Borderland (Graham Akhurst, UWA Publishing)
Tuesday, 25 July 2023
Jono is a young Indigenous man who has little connection to Country and community. While his best friend, Jenny, seems to know exactly who she is, Jono struggles with his...
Tiwi Story: Turning history downside up (Mavis Kerinaiua & Laura Rademaker, UNSW)
Tuesday, 18 July 2023
In Tiwi Story: Turning history downside up, Mavis Kerinaiua and Laura Rademaker undertake the phenomenal work of penning Tiwi peoples’ past and present. Tiwi Story is the latest preservation of...
Sunbirds (Mirandi Riwoe, UQP)
Tuesday, 18 July 2023
In West Java, towards the end of 1941, war is looming. Whispers of a Japanese invasion weigh heavily on the minds of the van Hoorn family, who are throwing their...
Every Night at Midnight (Peter Cheong, Affirm)
Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Up-and-coming author-illustrator Peter Cheong casts a magnificent glow with Every Night at Midnight, his heart-warming picture book about finding friendship in unexpected places. With the repetitive refrain, ‘Every night at...
The Disorganisation of Celia Stone (Emma Young, Fremantle)
Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Emma Young’s second novel, The Disorganisation of Celia Stone, explores the demands of modern life and how they affect women living in a world with unrealistic expectations. Celia Stone has it...
The Visitors (Jane Harrison, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 11 July 2023
It’s 1788 in Gadigal country. Seven Aboriginal Elders gather from different clans to discuss the large ships in the harbour. Who are these visitors? Why are they here? How did...
Aggie Flea is Not a Liar! (Tania Ingram, illus A Yi, Scholastic)
Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Aggie Flea is greatly misunderstood. Her teacher, Mrs Fossy, definitely doesn’t like her and regularly sends her to the principal’s office. Aggie loves the fictitious Princess Zombie books about a...
Something Bad is Going to Happen (Jessie Stephens, Macmillan)
Tuesday, 11 July 2023
When Jessie Stephens’s debut novel opens, protagonist Adella is almost 30 and spending New Year’s Eve in a psychiatric hospital. Something bad, it seems, has happened. The novel rewinds to...
Good Morning, My Deer! (Mel Amon, illus Sophie Beer, Scribble)
Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Hare or hair, pear or pair, son or sun—abounds in a glorious new picture book from author Mel Amon, illustrated by national treasure Sophie Beer. Good Morning, My Deer! is...
Hoodie Economics (Jack Manning Bancroft, Hardie Grant)
Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Hoodie Economics is not your regular economics book. In his book, Jack Manning Bancroft, founder and CEO of the mentoring program AIME, pulls apart what ‘people in suits’ might think...
Nedingar: Ancestors (Isobel Bevis, illus Leanne Zilm, Fremantle)
Tuesday, 4 July 2023
Nedingar: Ancestors is the first picture book from First Nations creators Isobel Bevis and Leanne Zilm. It is a simple story, told in Noongar and English, of a child in search...
Mighty Blossom (Nicki Greenberg, Affirm)
Tuesday, 4 July 2023
Nicki Greenberg is one of Australia’s most versatile authors, whose work for young readers encompasses fiction, picture books, nonfiction, and critically acclaimed graphic novels. Mighty Blossom is her latest offering...
Ripper (Shelley Burr, Hachette)
Tuesday, 4 July 2023
Reputation can make or break a small town, and the bloody history of Rainier will always be the first thing people remember. Nearly two decades ago, when a serial killer...
At The Foot Of The Cherry Tree (Alli Parker, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 27 June 2023
At the Foot of the Cherry Tree is an impressive debut novel from screenwriter Alli Parker and is inspired by the true story of her grandparents and Australia’s first Japanese...
Australian Backyard Birds (Myke Mollard, Woodslane)
Tuesday, 27 June 2023
Myke Mollard invites readers to experience the birdscape of Australia as he showcases over 150 birds, their habits and lifestyles in Australian Backyard Birds. The book is organised by state,...
Ghost Book (Remy Lai, A&U Children’s)
Tuesday, 27 June 2023
July Chen sees ghosts, but because her dad doesn’t believe in them, she pretends otherwise. Except during Hungry Ghost Month, when dangerous ghosts run amok. When she saves a ghost...
The Things That Matter Most (Gabbie Stroud, A&U)
Tuesday, 27 June 2023
Gabbie Stroud’s first adult novel The Things That Matter Most packs a powerful emotional punch. Stroud is no stranger to the book industry, having previously penned memoir Teacher, nonfiction collection...
Love, Dad: Confessions of an anxious father (Laurie Steed, Fremantle)
Tuesday, 20 June 2023
In Love, Dad, Laurie Steed reflects on family, mental health, the arts, careers, relationships and, most of all, being a father. It’s an honest and engaging book about being a...
Mole Creek (James Dunbar, Echo)
Tuesday, 20 June 2023
Mole Creek is James Dunbar’s first foray into writing a serious crime and espionage novel. In it, he delivers intriguing dual storylines set 50 years apart. Pete McAuslan, a former...
Last-Place Lin (Wai Chim, illus Freda Chiu, A&U Children’s)
Tuesday, 20 June 2023
Last-Place Lin is Wai Chim’s first picture book. Known for her young adult novels (The Surprising Power of a Good Dumping, Freedom Swimmer), Chim was inspired by her experience on...
Jawsome (R J Timmis, Albert St Books)
Tuesday, 20 June 2023
The best graphic novels need to be action-packed with an engaging interplay of text and illustrations. Ideally, they should also be funny. Rebecca Timmis’s Jawsome ticks all these boxes and...
The Caretaker (Gabriel Bergmoser, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Gabriel Bergmoser’s The Hunted and its series follow-up, The Inheritance, has earned the award-winning playwright and bestselling author a reputation for writing savage and compelling thrillers. His new stand-alone thriller...
Carnage (Mark Dapin, S&S)
Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Having just completed a book on criminals, author Mark Dapin wasn’t looking to write another. When he received a phone call from Jack Karlson, a man he’d never heard of,...
Follow the Rainbow (Juliet M Sampson, illus Anne Ryan, Ford St)
Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Follow the Rainbow is Juliet M Sampson’s latest picture book, set against beautifully coloured illustrations by Anne Ryan. Ruby is daydreaming with her best friend and dog, Tavish, as she...
The Sitter (Angela O’Keeffe, UQP)
Tuesday, 13 June 2023
There is a sentence halfway through Angela O’Keeffe’s second novel, The Sitter, that says: ‘A character, when they enter a story, must be willing to drop their preconceptions of what...
You Called an Ambulance for What? (Tim Booth, Macmillan)
Wednesday, 7 June 2023
In You Called an Ambulance for What?, former Top Gear Australia journalist Tim Booth has penned a series of entertaining stories depicting the craziness and drama of his six years as...
Honey and the Valley of Horses (Wendy Orr, A&U Children’s)
Wednesday, 7 June 2023
Wendy Orr, the bestselling author of Nim’s Island, has written a new magical story that reads like a classic in all the best ways. In Honey and the Valley of...
The Vitals (Tracy Sorensen, Picador)
Tuesday, 6 June 2023
The Vitals is unlike any other book you will ever read about cancer. The book straddles the line between fiction and nonfiction and is based on Tracy Sorensen’s own cancer...
Tamarra: A story of termites on Gurindji Country (Violet Wadrill, Topsy Dodd Ngarnjal & Leah Leaman, Hardie Grant Explore)
Tuesday, 30 May 2023
Tamarra is a nonfiction picture book that explains the relationship between the Gurindji people and termites. With gorgeous illustrations, the text not only provides information about termites—explaining their life cycles...
Cast Mates: Australian Actors in Hollywood and at Home (Sam Twyford-Moore, NewSouth)
Tuesday, 30 May 2023
Sam Twyford-Moore set out to write a cultural history of Australian cinema in Cast Mates: Stories of Australians in film, but covering 127 years of boom and bust was always...