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The Protected (Claire Zorn, UQP)
Released August 2014
Strong characters and a standout depiction of high school bullying make Claire Zorn’s second YA novel, following The Sky So Heavy, worth reading. In the present tense, 14-year-old Hannah awaits... Read more
Life or Death (Michael Robotham, Hachette)
Released August 2014
This exciting new novel from Michael Robotham is pitched as a psychological thriller but for me it is a novel of crime, justice and redemption—and a very good one. Set... Read more
Skinjob (Bruce McCabe, Random House)
Released June 2014
Skinjob is the debut novel from former Australian technology columnist Bruce McCabe. In a not-too-distant future, FBI special agent Daniel Madsen is investigating the bombing of a ‘dollhouse’ in San... Read more
The Word Ghost (Christine Paice, A&U)
Released June 2014
This is the first adult novel from poet and children’s book author Christine Paice. The setting is England in 1973. The vicar’s 15-year-old daughter Rebecca Buddle has fallen madly in... Read more
How I Became the Mr Big of People Smuggling (Martin Chambers, Fremantle Press)
Released June 2014
This is a well-crafted and gutsy first novel from Martin Chambers, who was shortlisted for the T.A.G. Hungerford Award for unpublished books in 2012. Nick Smart is a fish out... Read more
My Year without Matches (Claire Dunn, Black Inc.)
Released June 2014
At a crossroads with her job, her boyfriend and city life generally, Claire Dunn signs up for a year in the Australian bush. She learns wilderness survival skills, builds her... Read more
The Feel-Good Hit of the Year (Liam Pieper, Hamish Hamilton)
Released June 2014
Before he even graduated high school, Liam Pieper was the unlikely kingpin of a cottage drug racket, pushing all the pot, pills and powder he could get his hands on... Read more
The Glass Kingdom (Chris Flynn, Text)
Released June 2014
Irish-born Australian novelist Chris Flynn delights in playing with vernacular and dialect; it’s a conceit he used to great effect in his debut, A Tiger in Eden, and something he... Read more
St Kilda Blues (Geoffrey McGeachin, Viking)
Released June 2014
From the winner of the Ned Kelly Awards in 2011 and 2013 for best crime fiction comes the third Charlie Berlin novel by Geoffrey McGeachin. Set in Melbourne against a... Read more
Last Bets: A True Story of Gambling, Morality and the Law (Michaela McGuire, MUP)
Released June 2014
Michaela McGuire was an uninspired writer spending time overseas when she came across the death of Crown Casino patron Anthony Dunning in the news. Fascinated by the alleged role of... Read more
Arthur Phillip: Sailor, Mercenary, Governor, Spy (Michael Pembroke, Hardie Grant)
Released June 2014
Arthur Phillip is best known to Australians as the first governor of New South Wales, a post he held for five years. History records him as progressive, inspired by Enlightenment... Read more
Slush Pile (Ian Shadwell, Puncher & Wattman)
Released June 2014
Michael Ardenne is a desperate man. A former Booker Prize-winner, he took the literary world by storm with his debut novel Ephesus, which in his words was ‘a deeply moving... Read more
Shy: A Memoir (Sian Prior, Text)
Released June 2014
Journalist and former ABC broadcaster Sian Prior has been writing opinion pieces on the topic of shyness for many years. Her memoir Shy crystallises her years of analysis into a... Read more
Funemployed (Justin Heazlewood, Affirm Press)
Released June 2014
Singer-songwriter, comedian and writer Justin Heazlewood—AKA The Bedroom Philosopher—has written a hybrid memoir-guidebook for anyone interested in working in the creative arts in Australia. Funemployed recounts Heazlewood’s career of highlights... Read more
The Billy that Died with its Boots On (Stephen Whiteside, illus by Lauren Merrick, Walker Books)
Released May 2014
From a young age, children are exposed to poetry in its many forms. Nursery rhymes bring delight, especially if there are actions to go with them. But does poetry become... Read more
No Stars to Wish On (Zana Fraillon, A&U)
Released May 2014
No Stars to Wish On is about seven-year-old Jack, who is taken away from his messy but loving family and placed in a cold, harsh orphanage. Despite what the nuns... Read more
Happy Pants (Heather Gallagher, illus by Liz McGrath, Wombat Books)
Released May 2014
Perinatal depression is a widespread problem experienced by parents of new babies. In Australia, it affects one in seven new mothers and one in ten new fathers. I approached this... Read more
Little Red Riding Hoodie (Kel Richards, illus by Claire Richards, Scholastic)
Released May 2014
Kel Richards has adapted many stories with a uniquely Australian flavour, such as The Lamington Man, The Three Kangaroos Gruff, Goldilocks and The Three Koalas. His latest book Little Red... Read more
The Stone Lion (Margaret Wild, illus by Ritva Voutila, Little Hare)
Released May 2014
If Margaret Wild retired from writing tomorrow she would, in my opinion, have made her mark as Australia’s greatest storyteller. She once said: ‘I don’t want to write safe, bland... Read more
A Most Peculiar Act (Marie Munkara, Magabala)
Released May 2014
A Most Peculiar Act is a novel set in Darwin during World War II, and describes the collision between the pompous white bureaucrats of Darwin and the Aboriginal people the... Read more
