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Peta Lyre’s Rating Normal (Anna Whateley, A&U)
Released May 2020
Peta Lyre is an atypical girl living in a typical world. Her best mate says she has so many letters that they almost make up the alphabet—ADHD, ASD, SPD. Fiercely... Read more
Sometimes Cake (Edwina Wyatt, illus by Tamsin Ainslie, Walker)
Released May 2020
Audrey meets a lion carrying a purple balloon and asks him if it’s his birthday. ‘Sometimes,’ he responds, ‘but not today’. But considering that Audrey happens to like birthdays, she... Read more
When it Drops (Alex Dyson, Hardie Grant Egmont)
Released May 2020
Former triple j breakfast presenter Alex Dyson’s debut YA novel draws on his considerable knowledge of the Australian music industry—he has said that this book was inspired by the school-aged... Read more
Please Don’t Hug Me (Kay Kerr, Text)
Released May 2020
At the suggestion of her psychologist, Erin writes letters to her absent older brother, Rudy. Erin is 17 years old, behind on her savings for Schoolies and freshly unemployed. There... Read more
Broken Rules and Other Stories (Barry Lee Thompson, Transit Lounge)
Released September 2020
In this accomplished debut, Barry Lee Thompson makes delicate inquiries into the passage of time through a series of loosely linked, often coming-of-age stories. Several stories cast back to lucid... Read more
The Drop-Off (Fiona Harris & Mike McLeish, Echo)
Released May 2020
The Drop-Off is a cheerful depiction of parenting culture, told through the alternating points-of-view of three parents and set in a middle-class primary school in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne.... Read more
Fathoms: The world in the whale (Rebecca Giggs, Scribe)
Released May 2020
Rebecca Giggs’ nonfiction debut is a lyrical, wide-ranging meditation on whales and their complex relationship with humanity. Meticulously researched and full of fascinating information, Fathoms is not just limited to... Read more
Mammoth (Chris Flynn, UQP)
Released May 2020
Chris Flynn’s third novel is an ambitious adventure back in time that recounts the folly of humanity—as told by the fossil of a 13,000-year-old mammoth. It sounds like it could... Read more
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
