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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
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
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
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
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
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
My Wonderful Disgrace (Angourie Rice & Kate Rice, Walker)
Released May 2026
My Wonderful Disgrace by Angourie Rice and Kate Rice (Stuck Up & Stupid) is a darkly comic tale of misjudgements set around the most anticipated night of the year for... 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
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
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
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
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
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
A Little Unwell (Kerry Jewell, Hachette)
Released May 2026
Kerry Jewell’s debut novel, A Little Unwell, is a candid medical drama that draws back the privacy curtain on the life of a young resident doctor working rotations at an... Read more
A Single Witness (Christine Balint, Spinifex)
Released May 2026
Christine Balint's gripping historical fiction, A Single Witness, is based on the true story of Anna Maria Bonon, a girl from a poor 1750s Italian rural village who works in a... Read more
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.... Read more
When Words Fail Us: Truth Beyond Time (Stan Grant, NewSouth)
Released May 2026
In When Words Fail Us, Stan Grant steps fully into his role as a philosopher and public thinker after walking away from a long career in journalism. Following the turbulence... Read more
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... Read more
The Greatest Goal in the Galaxy (Uranus FC #1) (Mick Elliott, Scholastic)
Released May 2026
The Greatest Goal in the Galaxy is a fun start to a new series, with author and illustrator Mick Elliott (The Turners, Squidge Dibley) blending football, aliens and ever-popular gross-out... Read more
The Wild Unknown (Emily Gale, Text)
Released May 2026
In The Wild Unknown by Emily Gale (Outlaw Girls), the year is 2045, and Eddie’s world is completely run by technology. From household devices to classroom support systems and the... Read more
