Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

Image. Advertisement:

Review search

 

Cloud Land (Penny van Oosterzee, A&U)

Released February 2023

In the gripping and extensively researched Cloud Land, Penny van Oosterzee imagines what a small region of Queensland’s Atherton Tablelands has witnessed over both geological time and since white settlement.... Read more

The Exclusion Zone (Shastra Deo, UQP)

Released February 2023

‘You are searching for something,’ begins The Exclusion Zone. It's a provocation that forms the manifesto for the enthralling and ingenious second poetry collection from Shastra Deo following her ALS... Read more

How to Kill a Client (Joanna Jenkins, A&U)

the book cover of How to Kill a Client

Released February 2023

Gavin Jones is the slimiest, most unpleasant client at big law firm Howard Greene—and that’s with some stiff competition. When this misogynistic, manipulative man dies suddenly it’s not so much... Read more

The Cockatoo Wars (Helen Milroy, Magabala)

Released February 2023

The Cockatoo Wars is the latest picture book in Helen Milroy’s vibrant Tales from the Bush Mob series. Featuring a cast of Australian animals including Dingo, Willy Wagtail, Platypus and Wombat, and drawing... Read more

Timeless (Kelly Canby, Fremantle Press)

Released February 2023

A topical theme in these social media-obsessed days, Timeless tells the tale of Emit, a young boy whose parents are always too preoccupied to pay attention to him. Tired of... Read more

Who Cares? Life on welfare in Australia (Eve Vincent, MUP)

Released February 2023

What is it like to live on welfare in Australia today? In Who Cares? researcher Eve Vincent endeavours to answer this question, with a special focus on the experiences of... Read more

Compulsion (Kate Scott, Hamish Hamilton)

Released January 2023

Lucy is a music journalist with a penchant for 80s party dresses, long, languorous walks, and throwing decadent dinner parties for her friends. Robin is the dark-eyed, softly spoken man... Read more

A Man and His Pride (Luke Rutledge, Michael Joseph)

Released February 2023

In Luke Rutledge’s A Man and His Pride, 26-year-old Sean Preston navigates the realities of being in his 20s—work, relationships, sexuality, mental health—against the backdrop of Australia’s 2017 same-sex marriage... Read more

Headland (John Byrnes, A&U)

Released January 2023

It’s a well-worn storyline for Australian crime fiction: a detective arrives in a small town only to discover that danger lurks beneath quaint country manners; the detective is usually running... Read more

The Last Love Note (Emma Grey, Michael Joseph)

Released January 2023

Recently widowed, Kate Whittaker is trying her hardest to navigate the grief of losing her husband, Cam, while also being a single mother to their young son. That’s not to... Read more

The Matchmaker (Saman Shad, Viking)

Released February 2023

Playing cupid for the Sydney Pakistani community is Saima Khan in The Matchmaker. Pairing lovers is second nature for Saima until the handsome, young white-collar Kal (Khalid) Ali unwittingly saunters... Read more

Why Does it Still Hurt? (Paul Biegler, Scribe)

Released January 2023

The way we understand pain evolves, and it is misunderstood even within the medical community. Part physical, part psychological, it is notoriously difficult to study. In Why Does it Still... Read more

Seven Sisters (Katherine Kovacic, HarperCollins)

Released January 2023

Katherine Kovacic’s latest novel is an intense, page-turning psychological thriller that explores the depravity of domestic violence, the failings of the justice system and the lengths families will go in... Read more

Sydney: A biography (Louis Nowra, NewSouth)

Released December 2022

Melbourne-born Louis Nowra moved to Sydney as an adult and has never lost his passion for his adopted home. Whether he’s describing the city’s mercurial weather, its elegant convict-designed colonial... Read more

An Afterlife for Rosemary Lamb (Louise Wolhuter, Ultimo)

Released December 2022

‘Twisty mystery’ is the delightfully accurate descriptor on the AI sheet for this character-based drama. Yet before its mysterious elements begin unspooling, the characters and setting are firmly established, endearing... Read more

The Teal Revolution (Margot Saville, Hardie Grant)

Released December 2022

Australia's 2022 federal election brought a major upset: six independent female candidates—colloquially known as ‘the teals’ for the signature colour they adopted (a blend of green and Liberal blue)—catapulted into... Read more

Tjitji Lullaby (Michael Ross & Zaachariaha Fielding, illus by Lisa Kennedy, ABC Books)

Released December 2022

A lyrical storytelling beauty aligned with rich bedtime qualities of calm and serenity featuring diverse Australian wildlife. Tjitji Lullaby, the hardcover board book for babies to two-year-olds, originates from the... Read more

Minds Went Walking (curated by Jock Serong, Mark Smith & Neil A White, Fremantle Press)

Released December 2022

Minds Went Walking is a collection of responses to the work of singer-songwriter Paul Kelly. Curated by Jock Serong, Mark Smith and Neil A White, this is a no-rules collection... Read more

Nice and Slow (Sarah Ayoub, illus by Mimi Purnell, HarperCollins)

Released December 2022

With the soothing sensation of a lullaby, Nice and Slow lulls its young audience into a peaceful state of mindfulness, joy and creativity, while encapsulating the importance of quality time... Read more

Going to Big School (Laura Sieveking, illus by Danielle McDonald, Scholastic)

Released December 2022

Appealing to a diverse readership, Going to Big School inhabits the viewpoints of two children, Ava and Jack, on their first day at school. With contrasting personalities, Ava and Jack... Read more