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Toad-ally Magic: Ruby Wishfingers book two (Deborah Kelly, illus by Leigh Hedstrom, Wombat Books)
Released August 2016
Ruby Wishfingers first discovered that she had wish magic in her fingers when she was nine. Now that she’s 11, she has 11 new wishes to spend! But when her... Read more
Love Elimination (Sarah Gates, Mira)
Released July 2016
Readers who enjoy the drama of television shows such as The Bachelor will appreciate the premise of Love Elimination by Sarah Gates. Anna Hobbs is so close to her dream... Read more
After the Carnage (Tara June Winch, UQP)
Released August 2016
Tara June Winch focsuses on shared humanity in this collection of short stories. Her protagonists belong to groups dismissed by the white, straight, middle-class eye: in ‘Happy’, a gay couple... Read more
Shibboleth and Other Stories (ed by Laurie Steed, Margaret River Press)
Released August 2016
Entitled Shibboleth, after the winning story by Jo Riccioni, this absorbing anthology of entries from the Margaret River Short Story Competition demonstrates the calibre of the short-story scene. The contributors... Read more
The Priests (James M Miller, Finch Publishing)
Released August 2016
In this harrowing memoir, James Miller, a successful solicitor and academic author, describes a young adulthood stolen and a life spent in hell. In 1978, at the age of 15,... Read more
Their Brilliant Careers (Ryan O’Neill, Black Inc.)
Released August 2016
We don’t see much formally innovative, experimental writing in Australian fiction—realist narratives tend to rule the roost. Also rare is genuinely fine comic writing. Enter then Ryan O’Neill, who, with... Read more
City Dreamers: The Urban Imagination in Australia (Graeme Davison, NewSouth)
Released August 2016
Australia has long looked to the bush as a formative element of our national character despite being one of the most urbanised countries in the world. Our cities have shaped,... Read more
Wasted: A Story of Alcohol, Grief and a Death in Brisbane (Elspeth Muir, Text)
Released June 2016
After tobacco, alcohol is shown to cause the most drug-related deaths in the world. It’s one of many facts that are threaded through Elspeth Muir’s intricately crafted memoir Wasted. But... Read more
The Paper House (Anna Spargo-Ryan, Picador)
Released June 2016
Anna Spargo-Ryan has a strong voice on social media and in shorter-form writing, advocating for mental-health awareness by being honest about her own raw experiences with mental illness. Her debut... Read more
The Island Will Sink (Briohny Doyle, Brow Books)
Released August 2016
Local literary journal The Lifted Brow makes its first foray into trade publishing with this debut speculative-fiction novel by regular Brow columnist Briohny Doyle. In the middle-distant future, major ecological... Read more
Ghost Empire (Richard Fidler, ABC Books)
Released August 2016
In Ghost Empire radio presenter Richard Fidler recounts his travels to Rome and Istanbul with his 14-year-old son, exploring the fabled Land Walls of Constantinople and undertaking a rite of... Read more
The Toymaker (Liam Pieper, Hamish Hamilton)
Released July 2016
From the first few pages of The Toymaker it’s obvious that Liam Pieper isn’t pulling any punches: he has your attention straight away as his privileged, wealthy protagonist Adam makes... Read more
Pandamonia (Chris Owen, illus by Chris Nixon, Fremantle Press)
Released August 2016
Pandas are adorable creatures right? So soft and furry and on-trend with their black and white colours. They also don’t do very much except laze around and chew on bamboo... Read more
Kicking Goals with Goodesy and Magic (Anita Heiss, Adam Goodes & Michael O’Loughlin, Piccolo Nero)
Released July 2016
Firstly, a disclaimer: I have never watched a game of football and I know nothing about the game. Actually, I knew nothing, but now I know a lot more. Anita... Read more
Welcome to Country (Aunty Joy Murphy, illus by Lisa Kennedy, Black Dog Books)
Released August 2016
Although ‘Acknowledgement of Country’ speeches are increasingly a part of Australian gatherings, many non-Indigenous Australians are still learning about traditional ‘Welcome to Country’ ceremonies. Welcome to Country by senior Wurundjeri... Read more
Position Doubtful: Mapping Landscape and Memories (Kim Mahood, Scribe)
Released August 2016
Artist and writer Kim Mahood grew up on Tanami Downs Station in the Northern Territory. She has always felt the strong pull of the land and its Indigenous people, and... Read more
Brett Whiteley: Art, Life and the Other Thing (Ashleigh Wilson, Text)
Released August 2016
It just so happens that I was reading Our Man Elsewhere by Thornton McCamish and considering what makes a good biography when Ashleigh Wilson’s Brett Whiteley: Art, Life and the... Read more
Writing to the Wire (ed by Dan Disney & Kit Kelen, UWA Publishing)
Released August 2016
What place is there for poetry in Australia’s highly divisive and politicised public debate about refugees and immigration? It’s a question the editors of this significant new collection of both... Read more
Truly Madly Guilty (Liane Moriarty, Macmillan)
Released August 2016
Liane Moriarty is an author with a dedicated fan-base, and it seems only fair to preface this review by saying I have not read any of her previous novels. Not... Read more
Skylarking (Kate Mildenhall, Black Inc.)
Released August 2016
Kate Mildenhall’s debut novel Skylarking is a historical novel reminiscent of Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites and Shirley Barrett’s Rush Oh!, though perhaps for a younger readership. It’s a story of... Read more
