasmine Seymour, Magabala)

Released February 2026

Muttonfish Magic honours the Kameragyl and Bidjigal people, the traditional custodians of the land around Kamay (Botany Bay) and Guriwal (La Perouse). With sensory lyricism, Bidjigal Elder Ruth Simms and Lucy Robertson depict a loving First Nations family inspired by Simms’s own childhood in the area. The book’s title is intriguing and invites readers aged… Read more

My Sister, the Todzilla (Jacinta Froud, illus Matt Shanks, Affirm)

Released February 2026

Many parents and older siblings of toddlers will relate to the premise of Jacinta Froud’s My Sister, the Todzilla – a hilarious and entirely recognisable take on toddler tantrums, presented on an epic scale. The story follows a big brother’s desperate but endearing attempts to calm his baby sister during her “past nap time” meltdowns.… Read more
 

Younger readers

How to Make Friends and Go Viral by Accident (YK Willemse, Rhiza Edge)
The Break Up (It’s a Twin Thing! #1) (Kristin Darell, illus A Yi, Penguin)
Escape from Sherwood (Beattie Alvarez, illus David Allan, Christmas Press)
Frances Bloom (Frances Bloom #1) (Katrina Nannestad, illus Marina Zlatanova, HarperCollins)
Spud and Snowball and the Fancy Fish (Spud and Snowball #1) (Judith Rossell, ABC Books)
Mega Rich Guinea Pigs (Kate & Jol Temple, HarperCollins)
Renegade Timeline Officer (Harper Wells #1) (Bethany Loveridge, Wombat)
Promises and Other Lies (Sue Whiting, Walker Books)
The Making of Martha Mayfield (Jo Dabrowski, Affirm)
Robo-teacher (Charlotte Barkla, illus Gabriella Petruso, Larrikin)

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How to Make Friends and Go Viral by Accident (YK Willemse, Rhiza Edge)

Released February 2026

The novella How to Make Friends and Go Viral by Accident by YK Willemse (Jerry’s Window) follows 13-year-old Hayden Connor as he struggles with a speech impediment and the anxiety it causes him. When his parents enrol him in singing lessons to help build his confidence, he’s surprised to discover a natural talent. Hayden’s newfound… Read more

The Break Up (It’s a Twin Thing! #1) (Kristin Darell, illus A Yi, Penguin)

Released February 2026

Kristin Darell’s The Break Up, the first in a new series illustrated by A Yi, is a middle-grade novel that explores the complexities of primary school friendships with drama, humour and emotional insight. Identical twins Brook and Abi have always been inseparable. They share the same friends and interests, and even experience “twin–tingles” that tell… Read more
 

Young adult

A Murder is Going Down (Kate Emery, A&U Children’s)
Eggshell (Olivia De Zilva, Espresso)
What Have They Done to Liza McLean? (Amy Doak, Penguin)
Last Chance Joey (Meredith Resce, Rhiza Edge)
For No Mortal Creature (Keshe Chow, Penguin)
Catch (Sarah Brill, A&U Children’s)
Maisy Hayes Is Not for Sale (Allayne L Webster, Text)
Black River (Ruby Jean Cottle, Atria Australia)
A Guide to Falling Off the Map (Zanni L Arnot, Lothian)
The Set-Up Girl (Sasha Vey, A&U Children’s)

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A Murder is Going Down (Kate Emery, A&U Children’s)

Released November 2025

Kate Emery (My Family and Other Suspects, The Not So Chosen One) returns with a mystery within a mystery in A Murder is Going Down, while remaining true to her award-winning brand of funny and quirky young adult novels. Marianne, a woman in her 40s dressed in a power suit, and Heidi, a socially awkward 16-year-old… Read more

Eggshell (Olivia De Zilva, Espresso)

Released November 2025

Tender yet unsparing, Olivia De Zilva’s debut young adult novella, Eggshell, is a piercing meditation on adolescence, grief and belonging. Set in Adelaide’s working-class suburbs, Eggshell centres Kira, a mixed-race teenager in her final year of high school who is navigating the imminent loss of her apoh (grandmother) – her caregiver and cultural anchor. De… Read more
 

Recently released titles

Otto’s Ink-Redible First Day of School (Rory H Mather, illus by Rebel Challenger, Larrikin)
Power Moves (Leesa Ronald, A&U)
How to Go to Big School (Sarah Ayoub, illus Mimi Purnell, HarperCollins)
Lucky Dragon Supper Club: Asian-inspired Dinner Party Ideas for Home Cooks (Stephanie Feher, Murdoch)
An Ancient Witch’s Guide to Modern Dating (Cecilia Edward, Atria Australia)
The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef (Sophie Masson, illus Cheryl Orsini, HGCP)
How to Have the Best School Year Ever (Jess Sanders, illus Andrea Onishi, Affirm)
The Wardrobe Project (Emma Edwards, Wiley)
Better than the Real Thing (Brooke Crawford, HQ Fiction)
Else (Rose Michael, Spineless Wonders)

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Otto’s Ink-Redible First Day of School (Rory H Mather, illus by Rebel Challenger, Larrikin)

A cover of "Otto’s Ink-Redible First Day of School" written by Rory H Mather and illustrated by Rebel Challenger. An orange octopus swims on the cover.

Released December 2025

Otto’s Ink-Redible First Day of School is a playful and reassuring picture book about a shy octopus learning to find his place. Rory H Mather’s rhyming text bounces along with warmth and humour, capturing the familiar nerves of a first day at school with an underwater twist. Otto’s tendency to release ink whenever he feels… Read more

Power Moves (Leesa Ronald, A&U)

Released December 2025

In Power Moves, Leesa Ronald delivers a sharp and witty follow-up to her much-loved debut, Special Delivery. The novel follows Camilla “Millsy” Hatton, media director for the NSW Minister for Education. For Millsy, work is life, and she will do anything to ensure her boss is re-elected in the upcoming election – even if that means… Read more