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Black Summer (ed by Michael Rowland, ABC Books)
Released January 2021
This excellent anthology won’t be the final word on the 2019–20 Black Summer fires but it contains some of the very best words you can read on the subject. From... Read more
The Odds (Matt Stanton, ABC Books)
Released November 2020
The lack of locally produced graphic novels for young Australians has been noted for some time now, but middle-grade and children’s author Matt Stanton has a new book to appease... Read more
Give Me Some Space! (Philip Bunting, Omnibus)
Released December 2020
Una is a singular girl on a mission: leave boring old Earth behind for greener pastures—or in this case, planets. Smart, determined and ingenious, she crafts herself a homespun spacesuit... Read more
I Want to be a Superhero (Breanna Humes, illus by Ambelin Kwaymullina, Magabala)
Released November 2020
A little girl in a homemade blanket cape wants to be a superhero, and not just any superhero, she wants to fly! Breanna, the girl in question, is a younger... Read more
Boy on Fire: The young Nick Cave (Mark Mordue, Fourth Estate)
Released November 2020
After 35 years of communication with Nick Cave, 10 of them actively spent researching a biography which eventually grew to Moby Dick proportions, Mark Mordue has fashioned this expertly detailed... Read more
Dog (Shaun Tan, A&U)
Released November 2020
This is Shaun Tan doing what he does best. Carrying an elegant tension between joy and sadness, Dog left me in a puddle of emotion. The prose poetry traces the... Read more
Factory 19 (Dennis Glover, Black Inc.)
Released November 2020
Dennis Glover’s second novel, an intriguing potential unveiling of our very near future, is crafted with a light touch and a satirical sense of humour. Factory 19 is a reflection... Read more
We Are Wolves (Katrina Nannestad, ABC Books)
Released November 2020
In We Are Wolves, middle-grade author Katrina Nannestad, creator of the ‘Olive of Groves’ and ‘Girl, the Dog and the Writer’ series, moves confidently into more sombre territory with the... Read more
One Day I’ll Remember This: Diaries 1987–1995 (Helen Garner, Text)
Released November 2020
The second volume of Helen Garner’s diaries picks up right where the first left off. It’s 1987 and her daughter, having graduated high school, is leaving home—or rather, Garner is... Read more
Anemone is Not the Enemy (Anna McGregor, Scribble)
Released November 2020
Everybody needs a special friend—one they can rely on, one who’s there for them—but Anemone is lonely and finding it very difficult. The problem is he accidentally stings everybody who... Read more
The Fifth Season (Philip Salom, Transit Lounge)
Released November 2020
Philip Salom has twice been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin, and The Fifth Season will attract serious readers as a result. But this is not a book for everyone; its... Read more
I’m a Hero Too (Jamila Rizvi, illus by Peter Cheong, Puffin)
Released November 2020
I’m a Hero Too is about a little boy named Arty who’s feeling sad and out of sorts because his parents are acting strangely. Mum is talking in whispers and... Read more
Songlines: The power and promise (Margo Neale & Lynne Kelly, Thames & Hudson)
Released November 2020
The first in a series of six books introducing Indigenous knowledges, Songlines: The power and promise explains the use of mnemonics, or memory systems, in Aboriginal culture. Songlines archive knowledge... Read more
How to Be a Real Ballerina (Davina Bell, illus by Jenny Løvlie, Little Hare Books)
Released November 2020
Many preschoolers go through a ballerina phase and Davina Bell and Jenny Løvlie’s latest picture book shows a little girl doing the utmost to be a real ballerina—but not quite... Read more
Lucky’s (Andrew Pippos, Picador)
Released November 2020
2002: Emily steps off the plane in Sydney, still reeling from an unexpected marriage breakdown. She’s here to write an article for the New Yorker about Lucky’s, a once-beloved mid-century... Read more
Ernie’s Journey (David Woodland, Berbay)
Released November 2020
David Woodland’s debut picture book Ernie’s Journey is unmistakably influenced by his award-winning cinematic background. Its visual detail and narrative novelty are rich, and the absurd adventures of its eponymous... Read more
Scary Bird (Michel Streich, Scholastic)
Released October 2020
A lively little book, Scary Bird puts diversity, adjustment and acceptance into an understandable parable for little listeners (though plenty of big listeners would also do well to pay attention... Read more
Little Jiang (Shirley Marr, illus by Katy Jiang, Fremantle Press)
Released October 2020
Born under a confluence of inauspicious signs and hitherto haunted by all manner of hungry ghosts, it’s difficult for Mei to dismiss her aunt’s firmly held belief that she is... Read more
Infinite Splendours (Sofie Laguna, A&U)
Released November 2020
Miles Franklin–winner Sofie Laguna’s fourth novel tells the story of Lawrence, a boy from a small western Victorian town near the Southern Grampians mountain range. Lawrence has a special, spiritual... Read more
The Boy, the Wolf and the Stars (Shivaun Plozza, Puffin)
Released October 2020
Young readers with an insatiable hunger for adventure will love The Boy, the Wolf and the Stars, a timeless new novel from Shivaun Plozza. A departure from her writing for... Read more
