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Elsewhere Girls (Emily Gale & Nova Weetman, Text)
Released May 2021
Acclaimed authors Emily Gale and Nova Weetman have teamed up to write this beautifully rendered time-slip narrative that delves into the personal and social struggles of young women past and... Read more
Monster (Ashleigh Synnott, Puncher & Wattmann)
Released May 2021
Monster is a collection of dark, finely written short stories by debut author Ashleigh Synnott. The stories are peopled with eccentric, predominantly female characters living atomised, often isolated lives. Mental... Read more
Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams) (Anita Heiss, S&S)
Released May 2021
Exploring themes of family, belonging, courage, equality and heartache, this important new historical novel from Anita Heiss raises awareness of First Nations perspectives on the early days of white settlement... Read more
Why Do Tigers Have Whiskers? (ed by Sunanda Creagh, Thames & Hudson)
Released May 2021
Curated from the Curious Kids section of the academic-authored news website The Conversation, this book is compiled as a series of questions provided by kids and answered by a range... Read more
A Human for Kingsley (Gabriel Evans, Little Hare)
Released May 2021
Kingsley, a dog who has decided to own a human, sets off on a journey to find just the right one. The problem is, there are so many humans to... Read more
As Beautiful As Any Other (Kaya Wilson, Picador)
Released May 2021
As Beautiful As Any Other is a joyous and thoughtful memoir–travelogue covering the terrains of both the body and the environment. Kaya Wilson's voice makes the reader feel immediately at... Read more
A Glasshouse of Stars (Shirley Marr, Puffin)
Released May 2021
Meixing and her family have recently arrived in the New Land with hopes of a better life. Everything is different for Meixing, including the large house that is now the... Read more
Gunk Baby (Jamie Marina Lau, Hachette)
Released May 2021
Leen has opened up a massage and ear cleaning studio in the suburban wastelands of Par Mars. Her shop is housed in the second-best shopping mall in the district—Topic Heights.... Read more
Paws (Kate Foster, Walker Books)
Released April 2021
Kate Foster is a literary agent and now, with her middle-grade novel Paws, a published children’s author. Eleven-year-old Alex loves dogs, sketching and computer games. But he doesn’t have any... Read more
Smokehouse (Melissa Manning, UQP)
Released April 2021
Melissa Manning’s debut short story collection is an evocative and sometimes heartbreaking exploration of family, home and what it takes to build a fulfilling life. Bookended by two longer works... Read more
Like Mother (Cassandra Austin, Hamish Hamilton)
Released April 2021
It’s 1969 in small-town Australia and new mother Louise can barely leave her own house or step beyond the shadow of her controlling mother, Gladys. With a constantly crying baby,... Read more
Wonder Earth (Zanni Louise & Tiff Bollhorn, illus by Sophy Louise Smith, Five Mile)
Released April 2021
Wonder Earth is a slightly strange hybrid of science reference and imaginative meditation. The authors set out to help children connect with the Earth at both an emotional and a... Read more
Car Crash: A Memoir (Lech Blaine, Black Inc.)
Released April 2021
In 2009, 17-year-old Lech Blaine and six of his friends were driving home together in Toowoomba. The driver swerved and was hit by an oncoming car. Blaine, who was sitting... Read more
Huda and Me (H Hayek, A&U)
Released April 2021
When their parents make a sudden trip back to their home country of Lebanon, Huda and Akeal find themselves left with their fellow siblings under the care of a family... Read more
The Prison Healer (Lynette Noni, Penguin)
Released April 2021
Lynette Noni, the winner of the 2019 Gold Inky for her dystopian sci-fi novel Whisper, returns to fantasy with The Prison Healer. Kiva’s daily life as prisoner and prison healer... Read more
Love Objects (Emily Maguire, A&U)
Released April 2021
Pop culture representations of hoarding tend to paint a picture of unrestrained excess. Perhaps this is why, when Emily Maguire introduces Nic, a 45-year-old who loves her job at the... Read more
Tussaud (Belinda Lyons-Lee, Transit Lounge)
Released April 2021
Madame Tussaud is synonymous with wax figures of the famous and infamous and also with the uncanny-valley discomfort that such figures evoke. This book takes the documented strange life of... Read more
The Truth About Her (Jacqueline Maley, Fourth Estate)
Released April 2021
There is a lot to love about Fairfax journalist Jacqueline Maley’s debut novel, the ripped-from-the-headlines story of Suzy, a journalist who’s blamed for the shocking death of Tracey Doran, a... Read more
The Katha Chest (Radhiah Chowdhury, illus by Lavanya Naidu, A&U)
Released April 2021
In Radhiah Chowdhury and Lavanya Naidu’s book, elegant textile patterns are patchworked together with descriptive snapshot stories of young Asiya’s family members and their histories. Asiya delights in every one... Read more
Tish (Edwina Wyatt, illus by Odette Barberousse, Berbay)
Released April 2021
Due to their very definition, imaginary friends can come in all shapes and sizes, and Tish is no exception. Resembling a woolly mammoth but with wings and an odour problem... Read more
