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What Would Adam Smith Make of Modern Australia? (Joseph Healy, Major Street)
Released August 2025
Adam Smith, the 18th-century moral philosopher, is best known for coining the phrase ‘invisible hand’ to describe how the economic self-interest of an individual can lead to fair and efficient... Read more
Our History: A House Divided (Clare Hallifax, Walker Books)
Released August 2025
In Our History: A House Divided, Clare Hallifax places the political turmoil of the 1975 Dismissal of the Whitlam government within the everyday rhythms of family life in Canberra. The... Read more
Stillwater (Tanya Scott, A&U)
Released August 2025
Tanya Scott’s debut, Stillwater, masterfully weaves together the past and present in a suspenseful, emotionally charged crime thriller. Luke Harris returns to his hometown of Melbourne seeking a 'normal life'... Read more
In Spite of You (Patrick Lenton, Pantera)
Released August 2025
Genuinely funny and smartly observed, In Spite of You channels the charm of classic rom-coms – idealistic and entertaining – but adds a fresh twist with a plot driven by... Read more
Run (Sarah Armstrong, HGCP)
Released August 2025
Sarah Armstrong’s latest middle-grade novel, Run, is a fast-paced survival tale that explores themes of trust, resilience and complicated families. It follows Armstrong’s previous titles for younger readers, Big Magic and Magic Awry, and her... Read more
How to Train a Dad (Sally Barns, illus Noémie Gionet Landry, Affirm)
Released August 2025
How to Train a Dad, written by Sally Barns and illustrated by Noémie Gionet Landry, is a funny and imaginative picture book that presents itself as a manual for kids... Read more
Plastic Budgie (Olivia De Zilva, Pink Shorts Press)
Released August 2025
Olivia De Zilva’s autofiction debut Plastic Budgie is a sharply funny, sad and sentimental reflection on the people, places and cultural forces that shape us as we grow up. In the novel,... Read more
The Ghost Walk (Karen Herbert, Fremantle)
Released August 2025
Ruby Rose Gillespie lives with cystic fibrosis and is admitted to the hospital for a fever on the same day the body of Dr Gabriel Beaufort – her high school... Read more
Yilkari (Nicolas Rothwell & Alison Nampitjinpa Anderson, Text)
Released August 2025
Yilkari is a book that resists easy categorisation – it’s part character study, part travel narrative, part history lesson and part meditation on the connection between people and place. This... Read more
A Gift from the Birds (Caroline Stills, Text)
Released August 2025
A Gift from the Birds is the first middle-grade novel by picture book author Caroline Stills. Winner of the 2024 Text Prize – and the final recipient before the prize... Read more
The Giant (Sophie Masson, illus Lorena Carrington, MidnightSun)
Released August 2025
The award-winning duo of author Sophie Masson and illustrator Lorena Carrington reunite for The Giant. Their previous title, Satin, was a 2024 CBCA Notable book. In this mystical and poignant... Read more
The Golden Sister (Suzanne Do, Macmillan)
Released August 2025
The Golden Sister is a fast-paced mystery set in a small fictional NSW coastal town, exploring complex and dysfunctional family dynamics and the impact of grief. Suzanne Do’s prose is... Read more
Death at Booroomba (AL Booth, Ventura Press)
Released August 2025
On the eve of his deployment to the Western Front in 1915, Jack O’Rourke has a chance encounter with an elderly Russian man, Samuel Lomond, that will profoundly impact his... Read more
Where the River Runs Free (Vikki Conley, illus Jedda Robaard, Windy Hollow)
Released July 2025
Where the River Runs Free is a celebration of time spent outdoors by multi-award-winning author Vikki Conley (Where the Lyrebird Lives) and illustrator Jedda Robaard (The Littlest Penguin and the... Read more
Cure (Katherine Brabon, Ultimo)
Released July 2025
Katherine Brabon’s Cure is a natural extension and companion to her novel Body Friend; both are introspective literary works centred on women living with autoimmune diseases – conditions Brabon herself... Read more
CHAOS! Which way will YOU choose? (Andrew Cranna, Walker Books)
Released July 2025
An eccentric grandfather, a talking pet pig, a rat, a toad and a baby alligator are just some of the characters in Andrew Cranna’s interactive middle-grade adventure, CHAOS! Which way... Read more
Deep History: Country and Sovereignty (ed by Ann McGrath & Jackie Huggins, UNSW Press)
Released July 2025
Deep History: Country and Sovereignty is a layered and collaborative work that challenges dominant narratives and asks whose voices are heard in telling history. Edited by Jackie Huggins, a Bidjara... Read more
Be a good girl, Valerie (Marcia van Zeller, Ventura Press)
Released July 2025
Be a good girl, Valerie by Marcia van Zeller is a quietly absorbing novel set predominantly in 2018 Perth with flashbacks to 1974 Toronto and 1978 London. It explores enduring... Read more
Dead Ends (Samantha Byres, UQP)
Released July 2025
Is closure possible, or is it just a convenient fiction? This is the central question explored in Dead Ends, the meditative debut novel by Aotearoa New Zealand–born Naarm/Melbourne-based writer Samantha... Read more
Love Overdue (Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus, A&U)
Released July 2025
Love Overdue, the new novel by Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus (Fancy Meeting You Here), is an uneven but ultimately charming contemporary romance for readers who enjoy Jodi McAlister (An... Read more
