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Tricky Nick (Nicholas J Johnson, illus by Russell Jeffery, Pan)
Released September 2020
I’m usually suspicious of books written by performers, celebrities or adult writers turning to children’s fiction, but Tricky Nick won me over in the first 20 pages. Magician-turned-author Nicholas J... Read more
The History of Mischief (Rebecca Higgie, Fremantle Press)
Released September 2020
The History of Mischief is an exploration of family, grief and the power of stories, with a pseudo-historical twist. Nine-year-old Jessie is struggling with the loss of her parents and... Read more
Show Me Where It Hurts: Living with invisible illness (Kylie Maslen, Text)
Released September 2020
Imagine living with an invisible illness. For 20 years, Kylie Maslen has been doing just that: her chronic pain and bipolar II (the latter undiagnosed until she was 35) have... Read more
The Fire Star (A L Tait, Penguin)
Released September 2020
Maven is a servant girl doomed to a life of servitude and forced to hide how sharp-minded she really is. Reeve is a squire with dreams of becoming a knight... Read more
Dreams They Forgot (Emma Ashmere, Wakefield)
Released September 2020
The tagline on the title page of Emma Ashmere’s Dreams They Forgot is ‘stories of illusion, deception and quiet rebellion’. This is an apt description of the 25 stories that... Read more
Windfall: Unlocking a fossil-free future (Ketan Joshi, NewSouth)
Released September 2020
In Windfall: Unlocking a fossil-free future, renewable energy industry insider Ketan Joshi gives a teeth-gnashing account of Australia's interminable climate debates. Working as a data analyst and communicator at Infigen... Read more
Bunnygirl (Holly Jayne, Berbay)
Released September 2020
In this adorable junior graphic novel, the main character Bea loves superhero comics, cute things, bunnies and eating cereal. She really wants to become a superhero so that she can... Read more
None Shall Sleep (Ellie Marney, A&U)
Released September 2020
From mastermind Australian YA writer Ellie Marney comes a gripping new psychological thriller. Although the novel is not set in Australia—Marney opts for the larger criminal playing field of the... Read more
The Lost Library (Jess McGeachin, Puffin)
Released September 2020
This is unashamedly a story for every child (and adult) who loves books and reading—and it reaches out to encourage every reader to fit that description. Little Oliver and his... Read more
Under the Rainbow: The life and times of E W Cole (Richard Broinowski, MUP)
Released September 2020
Edward William Cole (1832—1918), arguably Australia’s most famous bookseller, started his career by accident. Trying to hawk his self-penned pamphlets door-to-door in East Melbourne, a woman told him he should... Read more
Ordinary Matter (Laura Elvery, UQP)
Released September 2020
Award-winning Brisbane author Laura Elvery (Trick of the Light) now brings us Ordinary Matter, a short story collection inspired by the 20 times women have won the Nobel Prize for... Read more
Fly on the Wall (Remy Lai, Walker)
Released September 2020
When Henry Khoo isn’t trolling his school as anonymous cartoonist ‘Fly on the Wall’, he is being babied at home by an overprotective family. To correct this, Henry devises a... Read more
Bluebird (Malcolm Knox, A&U)
Released September 2020
A shaggy array of characters populate Malcolm Knox’s ambitious novel, with 50-year-old Gordon Grimes at the centre. An erstwhile journalist and estranged husband, Gordon is determined to preserve a rundown... Read more
The Wolves of Greycoat Hall (Lucinda Gifford, Walker Books)
Released September 2020
Author and illustrator Lucinda Gifford brings us a refreshing and humorous tale with The Wolves of Greycoat Hall, the first book in a new junior fiction series. Boris and his... Read more
Aunty’s Wedding (Miranda Tapsell & Joshua Tyler, illus by Samantha Fry, A&U)
Released September 2020
There are few picture books about weddings for young children, who are naturally curious about this important ceremony. This story takes the charming perspective of a young child who is... Read more
The Burning Island (Jock Serong, Text)
Released September 2020
To read The Burning Island is to feel, very often, ‘all at sea’. Much of the novel takes place on the ocean, sure, but more than that, it can be... Read more
The Mother Fault (Kate Mildenhall, S&S)
Released September 2020
This gripping and thoughtful novel offers a spine-tingling vision of a future Australia—eerie in its potential realism—in which citizens’ movements are tracked and climate change has decimated the country, flooding... Read more
Vida: A woman for our time (Jacqueline Kent, Viking)
Released September 2020
It’s a sad fact that most Australians are unaware of the correct pronunciation of Vida Goldstein’s name (a long ‘i’ in both), let alone that she was the first woman... Read more
Sorrow and Bliss (Meg Mason, Fourth Estate)
Released September 2020
Martha is sick. She’s been sick since she was 17 years old, and a cocktail of pills in varying doses has never made a difference to the lows that leave... Read more
The F Team (Rawah Arja, Giramondo)
Released September 2020
Tariq is a smart kid, he just lacks the motivation to achieve his full potential. At least, that’s what he has always been told, living in Punchbowl, Western Sydney, where... Read more
