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Otto’s Ink-Redible First Day of School (Rory H Mather, illus by Rebel Challenger, Larrikin)
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... 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.... Read more
How to Go to Big School (Sarah Ayoub, illus Mimi Purnell, HarperCollins)
Released December 2025
After the success of How to Be a Friend, Sarah Ayoub and Mimi Purnell return with another heartfelt guide. How to Go to Big School offers practical tips for children aged... Read more
Lucky Dragon Supper Club: Asian-inspired Dinner Party Ideas for Home Cooks (Stephanie Feher, Murdoch)
Released December 2025
If you’ve spent any time online in recent years, chances are you’ve seen one of Stephanie Feher’s viral dinner party videos. In Lucky Dragon Supper Club: Asian-inspired Dinner Party Ideas... Read more
An Ancient Witch’s Guide to Modern Dating (Cecilia Edward, Atria Australia)
Released December 2025
Cecilia Edward – children’s author Remy Lai (Ghost Book) writing under a pen name – makes her adult fiction debut with An Ancient Witch’s Guide to Modern Dating, a sweet... Read more
The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef (Sophie Masson, illus Cheryl Orsini, HGCP)
Released December 2025
Sophie Masson (The Giant) draws inspiration from her family history in the seaside town of Biarritz for The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef. Set in a charming coastal village, this... Read more
How to Have the Best School Year Ever (Jess Sanders, illus Andrea Onishi, Affirm)
Released December 2025
For many young children, starting the school year can be a daunting experience filled with many unknowns. Jess Sanders’s How to Have the Best School Year Ever is the perfect... Read more
The Wardrobe Project (Emma Edwards, Wiley)
Released December 2025
In 2022, Emma Edwards (Good with Money) realised she had a serious wardrobe problem. Not only was she stuck in a pattern of overbuying clothing, but she was also unhappy... Read more
Better than the Real Thing (Brooke Crawford, HQ Fiction)
Released December 2025
Brooke Crawford’s debut novel, Better than the Real Thing, is the kind of delightful escapism you’d expect from a Netflix Christmas movie – comforting, heartfelt and brimming with second chances.... Read more
Else (Rose Michael, Spineless Wonders)
Released December 2025
Landscape and climate are central in Else, the latest novel from Rose Michael (The Asking Game, The Art of Navigation). This genre-bending work of eco-fiction blends experimental prose, poetry and... Read more
Frances Bloom (Frances Bloom #1) (Katrina Nannestad, illus Marina Zlatanova, HarperCollins)
Released November 2025
Children’s literature powerhouse Katrina Nannestad (All the Beautiful Things) returns with Frances Bloom, a delightful beginning to a new series. Eight-year-old Frances has posted her parents to the South Sandwich... Read more
The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do You Believe in Love? (ed Natalie King & Iwantja Arts, T&H)
Released November 2025
To open The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do You Believe in Love? is to tumble into a kaleidoscopic world of colour, energy and cultural references. Edited by Natalie King and... Read more
Outback Country: A Collection of Short Stories from Cunnamulla (Kids from Cunnamulla, ILF)
Released November 2025
Outback Country by Kids from Cunnamulla is a spirited collection of short stories that capture life in the town through children’s eyes. Produced through the Indigenous Literacy Foundation’s Community Publishing... Read more
Yes, No, Maybe (Ursula Dubosarsky, illus Andrew Joyner, Little Book Press)
Released November 2025
Children are inquisitive – they wonder, observe and ask questions. In Yes, No, Maybe, acclaimed collaborators Ursula Dubosarsky and Andrew Joyner (The Terrible Plop, Too Many Elephants in This House)... Read more
Not Quite White in the Head (Melissa Lucashenko, UQP)
Released November 2025
Melissa Lucashenko’s Not Quite White in the Head shines a light on the beauty and pain that exist simultaneously in Australia as a colonised nation. Spanning 20 pieces, the book... Read more
beautiful changelings (Maxine Beneba Clarke, Ultimo)
Released November 2025
According to myth, a changeling is a human child replaced by a faerie – one that looks similar enough, but is not of this world. In beautiful changelings, Maxine Beneba Clarke... Read more
Escape from Sherwood (Beattie Alvarez, illus David Allan, Christmas Press)
Released November 2025
Something lurks just beyond the screen in Beattie Alvarez’s Escape from Sherwood, as Michael enters into a retro-style video game alongside his sister, his best friend, and a girl who... Read more
Mary Penfold (Grantlee Kieza, HarperCollins)
Released November 2025
Grantlee Kieza’s Mary Penfold is an intriguing biography of the Englishwoman who embraced her husband’s vision, made it her own, and turned their vineyard into one of Australia’s most enduring... Read more
The Hiding Place (Kate Mildenhall, Scribner)
Released November 2025
No stranger to the literary scene, Kate Mildenhall (The Mother Fault, Skylarking, The Hummingbird Effect) returns with The Hiding Place, an eminently readable and vividly imagined novel. Four families seeking... Read more
Swallow (Alexandria Burnham, WestWords)
Released November 2025
In Swallow, Alexandria Burnham delivers a compelling work of historical fiction inspired by the documented prison escapes of sailor and petty thief William ‘Swallow’ Walker. Sentenced in 1820 to transportation to... Read more
