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Finding the Bones (Natalie Conyer, Echo)
Released March 2026
Finding the Bones by Ned Kelly Award–winning author Natalie Conyer is a gritty, slow-burn Australian crime thriller that exposes the fine line between belief and obsession – and the lengths... Read more
Genie Snail (Bethany Loveridge, illus Chris Kennett, Little Book Press)
Released March 2026
In Genie Snail, author Bethany Loveridge (Renegade Timeline Officer) and illustrator Chris Kennett combine forces to deliver a bright, engaging and hilarious story about a young child who meets a... Read more
The Last Poem (Courtney Peppernell, Atria)
Released March 2026
Courtney Peppernell’s The Last Poem is a tender, modern work of fiction infused with poetic sensibility, echoing the emotional gentleness of writers such as Robyn Carr. With a slow, deliberate... Read more
The Feathers of Farwood and the Gripps Curse (Jayne McIntyre, Riveted Press)
Released March 2026
Jayne McIntyre’s debut novel, The Feathers of Farwood and the Gripps Curse, is the first in a new trilogy. Set in the small Australian town of Farwood, the story blends... Read more
Haze (Sam Elliott, Macmillan)
Released March 2026
Samuel Elliott’s debut novel, Haze, introduces constable Dahlia Turner, newly returned to her coastal hometown of Broughlet – a place defined by terrible surf, an ice problem and the unsettling... Read more
Nature Knows (Yvette Farmer, illus Chloe Jasmine Harris, T&H)
Released March 2026
Nature Knows is a gentle picture book that steps quietly into the growing conversation around children’s wellbeing and the restorative power of time outdoors. Yvette Farmer, a primary school teacher with... Read more
Ruby’s Web (Ellen van Neerven, Magabala)
Released March 2026
In Ruby’s Web, Ellen van Neerven (Heat and Light, Comfort Food) situates a coming-of-age story against the backdrop of the 2023 Voice referendum, highlighting the severity of online abuse faced... Read more
The Belfast Express (Brigid Carrick, Ventura)
Released March 2026
Centring on an aspiring nurse in 1970s Ireland, Bridid Carrick’s The Belfast Express examine the impact of the Catholic Church and chronic underemployment on the lives of Dubliners. After 18-year-old... Read more
The Boy and the Dog Tree (Fiona Wood, UQP)
Released March 2026
Fiona Wood (How to Spell Catastrophe), a 3-time CBCA winner, returns to middle-grade fiction with a heartfelt tale of the magical bond between animals and humans. Mitch has spent his... Read more
Vow of Eternal Night (Lily Crozier, Penguin)
Released March 2026
Lily Crozier’s debut, Vow of Eternal Night, reads as if it were written with a deep love for the romantasy genre and for those who consume it. (A Mr Darcy–like hand... Read more
Poster Boys (Scott Woodard, Lothian)
Released March 2026
Poster Boys follows Edward, a “try-hard” who navigates school life alongside space cadet Nolan and popular jock James when their paths collide at Highview Grammar. Each boy has his own... Read more
On Not Climbing Mountains (Claire Thomas, Hachette)
Released March 2026
Claire Thomas’s On Not Climbing Mountains is a slyly restless work. It treats travel less as a physical movement and more as an intensity and state of heightened attention. The... Read more
How to Die in the 21st Century: A whole new way to talk about death (Hannah Gould, T&H)
Released March 2026
For something that will affect all of us, death is a topic that’s difficult to bring up. Enter Hannah Gould, whose How to Die in the 21st Century: A Whole... Read more
The House of Blue Grass (Alan Atkinson, NewSouth)
Released March 2026
Alan Atkinson’s The House of Blue Glass is ostensibly a biography of Penelope Lucas, “the first well-educated woman to travel from Europe to Australia without the ‘protection’ of a husband... Read more
A Far-flung Life (ML Stedman, Penguin)
Released March 2026
From the acclaimed author of The Light Between Oceans comes A Far-flung Life, ML Stedman’s much-anticipated second novel. Set in rural Western Australia in 1958, the story follows the MacBride... Read more
Oh Brother (Georgina Chadderton, Penguin)
Released February 2026
Oh Brother by Georgina Chadderton is a warm, perceptive middle-grade graphic memoir about growing up alongside a sibling with high support needs. Set in the early 2000s, the book follows... Read more
Bird Deity (John Morrissey, Text)
Released February 2026
Shorter novels have made a strong resurgence in recent years – particularly in science fiction – and John Morrissey’s (Firelight) debut fiction novel, Bird Deity, sits squarely within this zeitgeist.... Read more
Side Character Energy (Olivia Tolich, Text)
Released February 2026
Olivia Tolich’s Side Character Energy is a lively debut romantic comedy with a strong focus on self-discovery. When Bee starts dating William, Gertie is happy for her – instinctively so.... Read more
Trials of Hope (የተስፋ ፈተና)(Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes, Fremantle)
Released February 2026
Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes’s Trials of Hope is a hybrid memoir in poetry and prose that feels less like a linear life story than a lived cosmology. Winner of the 2024... Read more
Milly Meelyu (Holly Bradley & Darryl Fogarty, illus Corinne Fogarty, Fremantle)
Released February 2026
Milly Meelyu is a thoughtful exploration of environment and wildlife protection, written by conservation biologist Holly Bradley and Badimia Elder Darryl Fogarty. Milly Meelyu is a skink who lives in... Read more
