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Charlie’s Whale (Libby Gleeson, illus by Hannah Sommerville, Lothian)

Released October 2022

Distinguished writer Libby Gleeson and CBCA-shortlisted illustrator Hannah Sommerville have successfully collaborated on Charlie’s Whale, a picture book that is destined for awards, and for popularity with children aged two... Read more

Moon Sugar (Angela Meyer, Transit Lounge)

Released October 2022

Mila—40, single, childless—is used to attending to the needs and wants of others. Her own wants, particularly her sexual desires, have always come second. Kyle, a tentative man in his... Read more

A Girl Called Corpse (Reece Carter, A&U)

Released October 2022

Reece Carter—who previously brought us The Garden Apothecary—has turned his hand to prose for his debut middle-grade novel A Girl Called Corpse. Corpse is a ghost with no memory of... Read more

Seeing Other People (Diana Reid, Ultimo)

Released October 2022

Eleanor and Charlie are sisters in their 20s, emerging from the pandemic and trying to decide what they want from their lives. Intellectual, straitlaced Eleanor has just broken up with... Read more

Try Not to Think of a Pink Elephant (Fremantle Press)

Released October 2022

Mental illness is so misunderstood—often even by those of us who live with it—but obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) gets an odd deal. The phrase 'a little bit OCD' infantalises the... Read more

All That’s Left Unsaid (Tracey Lien, HQ Fiction)

Released September 2022

Brutally murdered inside a restaurant on the night of his high-school graduation, Ky Tran’s brother, Denny, has suffered a ‘bad death’. It is 1996, and when Ky (pronounced ‘key’) travels... Read more

11 Words for Love (Randa Abdel-Fattah, illus by Maxine Beneba Clarke, Lothian)

Released October 2022

Multi–award winning author Randa Abdel-Fattah and highly acclaimed author–illustrator Maxine Beneba Clarke unite with 11 Words for Love, a beautifully rendered, timely picture book created with heart. Appealing to children... Read more

The Upwelling (Lystra Rose, Lothian)

Released September 2022

Kirra doesn’t understand how or why, but her dreams come true. And no one believes her, not even Nan, who told Kirra to never mention her ‘power’. One night, she... Read more

The Jammer (Nova Weetman, UQP)

Released October 2022

Fred has roller derby in her blood. As soon as she could walk, her mum had her skating. It was their thing—and a place where Fred always knew she belonged—until... Read more

The Sun Walks Down (Fiona McFarlane, A&U)

Released October 2022

Fiona McFarlane’s debut novel The Night Guest and short story collection The High Places received critical acclaim. Now teaching creative writing at the University of California, Berkeley, the author seals... Read more

People Who Lunch (Sally Olds, Upswell)

Released September 2022

People Who Lunch is the much-anticipated first book by Melbourne-based writer Sally Olds. Known among a devoted coterie of fans for her long-form standalone essays, Olds’ first full collection focuses... Read more

A Message for Nasty (Roderick Fry, Awa Press)

Released September 2022

Roderick Fry’s debut novel is the harrowing wartime story of a family fighting to reunite amid the destruction of the Second World War. The plot follows a married couple, Marie... Read more

A Question of Age: Women, ageing and the forever self (Jacinta Parsons, ABC Books)

Released September 2022

Jacinta Parsons wanted to get under the skin of ageing. What is it? And can we prepare ourselves for it, even before we have arrived at ‘old age’ (whatever that... Read more

Itty Bitty Kitty (Maddy Mara, illus by Noémie Gionet Landry, Affirm)  

Released September 2022

Maddy Mara is the pseudonym for publishing powerhouses Hilary Rogers and Meredith Badger, who have between them worked across industry roles from illustration to acquisitions. Having previously collaborated on picture... Read more

My Deadly Boots (Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler, illus by Samantha Campbell, Lothian)

Released September 2022

This is the story of a pair of fantastically bright footy boots which may or may not be the source of a young Indigenous boy’s confidence, joy, inspiration, energy, power... Read more

The Wintrish Girl (Melanie La’Brooy, UQP)

Released September 2022

Melanie La’Brooy’s The Wintrish Girl is an exciting middle-grade fantasy debut. Penn is an outsider in the strict world of Aralyia, a slave to the princess Seraphine, who is orphaned... Read more

The Tree at Number 43 (Jess McGeachin, Puffin)

Released September 2022

Jess McGeachin has fast established himself as an exciting and skilled creator of picture books, drawing on his work at Melbourne Museum to celebrate the beauty of the natural world... Read more

Where You Left Us (Rhiannon Wilde, UQP)

Released September 2022

Rhiannon Wilde’s second YA novel, Where You Left Us, is as bewitching as her Glendower Award–winning debut Henry Hamlet’s Heart. It follows the two Prince sisters, Cinnamon and Scarlett, who... Read more

Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell (Tobias Madden, Penguin)

Released September 2022

Noah and Eli play an online computer game together most nights. They take down swamp goblins and drink virtual flagons of ale for hours at a time, but they still... Read more

Bon and Lesley (Shaun Prescott, Giramondo)

Released September 2022

Shaun Prescott continues his existential explorations of modern life in his second novel, which follows his 2017 debut The Town. In the opening pages of Bon and Lesley we meet... Read more