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A Single Witness (Christine Balint, Spinifex)
Released May 2026
Christine Balint's gripping historical fiction, A Single Witness, is based on the true story of Anna Maria Bonon, a girl from a poor 1750s Italian rural village who works in a... Read more
The Secrets of Strangers (Jess Kitching, S&S)
Released May 2026
Despite brimming with suspects, lies and a cast of clichéd small-town characters, The Secrets of Strangers by Jess Kitching (The Life Experiment) is anything but a stereotypical “cosy crime” novel.... Read more
The Attention Recovery Plan: How to Win the Battle for Focus in a World Built to Break It (David Gillespie, Macmillan)
Released May 2026
David Gillespie (Sweet Poison, Toxic at Work) has built a reputation for distilling complex research into clear, useful guidance. His latest book, The Attention Recovery Guide: Winning the Battle for Focus in... Read more
You’re Welcome!: A Baking Celebration with a Southeast Asian Twist (Raymond Tan & Audrey Payne, Murdoch)
Released May 2026
Raymond Tan and Audrey Payne’s You’re Welcome!: A Baking Celebration with a Southeast Asian Twist is a joyful, generous cookbook – one to pore over, plan from and build celebrations... Read more
Every Wild Soul (Katherine Johnson, HarperCollins)
Released May 2026
Eco-literature has been booming in recent years, thanks largely to writers including James Bradley, Richard Flanagan, Tim Winton, Charlotte Wood and Donna Cameron. Winner of the inaugural Australian Fiction Prize,... Read more
No Hiding from the Woman in the Moon (Bruce Pascoe, Magabala)
Released May 2026
Bruce Pascoe’s No Hiding from the Woman in the Moon is a quiet, contemplative collection that looks upward to the Moon while remaining firmly grounded in Country. The poems move... Read more
Periodic Bitch (Emma Hardy, A&U)
Released May 2026
In Periodic Bitch, Emma Hardy delivers a memoir that is both intellectually rigorous and literary in style, interrogating the cultural construction of the “female monster” alongside her lived experience of premenstrual... Read more
The Enigmatic Echidna: Secrets of the World’s Most Curious Creature (Danielle Clode, Black Inc.)
Released May 2026
In The Enigmatic Echidna: Secrets of the World’s Most Curious Creature, biologist and award-winning author Danielle Clode (Koala: A Life in Trees) draws readers into the fascinating world of one... Read more
Capture (Amanda Lohrey, Text)
Released May 2026
In Amanda Lohrey’s Capture, ageing psychiatrist James Mather is commissioned to research psychological explanations for alien capture experiences. His interviews with “experiencers” – whose stories he quickly finds to be... Read more
Silvia (Maya Caruso, Echo)
Released May 2026
Midlife awakening lies at the heart of Maya Caruso’s impressive debut novel, Silvia. This character-driven novel follows 42-year-old Silvia, a divorced daughter of a widowed Italian matriarch, Silvia Senior, whose... Read more
A Little Unwell (Kerry Jewell, Hachette)
Released May 2026
Kerry Jewell’s debut novel, A Little Unwell, is a candid medical drama that draws back the privacy curtain on the life of a young resident doctor working rotations at an... Read more
The Ruiners (Ellena Savage, Summit)
Released May 2026
Ellena Savage’s debut novel, The Ruiners, introduces a narrator suspended between self-awareness and self-sabotage: a 29-year-old waitress, working at casino-adjacent lobster shack Claws, whose life feels both theatrically doomed and... Read more
Women Who Win: Celebrating Courage, Conviction and Change (Antoinette Lattouf, Penguin)
Released May 2026
Before “Lattoufed” entered the lexicon as shorthand for an unjust dismissal, Antoinette Lattouf (How to Lose Friends and Influence White People) was already known for her award-winning media career. In... Read more
Margaret, Are You Leaving? (Dianne Yarwood, Hachette)
Released May 2026
Following her much-loved debut, The Wakes, Dianne Yarwood’s latest novel, Margaret, Are You Leaving?, is a contemplative exploration of mother–daughter relationships, identity and the accumulation of moments that make up a... Read more
Mantle (Romy Ash, Ultimo)
Released May 2026
Romy Ash’s Mantle is a novel that settles slowly and irrevocably, like sediment. Set on a windswept Tasmanian coastline, it follows Ursula as she returns to care for her dying... Read more
The Northern Tomb (Isabelle Li, Puncher & Wattman)
Released May 2026
Isabelle Li’s The Northern Tomb is a quietly powerful, deeply human novel that unfolds in 4 parts, blending personal stories with history in a way that feels both intimate and... Read more
The Thornbacks (Chloe Wilson, Hamish Hamilton)
Released May 2026
Chloe Wilson’s debut novel, The Thornbacks, follows stepsisters Gertie and Tabitha: a pair of morticians who – apart from a sinister hobby – are mostly harmless. Come “date night”, they... Read more
Henry Goes Bush (Wayne Marshall, Picador)
Released May 2026
Wayne Marshall blends fact and fiction (including time travel) to explore alternative versions of Henry Lawson’s 1892 trip to Bourke. Lawson was 25, depressed, nearly deaf and already battling alcoholism... Read more
Fitzroy North 3068 (Yvette Henry Holt, Upswell)
Released May 2026
Fitzroy North 3068 by multi-award-winning poet Yvette Henry Holt is more than a collection of poems – it is an experience. To call it “immersive” feels almost inadequate for a... Read more
The Missing Mother (Mali Cornish, A&U)
Released May 2026
In The Missing Mother, Mali Cornish (Judgement Day) crafts a gripping domestic thriller centred on Elspeth, who returns to Geelong from New York when her mother Simone vanishes. The story... Read more
