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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... Read more
The Ruiners (Ellena Savage, Summit)
Released May 2026
Ellena Savage’s debut novel, The Ruiners, introduces a narrator suspended between self-awareness and self-sabotage: a 29-year-old waitress, working at casino-adjacent lobster shack Claws, whose life feels both theatrically doomed and... Read more
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... Read more
Women Who Win: Celebrating Courage, Conviction and Change (Antoinette Lattouf, Penguin)
Released May 2026
Before “Lattoufed” entered the lexicon as shorthand for an unjust dismissal, Antoinette Lattouf (How to Lose Friends and Influence White People) was already known for her award-winning media career. In... Read more
Margaret, Are You Leaving? (Dianne Yarwood, Hachette)
Released May 2026
Following her much-loved debut, The Wakes, Dianne Yarwood’s latest novel, Margaret, Are You Leaving?, is a contemplative exploration of mother–daughter relationships, identity and the accumulation of moments that make up a... Read more
Drawing Nudes While Making Other Plans (Zoe Gaetjens, Penguin)
Released May 2026
Zoe Gaetjens’s Drawing Nudes While Making Other Plans is a tender, thoughtful young adult novel about self-discovery, first love and learning to be brave in unfamiliar spaces. During a summer... Read more
Mantle (Romy Ash, Ultimo)
Released May 2026
Romy Ash’s Mantle is a novel that settles slowly and irrevocably, like sediment. Set on a windswept Tasmanian coastline, it follows Ursula as she returns to care for her dying... 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... 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... Read more
The Northern Tomb (Isabelle Li, Puncher & Wattman)
Released May 2026
Isabelle Li’s The Northern Tomb is a quietly powerful, deeply human novel that unfolds in 4 parts, blending personal stories with history in a way that feels both intimate and... Read more
The Thornbacks (Chloe Wilson, Hamish Hamilton)
Released May 2026
Chloe Wilson’s debut novel, The Thornbacks, follows stepsisters Gertie and Tabitha: a pair of morticians who – apart from a sinister hobby – are mostly harmless. Come “date night”, they... Read more
Don’t Let Them Leave (Mike Lucas, Penguin)
Released May 2026
In Don’t Let Them Leave, Mike Lucas (What We All Saw) delivers a creepy and suspenseful historical thriller for readers aged 12 and over. The story follows Charlotte, Jack and... Read more
Henry Goes Bush (Wayne Marshall, Picador)
Released May 2026
Wayne Marshall’s debut novel, Henry Goes Bush, blends fact and fiction (including time travel) to explore alternative versions of Henry Lawson’s 1892 trip to Bourke. Lawson was 25, depressed, nearly... Read more
Fitzroy North 3068 (Yvette Henry Holt, Upswell)
Released May 2026
Fitzroy North 3068 by multi-award-winning poet Yvette Henry Holt is more than a collection of poems – it is an experience. To call it “immersive” feels almost inadequate for a... Read more
This Is Where We Say Goodbye (Howard McKenzie-Murray, Fremantle)
Released May 2026
This Is Where We Say Goodbye follows Maud Tarkington over the course of a single unsettling day in Fremantle: the day after her 21st birthday and the day of her... Read more
The Farmer’s Pyjamas (Ruth Paul, Walker)
Released May 2026
Ruth Paul’s The Farmer’s Pyjamas is a playful, light-hearted rhyming story that puts a humorous spin on daily life in the farmyard. After a hard day’s work tending to her... Read more
The Missing Mother (Mali Cornish, A&U)
Released May 2026
In The Missing Mother, Mali Cornish (Judgement Day) crafts a gripping domestic thriller centred on Elspeth, who returns to Geelong from New York when her mother Simone vanishes. The story... Read more
Phantom Days (Angela O’Keeffe, UQP)
Released May 2026
“A book comes into the world knowing it is a saviour, of sorts.” So begins Phantom Days, the 3rd novel by award-winning author Angela O’Keeffe (The Sitter, Night Blue), a... Read more
Running in Circles (Shivaun Plozza, UQP)
Released May 2026
In Running in Circles, Shivaun Plozza (The Worst Perfect Moment, The Boy, The Wolf and the Stars) brings climate science and extraterrestrial speculation together in a coming-of-age suspense novel set... Read more
Cast Away (Francesca de Tores, Bloomsbury)
Released May 2026
Award-winning author Francesca de Tores’s Cast Away is a fascinating and exquisitely detailed fictionalisation of sailor and navigator Alexander Selkirk’s 4 years marooned on a deserted island in the 1700s.... Read more
