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Ollie’s Treasure (Lynn Jenkins, illus by Kirrili Lonergan, EK Books)
Released June 2017
Here’s a picture book that unpacks mindfulness and the awareness of transient moments in time. Ollie’s grandma knows he loves treasure hunts so she sends him a map. He enthusiastically... Read more
Storm Whale (Sarah Brennan, illus by Jane Tanner, A&U)
Released June 2017
Jane Tanner’s rich, textured, gorgeous illustrations work in parallel with Sarah Brennan’s equally complex and affecting language in this verse-narrative of three young girls who find a beached whale. Their... Read more
Closing Down (Sally Abbott, Hachette)
Released May 2017
Sally Abbott’s manuscript was the inaugural winner of the Richell Prize, which was set up by Hachette Australia in honour of former CEO Matt Richell. Closing Down conjures a dystopian... Read more
The Dark Lake (Sarah Bailey, A&U)
Released June 2017
Police detective Gemma Woodstock has lived in the regional Australian town of Smithson for her whole life, stuck there by a compounding trail of grief, love, comfort and childbirth. An... Read more
The Good Girl Stripped Bare (Tracey Spicer, ABC Books)
Released May 2017
In the same vein as her viral TEDx talk ‘The Lady Stripped Bare’, journalist Tracey Spicer’s memoir The Good Girl Stripped Bare unearths the indignities of being a woman in... Read more
The Gulf (Anna Spargo-Ryan, Picador)
Released June 2017
Just a year after her debut novel The Paper House was released to enthusiastic reviews, Anna Spargo-Ryan returns with another impressive novel that will have readers feeling every emotion experienced... Read more
No More Boats (Felicity Castagna, Giramondo)
Released June 2017
First up should I say that one of the characters in this impressive novel from Felicity Castagna (The Incredible Here and Now, Small Indiscretions) works in a bookshop in Sydney’s... Read more
Some Tests (Wayne Macauley, Text)
Released June 2017
One day, 37-year-old aged-care worker Beth Own, wife and mother of two young daughters, wakes up feeling a bit off-colour. She takes a day off work and is sent for... Read more
This Water (Beverley Farmer, Giramondo)
Released June 2017
This Water features five new short stories from Beverly Farmer, one of Australia’s most underappreciated living writers. In this, her 10th book, Farmer draws heavily on ancient myths, folklores and... Read more
Understory: A Life with Trees (Inga Simpson, Hachette)
Released June 2017
Many people dream about making a ‘tree change’. When Inga Simpson and her partner fell in love with 10 acres of bush in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, they succumbed to... Read more
Year of the Orphan (Daniel Findlay, Bantam)
Released June 2017
There is a lot of post-apocalyptic fiction being published at the moment, and while we’re probably reaching saturation point, Year of the Orphan is definitely worth reading. In a desolate... Read more
The Great Zoo Hullabaloo! (Mark Carthew, illus by Anil Tortop, New Frontier)
Released May 2017
This is Mark Carthew and Anil Tortop’s first collaboration, though both bring extensive backlists in their respective areas. The Great Zoo Hullabaloo! is an energetic account of missing animals who,... Read more
Ready, Steady, Hatch (Ben Long, illus by David Cornish, Ford Street)
Released May 2017
Ready, Steady, Hatch has to be read aloud. That’s where the magic is, in the rhythm and cadence of this amusing tale. The story of a lost newborn chick unfolds... Read more
Archie and the Bear (Zanni Louise, illus by David Mackintosh, Little Hare)
Released May 2017
Archie and the Bear is the whimsical first collaboration between author Zanni Louise and illustrator David Mackintosh. It’s the story of a boy who is sure he’s a bear, and... Read more
Boy (Phil Cummings, illus by Shane Devries, Scholastic)
Released May 2017
Veteran children’s author Phil Cummings has produced over 60 books for young readers so he knows how to tell a simple story. The nameless titular character lives in a small... Read more
Great Goal! Marvellous Mark! (Katrina Germein, illus by Janine Dawson, Ford Street)
Released June 2017
Great Goal! Marvellous Mark! is a lively alphabet book for budding AFL champions. The story of a junior football game is woven into the alphabet book structure, capturing the joy... Read more
A Cardboard Palace (Allayne L Webster, MidnightSun)
Released June 2017
A Cardboard Palace is the Dickensian story of 11-year-old Jorge, a Romanian boy brought to Paris to be part of a gang of child thieves. Jorge is a sweet, kind... Read more
To the Lighthouse (Cristy Burne, Fremantle Press)
Released June 2017
Isaac has finally talked his mum into a proper holiday—a trip to Rottnest Island, where he’s hoping for a proper adventure instead of a holiday care program. But he’ll still... Read more
The Wayward Witch and the Feelings Monster: Polly and Buster Book One (Sally Rippin, HGE)
Released June 2017
Polly is an unusual witch—she can’t read spells because the letters get jumbled and so she makes mistakes. Buster is an unusual monster—emotions make him shrink and swell. They are... Read more
Finding Nevo (Nevo Zisin, Black Dog Books)
Released May 2017
As a young child, Nevo Zisin knew they were a boy—the only problem was they were born a girl. They were bullied for being a tomboy at their Jewish primary... Read more
