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Stephanie Chiocci and the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Chase: Footy Stars Book One (Matt Porter, Ford Street Publishing)

Released February 2018

Stephanie Chiocci, captain of the Collingwood AFLW team, is taking some time away from footy training to compete in the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Chase in England—a race to catch a... Read more

From Nerd to Ninja: Ninja Kid Book One (Ahn Do, Scholastic)

Released March 2018

When Nelson wakes up on his 10th birthday with a spider on his nose, things are not looking good. In his scramble to get it off he gets tangled in his... Read more

Breaking News: Kensy and Max Book One (Jacqueline Harvey, Random House)

Released March 2018

Kensy and Max are 11-year-old twins whose slightly eccentric lives change overnight after a string of strange occurrences sees them racing across international borders to London accompanied by their Nanny... Read more

I Wanted a Giant Chocolate Egg but All I Got Was This Stupid Book (Merv Lamington, illus by Makoto Koji, Affirm Press)

Released March 2018

Forget about any religious symbolism, for kids (and a fair few adults), Easter is all about chocolate eggs brought by the stealthy Easter bunny. This cute little self-referential picture book... Read more

Some Girls (Nelly Thomas, illus by Sarah Dunk, Piccolo Nero)

Released March 2018

We have seen a recent surge of books highlighting the achievements of great women throughout history. These books aim to redress historical imbalances and inspire children of all genders to... Read more

The Silver Sea (Alison Lester, Jane Godwin and the children at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Affirm Press)

Released March 2018

Since Alison Lester and Jane Godwin are practically Australian-children’s-literature royalty, it was hard to keep my expectations reasonable for The Silver Sea. Luckily, the book fulfils its potential. Visually sumptuous,... Read more

Hickory Dickory Dash (Tony Wilson and Laura Wood, Scholastic)

Released February 2018

Following the success of The Cow Tripped over the Moon, Tony Wilson and Laura Wood return with another collaboration that fleshes out a well-known nursery rhyme. Did you ever wonder... Read more

A Boat of Stars: New Poems to Inspire and Enchant (ed by Margaret Connolly & Natalie Jane Prior, ABC Books)

Released March 2018

Apart from rhyming texts in picture books, poetry for children seems to be largely neglected, even though it is an active part of the Australian primary curriculum. So it is... Read more

Saudade (Suneeta Peres da Costa, Giramondo)

Released March 2018

Sydney author Suneeta Peres da Costa’s novella Saudade will leave you feeling lost and homesick for a place of your own. Set in Angola’s fraught pre-independence period, Saudade follows Maria,... Read more

Surviving Your Split: A Guide to Separation, Divorce and Family Law in Australia (Lucy and Rebekah Mannering, MUP)

Released March 2018

The last thing I expected from reading Surviving Your Split: A Guide to Separation, Divorce and Family Law in Australia was enjoyment. I expected sound legal advice, helpful case studies,... Read more

False Claims of Colonial Thieves (Charmaine Papertalk Green & John Kinsella, Magabala)

Released March 2018

In False Claims of Colonial Thieves, Charmaine Papertalk Green and John Kinsella articulate a political poetry that responds to land occupation, resource exploitation and historical wrongdoing. They situate themselves as... Read more

Women of a Certain Age (ed by Jodie Moffat, Maria Scoda & Susan Laura Sullivan, Fremantle Press)

Released March 2018

Once women turn 50, society deems them ‘invisible’. Women of a Certain Age pushes against female invisibility by compiling warm and honest tales from notable Australians. Readers from many backgrounds... Read more

Randomistas (Andrew Leigh, La Trobe University Press)

Released March 2018

Randomised trials are scientific experiments that aim to clear the fog of our personal biases to arrive at the truth. Participants in a randomised trial are generally split into a... Read more

In the Garden of Fugitives (Ceridwen Dovey, Hamish Hamilton)

Released March 2018

Ceridwen Dovey is one of our best, most original writers. Her 2014 book, Only the Animals, was a compelling, beautifully constructed collection of unforgettable short stories. Her splendid new novel, In the... Read more

The Shepherd’s Hut (Tim Winton, Hamish Hamilton)

Released March 2018

Jaxie Clackton is a teenager on the run in the parched, unforgiving landscape bordering the salt lakes by the Western Australian desert. Convinced he’ll be held responsible for the accidental... Read more

What the Light Reveals (Mick McCoy, Transit Lounge)

Released March 2018

Mick McCoy’s third novel, What The Light Reveals, is an intelligent, tense and memorable story that opens in a world gripped by post-WWII fear and the looming threat of the... Read more

You Belong Here (Laurie Steed, Margaret River Press)

Released February 2018

This debut novel from acclaimed short-story writer Laurie Steed explores the dissolution of a family that began as a teenage marriage. Set against the backdrop of a 1980s and 1990s... Read more

Trick of the Light (Laura Elvery, UQP)

Released March 2018

The 24 stories in Brisbane writer Laura Elvery’s debut collection Trick of the Light span countries and centuries, ranging stylistically from stark realism to light speculative fiction. Some are vignettes,... Read more

The Ruin (Dervla McTiernan, HarperCollins)

Released March 2018

The Ruin is as much a morality tale as it is an incendiary page-turner. This superior, haunting novel of murder, deception and ethical dilemma is set in Galway, on Ireland’s... Read more

Little Gods (Jenny Ackland, A&U)

Released March 2018

Jenny Ackland’s second novel, Little Gods, couldn’t be mistaken for anything but an Australian book. The Mallee countryside leaps off the page with its great hulking peppercorns and flattened brown-farmland.... Read more