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Hysteria: A memoir of illness, strength and women’s stories throughout history (Katerina Bryant, NewSouth)
Released September 2020
In this ambitious debut, Katerina Bryant blends memoir, biography, history and cultural analysis in an effort to deconstruct the complex cultural frameworks that inform our understanding of women’s mental health... Read more
Night Lessons in Little Jerusalem (Rick Held, Hachette)
Released May 2020
Night Lessons in Little Jerusalem is an impressive and gripping debut that blurs the line between memoir and fiction. Based on the wartime diaries of the author’s father, the novel tells... Read more
Ghost Species (James Bradley, Hamish Hamilton)
Released May 2020
James Bradley’s latest novel tells the story of Eve, a genetically engineered Neanderthal brought into life as part of a scheme for mitigating the environmental degradation of climate change. In... Read more
Untethered (Hayley Katzen, Ventura)
Released May 2020
In 1989 academic Hayley Katzen moved from apartheid South Africa to Australia. In Sydney she taught and worked in law and enjoyed the comparative safety and community of the city... Read more
How to Grow a Family Tree (Eliza Henry Jones, HarperCollins)
Released April 2020
Eliza Henry Jones explores addiction, family and identity in this insightful, compelling novel for young adults. Stella has always known that she’s adopted, but an unexpected letter from her birth... Read more
Mum’s Elephant (Maureen Jipiyiliya Nampijinpa O’Keefe, illus by Christina Booth, Magabala)
Released April 2020
Maureen Jipiyiliya Nampijinpa O’Keefe has spun a cherished childhood memory into a beguiling tale for children in this debut picture book. In its pages she reflects on her mum’s ‘elephant’,... Read more
The January Stars (Kate Constable, A&U)
Released April 2020
Fans of Kate Constable’s previous titles Crow Country and Cicada Summer will welcome the release of her latest middle-grade novel, The January Stars. This story introduces 12-year-old Clancy, yet another... Read more
Who’s Your Real Mum? (Bernadette Green, illus by Anna Zobel, Scribble)
Released April 2020
This is an exceptional book. It promises kindness, humour and insight, and absolutely delivers. Nicholas is obsessed with discovering which of Elvi’s two female parents is her ‘real mum’: a... Read more
Anisa’s Alphabet (Mike Dumbleton, illus by Hannah Sommerville, MidnightSun)
Released March 2020
In this picture book, Anisa takes the reader though the alphabet, describing her journey from an unnamed war-torn country to a refugee camp, then on to an overcrowded boat towards... Read more
Shoestring, the Boy Who Walks on Air (Julie Hunt, illus by Dale Newman)
Released June 2020
The creators of the 2015 graphic novel KidGlovz reunite with this illustrated companion novel. KidGlovz told the tale of a young musician so prized that he lived the life of... Read more
Duck, Apple, Egg (Glenda Millard, illus by Martina Heiduczek, ABC Books)
Released March 2020
This sweet and simple picture book will be a nice one to read to babies and toddlers just beginning to enjoy books. Duck, Apple, Egg is a cheerful, concise text... Read more
The Republic of Birds (Jessica Miller, Text)
Released March 2020
In her second middle-grade novel, The Republic of Birds, Jessica Miller has crafted a mythical world inspired by Russian folklore but steeped in a rich history of its own. Growing... Read more
The Vanishing Deep (Astrid Scholte, A&U)
Released March 2020
Tempest ekes out a living scavenging the sunken cities of a future flooded world, alone now after the death of her sister Elysea. But death is no longer the end.... Read more
Deep Water (Sarah Epstein, A&U)
Released April 2020
Sarah Epstein’s latest young adult thriller is equipped with enough intrigue and twists to rival any adult or international title in the genre. Deep Water is a captivating, character-driven mystery... Read more
Landing with Wings (Trace Balla, A&U)
Released April 2020
In Landing with Wings, Trace Balla’s latest graphic novel–picture book hybrid, Miri and her mother have moved to a new home in the Victorian Goldfields, and Miri’s feelings about this... Read more
Goodnight Glow Worms (Aura Parker, Puffin)
Released April 2020
Sleepy, cute and appealing bedtime books that, by their simplicity and rhythm, gently rock their readers to sleep are always welcome in families with small children. Most of us know,... Read more
Taking Down Evelyn Tait (Poppy Nwosu, Wakefield)
Released April 2020
Lottie is 16 and loves black metal, collecting curious words and making trouble, so her transformation into a goody two-shoes surprises herself as much as anyone else. But Lottie is... Read more
Backyard Birds (Helen Milroy, Fremantle Press)
Released April 2020
Helen Milroy is a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Born in Perth, she has always had a passionate interest in health and wellbeing,... Read more
The Animals in That Country (Laura Jean McKay, Scribe)
Released April 2020
Laura Jean McKay’s debut novel concerns itself with the apocalypse, but an entirely different one to that fixated upon in cli-fi narratives. In McKay’s doomsday tale, humans contract a highly... Read more
The Adversary (Ronnie Scott, Hamish Hamilton)
Released April 2020
Ronnie Scott’s debut novel The Adversary is set during what appears to be an uneventful Melbourne summer but actually sees a lot happening to its protagonist. Languishing in emotional and... Read more
