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The First Time I Thought I Was Dying (Sarah Walker, UQP)
Released August 2021
This is an essay collection in which the most difficult and abject parts of being a human in a body are examined with full and unflinching frankness, from our unacknowledged... Read more
Sugar Town Queens (Malla Nunn, A&U)
Released August 2021
Sugar Town Queens is a young adult coming-of-age novel by Malla Nunn, author of When the Ground is Hard. Her latest book follows 15-year-old Amandla, who is mixed-raced and growing... Read more
Small Joys of Real Life (Allee Richards, Hachette)
Released August 2021
Small Joys of Real Life begins at a house party in Northcote, Melbourne, where the narrator, actress Eva McMillan, meets a cute guy, Pat. Two weeks later, they meet again... Read more
Muddy People (Sara El Sayed, Black Inc.)
Released August 2021
With elegant lyricism, compelling urgency and a dark sense of humour, Muddy People by Sara El Sayed is an impressive debut memoir from the young Egyptian–Australian writer. El Sayed’s work... Read more
Albert Namatjira (Vincent Namatjira, Magabala)
Released August 2021
In his picture book biography Albert Namatjira, Vincent Namatjira paints a stoic and quietly devastating portrait of his great-grandfather Albert, one of the most iconic figures in Australian painting. An... Read more
Girls in Boys’ Cars (Felicity Castagna, Pan)
Released August 2021
Felicity Castagna’s Girls in Boys’ Cars is not dissimilar to her Prime Minister’s Literary Award–winning young adult novel The Incredible Here and Now, which centres on a 15-year-old coming of... Read more
Empires (Nick Earls, Vintage)
Released August 2021
With his latest novel, Nick Earls again proves his talent for compelling and convincing storytelling. A novel in five parts, Empires tracks backwards through history from 2018 to 1809 before... Read more
The Night Village (Zoe Deleuil, Fremantle Press)
Released August 2021
A year ago, Paul and Simone met at a party—young, carefree and living separate lives. Now, they’re parents to a tiny new baby and nothing between them is the same.... Read more
Daughter of the River Country (Dianne O’Brien with Sue Williams, Echo)
Released July 2021
This book isn’t always an easy one to read, but it is certainly worthwhile. Dianne O’Brien’s memoir takes us through death, abuse, imprisonment and trauma of many different kinds. As... Read more
The 22 Murders of Madison May (Max Barry, Hachette)
Released July 2021
The idea of parallel universes might once have been exotic, but between public interest in physics, the increasing popularity of science fiction books and movies, and the rise of the... Read more
All Dogs Bark (Catherine Meatheringham & Deb Hudson, Windy Hollow Books)
Released July 2021
A picture book that is particularly appealing for canine lovers, All Dogs Bark is a joyous and raucous look at the dogs of the world. Its simple language makes it... Read more
The Mother Wound (Amani Haydar, Macmillan)
Released July 2021
Like her own mother before her, Amani Haydar lost her mother young. In 2006 Haydar’s grandmother was killed in the 2006 Israeli–Lebanese conflict. In 2015 Haydar’s mother was murdered by... Read more
The Memory Thief (Leonie Agnew, Puffin)
Released July 2021
Following her last spellbinding tale The Impossible Boy, Leonie Agnew has created another spine-tingling adventure novel for middle-grade readers. The Memory Thief tells the magical story of an unlikely friendship... Read more
The Newcomer (Laura Elizabeth Woollett, Scribe)
Released July 2021
Paulina Novak is a bad-girl bogan archetype in early 2000s Sydney. Stuck in a rut, she moves on a whim to Fairfolk Island, a fictional Pacific island known as a... Read more
The Cat Thief (Pat Simmons, illus by Liz Duthie, Little Pink Dog Books)
Released July 2021
Olive desperately wants a cat. So much so she is willing to steal them from off the street! The Cat Thief is a wickedly sly and humorous tale of theft,... Read more
Gentle and Fierce (Vanessa Berry, Giramondo)
Released July 2021
If you grew up in the 80s you’ll probably remember that infamous scene in The NeverEnding Story where Artax the horse sinks forever into the Swamp of Sadness. Sydney writer... Read more
Shockingly Good Stories (R A Spratt, Puffin)
Released July 2021
The foreword to R A Spratt’s latest middle-grade book declares that the collection of stories the reader holds in their hands was created specifically to spread joy in challenging times.... Read more
After Story (Larissa Behrendt, UQP)
Released July 2021
'Books have been my lifeline, my escape.' Jasmine’s family was forever changed by the loss of her sister when she was three. Now a lawyer, Jasmine is invited on a... Read more
Rainfish (Andrew Paterson, Text)
Released July 2021
Debut middle-grade novel Rainfish is set in the 1980s during the uncomplicated glory days of Transformers and Star Wars, when ‘being offline’ meant you left your phone off the hook.... Read more
The Shut Ins (Katherine Brabon, A&U)
Released July 2021
When Mai Takeda runs into an old acquaintance at a train station in Nagoya, it begins a narrative that weaves the lives of four people together in unexpected ways. Mai,... Read more
