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The Mortons (Scott Westerfeld & Justine Larbalestier, Penguin)
Released July 2026
Justine Larbalestier (My Sister Rosa) and Scott Westerfeld (the Leviathan series) join forces for the crime-family thriller The Mortons, which delivers plenty of grit and dark academia charm. Jessica Morton... Read more
I Made This Just for You (Chris Ames, Ultimo)
Released July 2026
Chris Ames’s short story collection, I Made This Just for You, is an astonishing debut and a highly anticipated one after winning the 2025 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished... Read more
The Mushroom and the Flower (Sally Soweol Han, T&H)
Released July 2026
In The Mushroom and the Flower, written and illustrated by Sally Soweol Han (The Colours of Home), a small forest community is centred around a striking pink-and-white mushroom who is... Read more
Fish Don’t Hop (JoJo Leslie, Woodslane Press)
Released July 2026
Fish Don’t Hop! by JoJo Leslie is a heartwarming story that takes children on a journey of discovery through nature and the ways animals grow and change. Maeve is excited... Read more
A Short History of Longans (Mirandi Riwoe, UQP)
Released July 2026
Mirandi Riwoe’s A Short History of Longans follows 4 members of the same family across 2 centuries, moving backwards through time from a climate-changed Queensland in 2049 to colonial New... Read more
The Rebound (Fiona Harris, A&U Children’s)
Released July 2026
The Rebound, by award-winning author Fiona Harris (The Embarrassing Confessions of Gracie Sparks), is a topical, reflective middle-grade novel about a basketball-loving boy navigating the pressures of growing up in... Read more
The End of Romance (Maria Takolander, Text)
Released July 2026
In her debut novel, The End of Romance, Maria Takolander presents a dystopian world in which all boys are conscripted to the army at 16, sent on a mission from... Read more
Don’t Forget to Smile (Ariane Beeston, Black Inc.)
Released July 2026
Don’t Forget to Smile by Ariane Beeston is a rare Australian young adult novel set in the world of dance, a setting not often seen in local teen fiction. The... Read more
Neighbourhood Watch (Lauren Williams, Affirm)
Released July 2026
Lauren Williams’s debut novel, Neighbourhood Watch, is a compulsive crime thriller that opens with a bang and delivers a series of shocking twists, a side of dark humour and a... Read more
Being: Why It’s Harder to Be Human Than a Hamster or a Herring (Rachel E Menzies & Ross G Menzies, A&U)
Released July 2026
In Being: Why It’s Harder to Be Human Than a Hamster or a Herring, daughter–father writing team Rachel E Menzies and Ross G Menzies (Mortals: How the Fear of Death... Read more
The Frumpling (Jo van der Borgh, illus Jo Beasley, Walker)
Released July 2026
The Frumpling by Jo van der Borgh, illustrated by Jo Beasley, is a playful rhyming picture book about a lonely creature whose life begins to change after one honest conversation... Read more
Good Intentions (Jessy Wu, Macmillan)
Released July 2026
Personal and professional integrity face off in Jessy Wu’s highly engaging debut, Good Intentions – a fast-paced millennial romance set in the worlds of investigative journalism and futures trading. Nadia... Read more
One Word (Melissa-Jane Fogarty, Lothian)
Released July 2026
Melissa-Jane Fogarty’s One Word is a gentle yet powerful First Nations story about a young girl, Myra, who loves to stay with Pop. When she overhears him speaking to his... Read more
Without a Trace (Susannah Glenn, Pantera)
Released June 2026
Susannah Glenn’s second novel, Without a Trace, follows Charlotte Clarke, a once confident pilot and the daughter of a scenic flight company owner. While Charlotte is grieving the loss of... Read more
Worlds Within a World (ed Casey Mulder, Fremantle)
Released July 2026
In Worlds Within a World, Carol Foley, Deborah Green, Barb Hostalek, Lois May and Valerie Swift – 5 First Nations women – reflect on the experiences and relationships that have... Read more
Worry Doll (Laura McPhee-Browne, Scribe)
Released July 2026
Worry Doll is the immersive and introspective third novel by Laura McPhee-Browne (Cherry Beach, Little Plum). It follows two women: Heloise, a 36-year-old Melburnian living with her partner, a man,... Read more
Goose on the Loose (Catherine Meatheringham, illus Annabelle Hale, Affirm Kids)
Released July 2026
Goose on the Loose by Catherine Meatheringham, illustrated by Annabelle Hale, is a lively picture book that follows one determined goose as she races away from the farm, creating a... Read more
Seen Again: Light on Matrescence (Benita Bensch, The Kind Press)
Released July 2026
Following her 2019 infertility memoir, The Art of Trying, clarity coach Benita Bensch’s second book, Seen Again: Light on Matrescence, blends memoir and self-help to guide readers through the chaos... Read more
LIT (Anna Woods, Echo)
Released June 2026
Auckland-based writer Anna Woods’ debut novel, LIT, is a psychological thriller set in the same city, centring on 3 emotionally and professionally entangled architects: Virginia Ishak (Gin), Clarissa Taylor (Clary)... Read more
Later, Only Love Remains (Leah Swann, HarperCollins)
Released June 2026
In Later, Only Love Remains, Leah Swann (Sheerwater) returns with another literary thriller, following Jack Wolfe in the aftermath of a car crash that killed his wife while he was... Read more
