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The Vanishing Place (Zoë Rankin, Moa Press)
Released September 2025
If you’re after a sad girl novel wrapped in a family saga and delivered as a fast-paced thriller, Zoë Rankin’s near-flawless debut, The Vanishing Place, delivers it all in spades.... Read more
Gunpowder Creek (Alex Dook, Echo)
Released September 2025
Alex Dook’s debut novel, Gunpowder Creek, explores the question of how far a parent would go to save their child. Emily is a single mother whose teenage son, Zach, is... Read more
Train of Thought (Jess Horn, illus Hayley Wells, Bright Light)
Released September 2025
Concentrating can be hard, especially when you have an active imagination! Jess Horn’s Train of Thought is a whimsical and beautifully illustrated picture book that explores a common problem with... Read more
Renegade Timeline Officer (Harper Wells #1) (Bethany Loveridge, Wombat)
Released September 2025
Harper Wells: Renegade Timeline Officer, the first book in the Wollemi trilogy by Bethany Loveridge, introduces a reluctant young time traveller thrust into a world of missing persons, mysterious portals... Read more
Desolation (Hossein Asgari, Ultimo)
Released September 2025
Desolation, the latest novel from Miles Franklin–shortlisted author Hossein Asgari (Only Sound Remains), is a taut and haunting exploration of trauma, memory and meaning. It traces the psychological unravelling of... Read more
Once I Was a Giant (Zeno Sworder, T&H)
Released September 2025
Zeno Sworder’s Once I Was a Giant is a poetic and richly drawn picture book about memory, connection and renewal. In a dim apartment, a ‘picture-book maker’ has run out... Read more
Promises and Other Lies (Sue Whiting, Walker Books)
Released September 2025
Set one year after a devastating bushfire, Sue Whiting’s Promises and Other Lies is a compelling middle-grade novel that explores the lingering impact of disaster on a close-knit coastal community.... Read more
Black River (Ruby Jean Cottle, Atria Australia)
Released September 2025
Ruby Jean Cottle’s debut, Black River, is a strong addition to the young adult paranormal romance genre. Dusty is a 17-year-old introvert who finds comfort in books and nature. After a... Read more
Going for Pippies (Wilaaran Hunter Laurie, illus Tori-Jay Mordey, Magabala)
Released September 2025
Going for Pippies is a joyful celebration of First Nations culture created by debut Yaegl author Wilaaran Hunter Laurie and established Torres Strait Islander illustrator Tori-Jay Mordey (Our Flag, Our... Read more
Role Model (Samantha Harris & Myrna Davison, Murdoch)
Released September 2025
Role Model: Taking up space in the fashion world is an inspiring and deeply personal memoir by model Samantha Harris and her mother, Myrna Davison. Blending fashion, family and First... Read more
Discipline (Randa Abdel-Fattah, UQP)
Released September 2025
Discipline asks urgent questions about who gets to speak, who stays silent and what we owe our communities. Randa Abdel-Fattah (Does My Head Look Big in This?) chronicles the experiences... Read more
Slashed Beauties (A Rushby, HQ Fiction)
Released September 2025
Slashed Beauties is a lush historical fantasy and an adult debut by A Rushby (The Wish Sisters, The Ghost Locket). The novel is by turns macabre and emotional but always... Read more
Sing to Me (Jelena Curic, WestWords)
Released September 2025
Jelena Curic’s debut novel Sing to Me follows drinking, smoking and womanising anti-hero Pero Petrović on a reluctant hero’s journey to confront family secrets, betrayal and the legacy of his war-torn... Read more
Cannon (Lee Lai, Giramondo)
Released September 2025
In Lee Lai’s latest graphic novel Cannon, a young chef struggles to navigate the stresses of her late twenties while burdened by family obligations and a chaotic workplace. Central to... Read more
A Guide to Falling Off the Map (Zanni L Arnot, Lothian)
Released September 2025
A Guide to Falling Off the Map is the absorbing YA debut from Zanni L Arnot, who has previously published books for younger children under the name Zanni Louise (Hazel’s... Read more
58 Facets: On law, violence and revolution (Marika Sosnowski, MUP)
Released September 2025
‘This is a strange book,’ Marika Sosnowski writes in the acknowledgements of 58 Facets, and she isn’t wrong. Part poetic inquiry, part legal ethnography and part dreamscape of inherited trauma,... Read more
The Making of Martha Mayfield (Jo Dabrowski, Affirm)
Released September 2025
In The Making of Martha Mayfield, Jo Dabrowski (Get Your Act Together Doris Kozlowski) tells the story of 11-year-old Martha and her quest to overcome her shyness ahead of the... Read more
Whispers and Roars (Patrick Guest, illus Jonathan Bentley, Little Book Press)
Released September 2025
Whispers and Roars reunites Patrick Guest and Jonathan Bentley, the creative duo behind the bestselling picture book Windows. Their latest collaboration is a thoughtful story about a young girl dealing... Read more
Robo-teacher (Charlotte Barkla, illus Gabriella Petruso, Larrikin)
Released September 2025
When Miss Horrid cancels the Fun Park excursion, it’s the last straw for Class 5H in Robo-teacher by Charlotte Barkla (All Bodies Are Good Bodies). Led by the industrious 10-year-old... Read more
The Man Who Planted Canberra (Robert Macklin, NLA)
Released September 2025
The Man Who Planted Canberra examines the life and legacy of Charles Weston, an Englishman whose extraordinary foresight and dedication transformed the landscape of Australia’s capital city through planting three... Read more
