Gleaner April/May 2026

Gleaner

April-May 2026

Special Sydney Writers’ Festival issue

Plus: Debra Adelaide reflects on friendship and grief p6

From David’s desk

The Sydney Writers’ Festival is upon us (May 18-24) and we are delighted to be engaged as its booksellers for the 22nd year. There’s the thrill of the massive challenge –the sheer scale of the festival – which presents us with over 200 guests, more than 1,000 books, multiple locations and significant book movements before and after.

But more importantly, it’s the chance to be associated with one of the world’s biggest and best-run literary events. Over 100,000 people will attend to see a remarkable array of local and international talent. We see very little, as back of house and retail take over, but if you can, don’t miss at least some of these sessions: the brilliant Patrick Radden Keefe (Empire of Pain), Booker winner David Szalay (Flesh), the wonderful Drusilla Modjeska (A Woman’s Eye, Her Art), Siang Lu (Ghost Cities, Miles Franklin winner 2025), Susan Choi (Flashlight), FinnishEstonian writer Sofi Oksanen (Same River: Twice, Putin’s War on Women), Rachel Perkins (The Australian Wars), Amitav Ghosh (The Great Derangement), Jon Sopel (Strangeland) and the incomparable Mick Herron (Slow Horses). For more details go to swf.org.au

If you can’t make it, read them anyway!

And in case that’s not enough fabulous books to be going on with, here are some suggestions from my “just read” or “on the

bedside table” collection: Colm Tóibín’s The News from Dublin is a collection of beautifully assured and resonant stories. Set in the past and present, in Dublin and other continents, these stories explore moral dilemmas, grief and loss with his trademark calm and insightful prose. We’re in familiar territory with Elizabeth Strout’s The Things We Never Say – grief, age, friendship and love, the mysteries of human connection – and she still does it so well, with such care. Michael Winkler’s Griefdogg is an exciting and wildly original follow up to the absolutely original Grimmish Susan Choi’s Flashlight was shortlisted for the Booker Prize last year. It’s A BIG ambitious and absorbing novel that moves across a half century of Korea, Japan and the US. Fiona Kelly McGregor’s The Trap is a powerful and intriguing dive into wartime Sydney and a standalone companion to her unflinching and fascinating book, Iris. Fiona and Susan are both appearing at the festival.

Last issue I mentioned Debra Adelaide’s (pictured, below) beautiful new book When I Am Sixty-Four. Turn to page 6 for a special Q&A with Debra.

David, director

EVERY DOG—AND EVERY HUMAN— DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE.

‘A deeply moving, tender portrayal of the powerful bond between one man and his dog. It’s a story that’s stayed with me long after the final pages. I loved it.’

MARK BRANDI, author of Wimmera

A MEMOIR OF MENSTRUATION, MADNESS AND MONSTERS.

‘Thought-provoking, rage-inducing and darkly funny, a candid exploration of medical misogyny and the terror of the unknown: the strangeness of what it is to live with a poorly understood chronic condition.’

JENNIFER DOWN, author of Bodies of Light

(clockwise from top left): 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival authors Roddy Doyle, Jacinda Ardern, Shaun Micallef, R.F. Kuang, Amy Remeikis, David Szalay, Sofi Oksanen, Amitav Ghosh, Randa Abdel-Fattah, Barrie Cassidy, Melissa Lucashenko and Trent Dalton. Photos: Anthony Woods, Jane Ussher, Ruby Boland, John Packman, Jonas Matyassy, Toni Härkönen, Mathieu Genon, Tom Toby, Glenn Hunt, Love Stepha

Frogsong

Melissa Manning

Caro and Danny grew up side by side at the waterhole. Bound by love, loss and a promise Caro made to Danny’s mother, their lives are entwined. But as Danny spirals into addiction and self-destruction, Caro is caught between loyalty and the need to save herself. She becomes haunted by memories, by the stories she told herself of the life they’d have, and by the waterhole that shaped them both. From southern Tasmania to Lisbon’s winding streets, she searches for escape from lost dreams, until a return home forces her to confront what it means to let go.

$35, UQP. Out now

Once We Were Wildlife

Inga Simpson

In this compulsive compilation of 11 stories and one poem, set against scorched landscapes, wild oceans, and rocky terrain, Simpson follows people on the edge of desire, heartbreak and change. In Poached, an exsoldier finds himself between a poacher and a Bengal tiger. In The Wash, a woman’s reckless ocean swim reveals the instinct to survive and the end of a passionate love. From the aching intensity of romantic love to the quiet devastations of motherhood and ageing, Simpson’s literary prowess keeps us riveted by the power of nature to shape human relationships.

$30, Hachette. Out now

Cast Away

Francesca de Tores

1704: Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk has been abandoned by his own shipmates on a remote, uninhabited island. With little hope of rescue, and wild goats and cats as his only companions, he is forced to confront not only the urgent challenges of survival, but also the troubled, unsavoury past that has brought him here. What kind of man is deliberately stranded by his crew, to face near-certain death? A tale of adventure and endurance, isolation and friendship, despair and hope, this gripping, singular novel asks who we are and who we become when everything else is stripped away.

$33, Bloomsbury. Out April

Writing Funny

Writing comedy is not for the faint of heart, and these seasoned professionals would know. Comedian and writer Shaun Micallef (De’Ath Takes a Holiday), two-time NSW Literary Award winner Debra Oswald (One Hundred Years of Betty) and Russell Prize for Humour winner Steve Toltz (A Rising of the Lights) have decades of experience writing funny for stage, page and screen. Hear Shaun, Debra and Steve discuss the highs and lows of making people laugh in this free panel discussion, with host comedian Jennifer Wong. Friday, 22 May, 11am, Bay 24, Carriageworks, free

Siang Lu: Ghost Cities

The 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Ghost Cities is inspired by the vacant, uninhabited megacities of China. Following multiple narratives, including one of a young man fired from his translation job for relying entirely on Google Translate, Siang Lu’s recent novel is an imaginative and delightful work, shortlisted for some of the most prestigious literary prizes in the country. Join Siang (pictured) as he unpacks how his novel draws on Chinese history to explore the absurdity of modern life. In conversation with comedian Jennifer Wong. Wednesday, 20 May, 6pm, Epping Branch Library, free Picture: Kirsty Iltners

Griefdogg

Michael

Winkler

Meet Jeffrey WatsonJohnson: hydrologist, husband of Martine, father of Bern, model citizen of Mildura. But after he inherits a small fortune from an obscure aunt and has a disconcerting encounter with his cousin Pam, Jeffrey decides it’s time to change everything. He tells Martine he wants to live as if he were the family pet. Sleeping through the day or wandering beside the river, he discovers a new power: he can sense secret grief in others. Funny, sad and always entrancing, Griefdogg tells a crazy-sane story about identity, love, family and forgiveness.

$35, Text. Out now

This Is Where We Say Goodbye

Howard McKenzie-Murray

The day after Maud Tarkington turns 21, she must attend the funeral of her favourite brother Lloyd. But instead, Maud is ricocheting around the city, looking for signs of life – will she even make it to Lloyd’s send-off? Shortlisted for the 2024 Hungerford Award, This Is Where We Say Goodbye is a quirky, bittersweet story about family ties, memory and the unexpected ways we hold it together when everything has fallen apart.

$35, Fremantle. Out April

Bound

Samantha W.L. Lee

Spanning a century and four countries, Bound follows three generations of women shaped by tradition and longing for more. In 1923 China, Huan-Ju becomes the first in her family without bound feet, dreaming beyond village life. In 1968 Malaysia, ShuiTu seeks escape from poverty through education. In 1980 Australia, Lauren grows up privileged yet disconnected from her heritage. As their stories intertwine across time, each woman must confront the legacy of the past – and decide whether to break free or remain bound to it.

$35, WestWords. Out now

Melissa Lucashenko: A Writing Life

For three decades, Melissa Lucashenko has published fiction of biting wit and heartrending love. She has won some of Australia’s most prestigious awards, including the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the ARA Historical Novel Prize. Not Quite White in the Head is the first time her Walkley Award-winning nonfiction and journalism have been published together. Offering criticism and wisdom in equal measure, the essays in this collection are deeply imbued with Melissa’s moral clarity and strong sense of justice. Hear Melissa reflect on her life of letters preceding this collection with Winnie Dunn.

Saturday, 23 May, 1pm, Track 8, Carriageworks, $30/$20

Sororicidal

Edwina Preston

Sisterhood is a mirror. It can also be a weapon. In the vineyards above Edwardian Adelaide, Mary dazzles while Margot trails in her shadow. But Mary’s malice will soon find its match in Margot’s icy resentment. As the century turns convulsively modern, their childhood games mutate into a war of attrition. From polite cruelty to absolute devastation, Sororicidal is a punk-gothic history of two sisters who become the executioners of one another’s dreams. It is a novel about the necessary and unendurable entanglements of family; the thin, volatile line between care and spite; and how love is a flame that both feeds and consumes.

$35, Picador. Out now

The Palace of Lost Virtue

Anthea Hodgson

In 1898, Marigold Harrington arrives on the goldfields of Western Australia with conviction in her heart. The daughter of a prospector and a proud member of the Christian Women’s Temperance Union, she dreams of rescuing women trapped in the brothels and bars. Across town, Pansy Arlington presides over the Palace of Pleasure. When Marigold arrives at her door, offering God’s forgiveness, Pansy surprises her with unexpected kindness. The two women spark an unlikely friendship, but in a lawless town built on greed and desire, their bond will be tested by betrayal, violence and a crime that will echo through the years.

$35, Penguin. Out June

The Endling

Keely Jobe

On an isolated mountaintop, a small feminist community is fracturing under the weight of ideological divides and dwindling numbers. Mila struggles to hold the women together, while deeper in the bush her aunt Frank –an ailing recluse – lives with only her dog, Chicken Midnight, for company. As Frank grows increasingly unwell and secretive about her condition, the community women begin mysteriously falling pregnant. When Mila gives birth to the only boy, their hardline separatist ideals face an impossible test. Vividly expressed, wildly funny, and wholly original, The Endling examines the volatile intersection of community and politics.

$35, Scribe. Out now

The General Hospital

Anne Buist & Graeme Simsion

Trainee psychiatrist Dr Hannah Wright returns to the general hospital where she once worked as an intern – this time focusing on patients’ mental health across medical, surgical and obstetric wards. As she learns how deeply mental and physical health intertwine, Hannah faces complex cases: a woman suing her obstetrician – Hannah’s ex – over labour trauma, an injured athlete at risk of suicide, a bipolar patient whose medication is destroying his kidneys, and a burn victim whose story doesn’t add up. Off duty, Hannah navigates a new friendship, a budding relationship with fellow trainee Alex, and a shocking family secret.

$35, Hachette. Out now

AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE

One Night at Silver Lake

Katherine Scholes

In 1960s Tanzania, Sara Brayden spends years longing for a baby, while struggling in her conventional role as a mine manager’s wife. She was born into a life of moving with the seasons, in the company of nomad herding families, on the grassy plains of Serengeti. As her marriage fractures, Sara’s quest for motherhood leads her to the moonlit shores of Silver Lake, where a family tragedy sparks an encounter with a stranger she can never forget. One Night at Silver Lake explores the meaning of family, identity and home, and looks at how – in the midst of heartbreak – hope and healing can be found. $35, Penguin. Out April

The Woman in the Seal Skin

Lauren Keegan

Raised by her father, Malie has always done what she’s been told, and now she’s married and expecting her first baby. Life on land is predictable and safe, and her future is all mapped out for her. But, just like the seals in the sea, there’s a wildness in Malie’s soul – one that cannot be tamed and deeply yearns for the sea. Dealing with themes of motherhood, grief, violence and female oppression, The Woman in the Seal Skin is a wonderfully haunting and atmospheric tale of a woman living in a cloistered community on a wild Scottish island, who one day meets her wildness within.

$35, Affirm. Out now

When the Party’s Over

Katie Hoskins

Natalie’s life looks perfect: three young children, a loving husband and a beautifully renovated eastern suburbs home. But beneath the surface she feels trapped. For her 36th birthday, she just wants one carefree night with her two best friends. By morning, everything has changed: her 18-month-old son Toby is found holding a colourful tablet with a quarter missing. As Toby recovers, questions mount about what really happened that night. Each woman has her own version of events – and when the truth emerges, their friendships may not survive. $35, Macmillan. Out March

The Chateau on Sunset

Natasha Lester

After her parents’ deaths, Aria Jones is sent to live with her reclusive starlet aunt at the Chateau Marmont. Left alone to wander the hotel, Aria sees all the ways people wheel and deal for fame. But the Marmont isn’t meant for young girls with big hearts, and Aria discovers an insidious secret that will haunt her childhood. As she matures, she finds solace in the hotel’s library. Her sole goal is to be as inconspicuous as possible. Until one day, the hotel is sold to mysterious rock star Theo Winchester and his troubled daughter, Adele. Will Aria realise there’s more to life than being invisible? $35, Hachette. Out now

On friendship and grief

Debra Adelaide met Gabrielle Carey when they were both 12, at school in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire, where they bonded over a love of reading and writing – and being misfits. In her new book, When I Am Sixty-Four away at the age of 64.

Tell us a little about When I Am Sixty-Four

This novella was inspired by the life and writing of my friend Gabrielle Carey but although it is a true story, it is autofiction rather than memoir. Its questioning approach and fragmented structure reflects the feelings I carried following her decline from mental illness and death in 2023. I neither planned nor wanted to write When I Am Sixty-Four, but the idea for it came very quickly and would not leave me alone, until I began to set it down. By the end of the process I believed I had found answers to some of the questions troubling me about Gab’s life, but I also felt that I had written something more broadly about friendship and family, about dying and grief generally, and, importantly, about the writing life, which we shared.

Gabrielle Carey was a lifelong friend. Tell us about your friendship with her.

We met when we were both 12, having gone from a tiny primary school to a large high school where we knew almost no one. We discovered that we both loved reading, and writing (but the usual teenage stuff – melodramatic diary entries, excruciating poetry). Gab was lively and rebellious and while we both loathed school and were total misfits in our sport-dominated high school, she had the courage or impulsiveness (or both) to leave at the end of what was then third form. We spent years apart for several reasons but reconnected in 1989 when we both had small children. At various stages we worked, lived, wrote and researched together. We completely took each other for granted, something that struck me after she had died.

What was it like to capture your friend on the page? Was this a difficult process?

Emotionally, yes, it was extremely difficult because of the subject matter I was dealing with, and the painful meditations on grief it provoked. I was also suffering the usual guilt that afflicts survivors, along with the poignancy of my recollections, and the constant reminder that while I was having conversations with Gab in my head and on the page, we would never have actual conversations again.

What was the writing process like? Was this different to your previous books?

When I Am Sixty-Four is vastly different to anything else I have written and while emotionally challenging, it was easy in terms of the flow of the writing, because I was not worrying about the usual aspects of narrative such as structure, plot, direction, and so on. I was not even thinking about them, when normally I would fight to discover and impose things like structure on a narrative. But here the structure seemed to emerge on its own, and after I recognised this, I simply accepted it and worked with it. The writing also seemed to be more free because I had no idea of what I was doing, or why, not until I reached the end.

UQP, $35

The Hair of the Pigeon

Mohammed Massoud Morsi

Ghassan grows up in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, Syria, alongside his friends Badawi and Sama. When the Arab Spring sparks hope and protest, the Syrian regime’s violent crackdown shatters their fragile world. Sama disappears, and Ghassan is imprisoned and tortured in one of Assad’s brutal prisons. When he is finally released, Yarmouk lies under siege, his home destroyed and his family broken. As starvation and war consume the camp, long-buried secrets emerge. Spanning the horrors of the Syrian civil war and a new life in Copenhagen, The Hair of the Pigeon traces exile, survival, and enduring love.

$35, UWA. Out now

Sisters in Yellow

Mieko Kawakami

Hana has nothing but she’s hopeful. She’s 15 years old. She lives in a tiny apartment in a suburb of Tokyo with her young mother. They have no money, no security. Then Kimiko appears. Kimiko is older, a bright light in Hana’s dark world. Together they set up Lemon, a bar that caters to hostesses and their marks. Suddenly Hana has a job she loves, friends, and money. Twenty years later, Kimiko is on trial. Now Hana must wrestle with her own actions, and face their devastating consequences. Sisters in Yellow is a masterpiece of teenage dreams and adult cruelties; of enduring friendship and deep betrayal.

$35, Picador. Out now

The Water Takes

Sarah Walker

Pam, a sharp-tongued widow in her 70s, lives alone with failing health and a talent for complaints – especially about her waterlogged garden. When her 10-year-old neighbour Charlotte is left in her care, an unlikely friendship begins to soften Pam’s guarded exterior. But the flooding worsens: puddles become pools, then dangerous sinkholes, and the world around them begins to collapse. With little help and nowhere safe to go, Pam and Charlotte must rely on each other to survive and eventually venture out into a catastrophically changed landscape. The Water Takes is a work of astonishing literary imagination with the pageturning propulsion of a thriller.

$35, S&S/Summit. Out now

Roddy Doyle in Conversation

From his prize-winning Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha to The Commitments which was adapted into a BAFTA-winning screenplay, Roddy’s customary humour and dialogue capture beautiful relationships between lifelike characters, making him a literary icon. Hear Roddy (pictured) reflect on his storytelling career and discuss his latest novel, The Women Behind the Door, which marks the return of beloved character Paula Spencer. In conversation with ABC Radio National’s Kate Evans. Saturday, 23 May, 6pm, Bay 17, Carriageworks, $45/$40

State of the Art: the Booker Prize

For novelists, winning a Booker Prize, one of the most coveted literary awards in the world, is a career- and life-changing achievement. Hear from a panel of shortlisted writers and winners reflect on how it shaped their writing lives and read from the works that brought them recognition. With 2025 Chair of the judges and previous winner Roddy Doyle, David Szalay (Flesh), Susan Choi (Flashlight), Yann Martel (Life of Pi) and Charlotte Wood (Stone Yard Devotional). With host Kate Evans. Friday, 22 May, 8pm, Bay 17, Carriageworks, $45/$40

Enough

Dawn French

Etta is 68 years old. Happy, healthy and an active participant in her world, she’s gathered her family together for an unforgettable weekend. At 5am that Saturday morning, Etta wakes her family and leads them down to the beach where a roaring fire has already been lit. The sun is just starting to rise and Etta’s family bask in the beauty of the moment. Then Etta announces something as shocking as it is alarming: “Today is my last day alive.” A darkly funny and lifeaffirming new novel from Dawn French. $35, Michael Joseph. Out May

The News From Dublin

Colm Tóibín

A woman in Galway hears of the death of her son in the First World War. An Irishman seeks anonymity in Barcelona, haunted by crimes he has committed. A man goes to Dublin from Enniscorthy to implore the Minister for Health for a special favour. A young woman is pregnant during the Spanish Civil War. In the luminous stories that make up The News from Dublin, Colm Tóibín delves into the days and nights of those living far from home. $35, Picador. Out now

The Midnight Train

Matt Haig

No one can change the past, but the Midnight Train can take you there. The chance to re-live the moments that meant most. To see what kind of person you really were. For Wilbur his best days were with Maggie, the love of his life. On his honeymoon in Venice. Before he gave it all away. He wishes he could go back and live differently – but to do so risks everything. A magical, time-travelling love story, from the world of The Midnight Library

$35, Canongate. Out May

Love Is an Algorithm

Laura Brooke

Robson

Eve is a passionate musician who refuses to let technology – or AI – dictate her emotions or art. Danny, anxious about everything from dating to coffee prices, helped create Pattern, a dating app that seems terrible at matching him. When he and Eve start dating, his insecurities lead him to develop a new version of Pattern. As the app becomes wildly popular, people begin outsourcing major life decisions to it. Eve, meanwhile, grows increasingly sceptical. A timely, funny novel about making art, outsourcing our emotions to technology, and writing our own love stories.

$35, Text. Out now

LITERARY GEMS

A profound and beautiful novel inspired by Debra Adelaide’s friendship with Puberty Blues co-author Gabrielle Carey

Transcription

Ben Lerner

The narrator of Ben Lerner’s new novel has travelled to Providence, where he is to conduct what will be the final published interview with Thomas, his 90-year-old mentor, and the father of his college friend, Max. But after the narrator drops his smartphone in the hotel sink, he arrives at Thomas’s house with no recording device. What unfolds is the unforgettable story of the triangle formed by Thomas, Max, and the narrator, and a brilliant meditation on those technologies that enrich or impoverish our connection to each other.

$30, Granta. Out April

Good Joy, Bad Joy

Mikki Brammer

For more than 80 years, Joy Bridport has followed the rules: devoted wife, loving mother, steadfast neighbour in her small town. But when her best friend Hazel is given only months to live, Joy is forced to confront the truth: Hazel has lived fully, while she has played it safe. Determined to change, Joy vows to live boldly in the time she and Hazel have left together. But what begins as small rebellions soon snowballs into petty crimes. Good Joy, Bad Joy is a celebration of finding the courage to become who we were always meant to be.

$35, Penguin. Out May

The Calamity Club

Kathryn Stockett

Oxford, Mississippi, 1933. Eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has survived by relying on herself since her mother vanished, leaving her in an orphanage for the “unadoptable.” When she meets Birdie, confronting her wealthy sister’s past, Meg glimpses hope for a different future. As the Great Depression deepens, Birdie uncovers unsettling secrets and meets Charlie, a woman pushed to desperation. Together with other determined women, they form an unlikely alliance that challenges a town built on hypocrisy. The Calamity Club is a bold, warm and sharply funny story of resilience and connection from the author of The Help

$35, Fig Tree. Out May

The Shadow of the Object

Chloe Aridjis

From the acclaimed author of The Sitter and Night Blue comes another mesmerising novel – told, in part, by a book.

Flora is visiting home in Mexico when the family dog leaps up and bites her hand. She winds up in hospital where she meets Wilhelmina, an elderly German woman with pneumonia, who collects pre-cinema toys and instruments. Wilhelmina puts on a magic lantern show for Flora, leaving her spellbound. When Flora returns to London, she strikes up a strange friendship with Wilhelmina’s son, Max. As Flora dips in and out of her imagination, she realises her perception of reality has been subtly altered. The Shadow of the Object is a beautiful novel about metamorphosis, desire and magic lanterns.

$35, Chatto & Windus. Out April

INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE

Yann Martel: Son of Nobody

Yann Martel’s reimagining of the story of the Trojan war tells a familiar tale from an unheard perspective: that of a commoner and goatherd who becomes a soldier, Psoas, the son of nobody. Acclaimed for his Booker Prize-winning Life of Pi, Yann (pictured) will discuss his first novel in a decade in conversation with ABC Books Show host Claire Nichols.

Thursday 21 May, midday, Bay 17, Carriageworks, $45/$40

My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein

Deborah Levy

Who was Gertrude Stein, and why does she still matter? In Paris, a narrator sets out to understand the avant-garde American writer, modernist pioneer and queer icon who once moved among artists like Picasso and Hemingway. As the city carries her through its restless rhythms, she reflects on art, identity, anxiety and what it means to build a new life in another country. Alongside new friends – artists, thinkers, and lovers – she considers how Stein reinvented language and modern living, drawing connections between Stein’s radical early 20th-century world and the uncertainties and desires of life in the 21st century.

$45, Hamish Hamilton. Out April

No Such Thing as Monday

Sian Hughes

Steffie spends her days working in a dry-cleaner’s, trying to scrub the world clean one garment at a time. But no matter how spotless the clothes, she can’t rid herself of the guilt and grime she feels inside. Haunted by what happened to her sister when they were children, Steffie is stuck in a loop of self destruction, defiance and shame. When her violent, bullying father dies suddenly, it sparks a reckoning that cracks open her past. Sian Hughes is a masterful chronicler of life lived on the edge, and people at their most vulnerable.

$35, Penguin. Out April

The Maidenheads

Benny B. Peterson

Stuck in a dead-end newspaper job and still entangled with her exboyfriend, Jamie is haunted by memories of her former girlfriend Mari and their long-defunct band, the Maidenheads. When an unexpected chance arises to perform with Mari’s now-successful band, Jamie seizes it. Returning to music forces her to confront her complicated past. As old feelings resurface and other parts of her life begin to unravel, Jamie must decide what future – and which love – she truly wants. The Maidenheads is a big-hearted debut novel about queer yearning, indie musicians and finding a thorny path back to your first love.

$35, Text. Out May

Discord

Jeremy Cooper

Jeremy Cooper returns with Discord, a reflective journey into the world of classical music. Set around a landmark Proms performance at the Royal Albert Hall, the novel follows composer Rebekah Rosen and rising saxophonist Evie Bennet. Told through both perspectives, it explores their intense, often fractious collaboration and the emotional currents shaping their work. As tensions and connections unfold, Discord examines the mysterious force behind artistic creation, asking how flawed individuals transform conflict and harmony into something transcendent.

$35, Fitzcarraldo. Out May

On the Calculation of Volume IV

Solvej Balle

In a sprawling villa on the outskirts of Bremen, Tara Selter is starting to settle into a new kind of 18th of November. Her days with Henry, Ralf and Olga revolve around the daily routines of practical chores: gathering provisions, splitting firewood. But one morning, there are five new arrivals at their wrought-iron gate. Now the villa is full of people. As their community grows, their search for answers about the 18th of November becomes more urgent. $30, Faber. Out April

American Fantasy

Emma Straub

Reeling from her divorce, Annie embarks on a cruise with her onetime favourite boy band. Keith is 50 years old and in a band that performs dance routines with hip thrusts. He’s suffering from sea sickness and is certain his wife no longer loves him. When a meet-and-greet throws them together, Annie develops a crush on Keith, and Keith starts to wonder if life might have a few surprises left in store for him. This is an irresistible story about what happens when your teenage fantasy comes true in your adult years.

$35, Michael Joseph. Out April

Frida Claire Berest

Frida and Diego meet at a party. She knows everything about him and he knows nothing of her. She is from Coyoacan, 20 years his junior and with a broken spine to boot. Even when her body is racked with pain, she paints. There were two great accidents in Frida’s life. The first was when that tram hit her … but by far the worst was meeting him. Claire Berest’s novel is a striking fictional imagining of the vibrant life and tumultuous marriage of one of the world’s most beloved artists: Frida Kahlo.

$35, Mountain Leopard. Out April

The Last of Earth

Deepa Anappara

Balram, an Indian schoolteacher, and Katherine, a 50-yearold British explorer are determined to make the journey across the mountains into Tibet – a mysterious kingdom closed to outsiders. He is hired as a guide to an ambitious British surveyor; she intends to be the first European woman to reach Lhasa. As their secrets snap at their heels they meet the same mysterious figure: a stranger who may hold the key to their survival. The Last of Earth is a richly historical novel drawn from the real-life experiences of Indian and British explorers.

$33, Oneworld. Out April

Queen

Birgitta Trotzig

On a bleak, windswept farm on the coast of rural Sweden, a passionate, yearning, unspoken human drama takes place. At the centre of this story is Judit Lindgren, known as the “Queen”, strong as a whip, stately and stern. She holds her little realm tight, eking out a hard life, buttoning her emotions, dealing with the inadequacies of her menfolk, until the surprise arrival of a Polish widow from New York upends her carefully balanced world and offers the possibility of redemption.

$25, Faber. Out May

Small Comfort

Ia Genberg

From an interview with a child-star-turned-thief to the mysterious death of an employee at a drug manufacturer – or the couple feigning marital bliss to keep their inheritance, Ia Genberg carefully unravels the value we place on both money and people. What does it really mean to be in debt to someone? How does our financial worth permeate the ways we think and feel? And what do we lose when we supposedly win? Small Comfort skewers its characters, slyly implicating the reader along the way.

$25, Wildfire. Out March

Fruit Fly

Josh Silver

It’s been seven years since Mallory shot to fame as a literary sensation. But after years of struggling with writer’s block, she’s desperate to resurrect her career. Enter Leo, a young struggling addict sleeping under bridges and trading sex for survival. He’s vulnerable. He’s enigmatic. He’s exactly what Mallory has been looking for. She’s the perfect person to tell Leo’s story. But as dark secrets come to light, Mallory must decide: just how far will she go to pen the perfect story?

$33, Oneworld. Out April

Every One Still Here

Liadan Ní Chuinn

A young girl spends her days on a double-decker bus. A bride-to-be prays to St Valentine’s bones. Bouquets are found all over a museum. Teenagers gather to dissect a human body. Brimming with compassion and thrumming with energy, these stories are scrupulous in their attention to detail, epic in their scope. In this bravura debut collection, Liadan Ní Chuinn delivers a consummate blend of the personal and the political.

$30, Granta. Out May

Seven

Joanna Kavenna

A young philosopher leaves Oslo, heading for Greece, on a mission to find Theodoros Apostolakis, the head of the Society of Lost Things. Apostolakis isn’t lost, but everything else is: ancient libraries, entire civilisations, priceless books and a beautiful box, once used to play the worldfamous game of Seven. The hunt for this small thing becomes an absurdist quest through time and space, from the earliest human societies to the advent of AI. Seven is an extraordinary journey through an ever darkening world.

$37, Faber. Out April

When Lemons Give You Life

Anna Johnston

Retired Michelin-star chef Griff Barlow, residing in Sunny Glen Aged Care, is consumed by grief and fed up with the terrible food. Planning his final meal, he sneaks into the kitchen to bake one last tart. The act reawakens his joy, and he begins secretly cooking for fellow residents, hiding a devastating lie. Meanwhile, Griff’s sister, Lisa, recently diagnosed with ADHD, is navigating a new romance and dutifully visiting Griff despite their fractured relationship. When long-held secrets and second chances emerge, a path to forgiveness might be possible.

$35, Penguin. Out April

Dark Materials

In this panel discussion, writers Michael Mohammed Ahmad (Bugger), Florence Knapp (The Names) and David Szalay (Flesh) discuss the dark themes that were the impetus for their new novels. How do they thoughtfully represent abuse on the page and how do their protagonists navigate great trauma that will forever impact them? Hear Mohammed, Florence and David as they discuss the darker side of life, with host Jacqueline Maley. Friday, 22 May, 2pm, Bay 20, Carriageworks, $40/$35

A Bookseller at Large

Australian author Charlotte McConaghy’s third novel (after Migrations and Once There Were Wolves) Wild Dark Shore, was published a year ago but I’ve only just caught up with it. It’s simply the best Australian novel I’ve read in some time – a literary romantic, cli-fi thriller set on a remote island near the Antarctic, based on Macquarie Island. Dominic Salt and his three children are the only people left on the island after the scientific research base has been closed down, when a woman washes up on the shore – amazingly, still alive. Her name is Rowan and it’s some time before we, or the family, know who she is and how she got there. Both she and the Salt family are harbouring secrets and their unravelling makes for a taut mystery.

The research station has been a depository for the seeds of the world, kept safe for a future where climate change makes them needed to regrow the planet, but the island itself is under threat from rising sea levels and as the romance between Dominic and Rowan grows, the tension ratchets up, leading to a dramatic, unexpected ending. Unsurprisingly the book is being made into a film and whether the novel’s ending will translate to the screen is also a mystery. Can’t wait!

Good People by Patmeena Sabit is an impressive debut centred on an Afghan family who have made it good in America. Essentially a polyphonic crime novel, we learn about the death of teenager Zorah Sharaf through the lens of the Afghan community

Staff Picks

and opinions as to how or why the girl died after her car plunged off a bridge are widely divergent. Was the Sharaf family a tightknit loving unit comfortably negotiating their Afghan culture and American society or were they, the father in particular, wedded to the strict mores of their religion? Was Zorah’s death an accident? Suicide? An honour killing? Gripping stuff but also an insightful depiction of migrant communities in modern America.

Another “crimey”, but also literary novel is Look What You Made Me Do by John Lanchester of Capital fame. Thirtysomething Phoebe and fifty-something Kate are two of the most unlikeable characters you’re ever likely to meet – I mean, do people this selfish actually exist? – but the twists and turns carry the reader along as calumny and revenge intertwine. This seems to me an example of a new type of fiction where the old tropes of the three-dimensional character or the character arc leading to self-awareness is thrown out the window. Much like David Szalay’s Flesh, where the “protagonist” we never get to know, ends up exactly where he started, Kate and Phoebe don’t really change – except Kate becomes more entitled and Phoebe never knows what has actually befallen her.

Perhaps these novels reflect the frightening new digital world we live in, where neither depth-of-character nor redemption matter. But maybe none of us change, and that was only ever a fictional conceit. Morgan

Books we love

The Correspondent

Peter Greste

$37, UQP

This is a brilliant book about the suppression of media freedom by state powers, and it would have lost some of its relevance by now if press freedom across the world wasn’t under such terrible pressure. Peter Greste’s arbitrary imprisonment in an Egyptian prison with his colleagues is vital to what is happening to journalists in Palestine and around the world. It’s also a gripping read in its own right and unsettlingly similar to 1984

- Imogen

Madonna In a Fur Coat

Sabahattin Ali

$25, Penguin

Ali creates a love story out of a series of wandering conversations, one that traverses many topics far ahead of its time. His characters refuse to fall into stereotype, and so does his novel. While it is the most autobiographical compared to his other, more political writings, it is as much about thought as

it is about love, or more accurately about how the two cohabitate.

- Mo

Martyr!

Kaveh Akbar

$35, Picador

This debut novel by Iranian-American poet Kaveh Akbar follows Cyrus, a young man obsessed with the idea of martyrdom in the secular sense – giving your life to something you believe in whether it be art, love, family, or work. Akbar weaves cynical threads through a surreal fabric of events, lyrical fragments of story that explore why we devote ourselves or why we don’t. Equal parts heartbreaking and hilarious, a unique reading experience.

- August

Lost Lambs

Madeline Cash

$35, Doubleday

What an absolute sterling debut. A laugh-out-loud comic novel of serious family dysfunction but not without a really beguiling humanity

and compassion. A kind of love child of Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting and Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom but with an irrepressible vitality of youth. Cash’s love of puns and knowingly bad jokes also has a touch of Lorrie Moore about it.

- Andrew

Godel,

Escher, Bach

Douglas Hofstadter

$40, Basic

This book is mind-blowing. All three men, in separate fields and at different periods in history, arrive independently at the same mathematical conclusion. A beautiful dovetailing of art, mathematics and music.

- Jane Frankenstein

Mary Shelley

$30, Broad Book Press

To say that Mary Shelley was ahead of her time would be the understatement of the last 200 years. If you are thinking of picking this up after seeing the movie - you won’t regret it! So very beautiful.

- Isabel

The Writers Retreat

Victoria Brownlee

Kat Hale is a bestselling Australian author crumbling under the pressure of writing her second novel. On a whim, she has fled to a writers’ retreat in the South of France run by internationally acclaimed author Helen Thorne. What Kat hopes will be two blissfully uninterrupted weeks to focus on her writing in anonymity quickly turns into something more sinister when Kat begins to suspect that Helen isn’t quite as perfect as everyone seems to believe.

$35, Affirm. Out March

A Deadly Episode

Anthony Horowitz

The actors have been cast, the script written, and filming has already started in Hastings. But when Hawthorne and Anthony visit the set, they find a far from happy family. The director is pretentious, the screenwriter’s an eco-warrior, the two stars hate each other, and the producer has run out of money. In the middle of the shoot, the actor playing Hawthorne is stabbed, leaving him to investigate his own murder. Was it Hawthorne himself who was meant to be the target? A brilliantly entertaining new mystery in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series. $35, Century. Out April

Mrs Shim Is a Killer

Kang Jiyoung

Recently widowed and unemployed, Mrs Shim and her two children face an empty fridge. But within weeks of joining a detective agency, she has turned her life around. For Mrs Shim is sharp as a blade, handles business cleanly and is like a padlock when it comes to keeping secrets. By day, she prepares kimchi for her family; by night Mrs Shim is out on a contract. But what starts as a need for survival escalates into a thirst for vengeance. Diving headfirst into her new career among petty criminals, ghosts and assassins, Mrs Shim’s past soon comes hurtling towards her.

$35, Doubleday. Out April

The Paradise Heights Miniature Railway Bust-Up

Kate Solly

Something is amiss at the Paradise Heights Miniature Railway. Expensive equipment and supplies have disappeared and nobody knows why. Who could possibly wish harm on a community group delivering Sunday afternoon fun on a fleet of jolly little engines? Fleck Parker has never met a puzzle she didn’t want to solve, and this one is just the ticket. Nobody suspects the cheerful mum asking questions at the railway. But idyllic bushland and miniature villages hide a sinister mystery. Will Fleck’s attempts to derail the thief land her on the wrong side of the tracks?

$35, Affirm. Out now

Frame 37

Nicholas Shakespeare

John Dyer is living a quiet life when he receives a call that changes everything: an old university friend, Lia, has been killed. Decades have passed since his last heartbreaking conversation with her, but Dyer finds himself driven to investigate. What he uncovers leads him to a political conspiracy with one man at its heart. A man who 40 years ago committed a crime witnessed by just four people. As Dyer chases his leads from Tasmania to Argentina and finally to Michigan, he unwittingly pits himself against an adversary more powerful than he could have imagined.

$35, Harvill. Out May

Trent Dalton: Gravity Let Me Go

Trent’s Boy Swallows Universe was voted best book of the 21st century by ABC Radio National listeners and has been adapted for stage and screen. His latest book, Gravity Let Me Go, mixes gruesome true crime with a personal exploration of love and marriage. Hear Trent (pictured) discuss his work with Cassie McCullagh.

Friday 22 May, 2pm, Bay 17, Carriageworks, $45/$40

Beyond the Outback

For decades Australian crime writing has been defined by tropes of the isolated outback setting of lone gums and red dirt, but a new generation of writers is reimagining the genre. In this panel discussion, acclaimed Australian novelist of Scrublands and, most recently, Legacy, Chris Hammer, debut author of Melaleuca Angie Faye Martin and Irish-born writer Dervla McTiernan, known for her Cormac Reilly series, explore the limits and possibilities of Australian crime fiction.

Thursday 21 May, 7pm, Track 12 Carriageworks, $30/$20

Shrink Solves Murder

Philippa Perry

When a body is found near Beachy Head, the police chalk it up to suicide. But psychotherapist Patricia Phillips isn’t convinced. The victim? Her 3pm patient, Henry Clayton. Drawn from the therapy room to the crime scene, Pat begins to notice what others appear to overlook. At her side is her best friend Prichard, an excellent cook, and a man who seems to get along with everyone. As Pat and Prichard look beneath the village’s thin veneer of normality they discover a killer hiding in plain sight.

$35, Hutchinson Heinemann. Out April

Sound Mind Dead Body

Dave Warner

Devon, 1929. Members of the Pedhurst and de Reve families gather to hear unpopular matriarch Julia Pedhurst (née de Reve) read from her late husband’s will. One of the house guests is fighter pilot Fred Willets, now an inspector in the Kalgoorlie Gold Squad, who has come to the UK as a beneficiary of the will. When Julia dies before the reading, and another death follows soon after, everybody in the manor house is a possible suspect. It is up to Willets, assisted by the bright young pharmacist Prudence Meadows, to crack this whodunnit.

$35, Fremantle. Out now

The Living and the Dead

Christoffer Carlsson

On a cold, snowy winter’s night in 1999, Sander and Killian leave a house party together in a small town in rural Sweden. The next morning, each is a key suspect in a murder. Each has something they want to conceal from the police. And from the other. The hunt for Mikael Söderström’s killer will take more than 20 years. And it won’t end until a second body is found, and the tight-knit community’s secrets are finally brought to light. This is a gripping nordic noir from criminologist Christoffer Carlsson.

$35, Michael Joseph. Out April

Dove

Georgia Harper

After a violent confrontation with the man next door, Dove paints a question on the front wall of her Sunshine Coast farm: “What would you do if you had a whole day on earth free of men?” When women reply with their pent-up frustrations, fears and confessions, it strikes a nerve with the local blokes. Tensions boil up just as the town hits the headlines over a missing teen. As Dove faces anonymous threats, she fears her secret romance might harbour its own hidden dangers. From the winner of the 2025 Davitt Award for debut crime fiction.

$35, Penguin. Out now

Broken Dove

Dani Francis

After blowing her cover as a double agent within Silver Elite and fleeing the Prime-controlled capital, Wren Darlington is finally safe behind allied lines. As her lover and former commander Cross Redden works to disrupt the Primes from inside their ranks, Wren turns her focus toward assisting the Uprising. But though she’s back among her own people, trust is hard-won and hidden agendas abound on the Mod base. With the war between Mods and Primes growing more brutal by the day, Wren must confront some gut-wrenching questions. Who is she fighting for … and who is she willing to lose?

$35, Del Rey. Out May

The Keeper

Tana French

On a cold night in a remote Irish village, a girl goes missing. In a place like this, her death isn’t simple. It comes wrapped in generationsold grudges and splits the town in two. Retired Chicago detective Cal Hooper owes his friends there loyalty, but his fiancee Lena wants nothing to do with the town’s tangles. As the feud becomes more vicious, their settled peace starts to crack. And when they uncover a scheme that casts a new light on Rachel’s death, they find themselves in the firing line.

$35, Viking. Out April

The Model Murder

Amanda Hampson

Sydney, 1968. When a popular local man is murdered, police are quick to pin the blame on his glamorous model fiancee, who has since disappeared. But Hazel suspects a criminal cover-up and rallies the tea ladies to investigate; a quest that brings danger right to her door. Meanwhile, Merl stumbles on evidence that her detective son-in-law is corrupt and Betty becomes immersed in a local theatre group where there is more drama offstage than on it.

$35, Penguin. Out April

Redbelly Crossing

Candice Fox

Russell and Evan Powder are cops – and estranged brothers. Now they are both assigned to the murder of a young journalist in the small town of Redbelly Crossing. It’s the last thing Russell wants. This is supposed to be the week he repairs things with his teenage daughter Bridie. Now he’s had to drag her on a murderous ride-along to the middle of snake-infested nowhere. But a big case like this is just what Evan needs after a terrible mistake nearly tanked his career. Then a dark discovery leaves Evan with only one way out; to bury the truth Russell is so determined to uncover.

$35, Penguin. Out now

Wolf Worm

T. Kingfisher

In 1899, Sonia Wilson, a struggling scientific illustrator, accepts a position with the reclusive Dr Halder at his North Carolina manor to document his vast insect collection. Grateful for the opportunity, she soon senses something deeply wrong. Strange animal behaviour, rumours of “blood thieves”, and the mysterious fate of Halder’s wife unsettle her. With help from the housekeeper and a local healer, Sonia uncovers the horrifying truth: Halder’s research into parasitic insects has turned sinister – and she may be the next subject of his monstrous experiment.

$35, Tor Nightfire. Out March

ROMANCE

Love in the Fast Lane

Laura Greaves

Jack Garrett may be Formula 1’s reigning world champion, but he’s lost his passion for the sport. Known for his icy persona, he’s on the brink of losing everything when Kaya Beck joins as the team’s new communications strategist. Tasked with repairing his image and saving both their careers, Kaya begins to see the man behind the myth. As their connection deepens, secrets on both sides threaten to unravel not only their relationship, but the future of the entire team.

$25, Penguin. Out May

Steel Gods

Richard Swan

The Brides

Charlotte Cross

1884. When Mafalda Lowell journeys from London to Budapest to care for her recently widowed aunt, she uncovers the chilling truth about her uncle’s death. Chaperoned by former schoolfriend Eliza and lady’s maid Alice, Lucy travels across the continent to be with her beloved Mafalda. When Eliza is struck down with a mysterious wasting illness, her doctor orders her to take the healing waters of Transylvania, a journey with devastating consequences. Told through letters, diary entries and psychiatric reports, The Brides places women at the centre of literature’s most famous vampire story.

$35, Tor Nightfire. Out now

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter

Stephen Graham Jones

Etsy Beaucarne is an academic who needs to get published. So when a journal written in 1912 by her grandfather, Arthur Beaucarne, is discovered, she sees her chance. As she researches, she comes to learn of her grandfather and a Blackfeet called Good Stab, who came to Arthur to share the story of his extraordinary life. The journals detail a cycle of violence that leads all the way back to 217 Blackfeet murdered in the snow. An unflinching saga of the violence of colonial America and a chilling reinvention of vampire lore from the master of horror.

$25, Titan. Out now

Bora Chung: The Midnight Timetable

In the labyrinthine research facility at the centre of The Midnight Timetable, a new guard is starting to suspect there’s more to the objects being guarded than the boss is letting on. This new collection of horror stories by South Korean author Bora Chung offers a fresh take on the fable form, interweaving eerie confessions, echoing hallways and chilling ghost stories with sharp wit and biting social critique. Enter the International Booker Prizeshortlisted author’s strange, shadowy world, in conversation with Siang Lu. Friday, 22 May, 6pm, Bay 20, Carriageworks, $40/$35

As the Great Silence spreads, a devastating mind-plague consumes nations. Ambassador Renata Rainer is tasked with saving the world, seeking aid from a longtime enemy, while Lieutenant Peter Kleist ventures into haunted forests for answers. Behind them, a team of engineers, soldiers and arcane experts race to unravel the mystery across mortal and otherworldly realms. As chaos rises, all paths lead to the Eye of the Sea, where the fabric of reality wears thin –and where the Empire of the Wolf must confront the most terrible enemy it has ever known.

$35, Orbit. Out now

The Faith of Beasts

James S.A. Corey

The brutal Carryx empire thrives on conquest, forcing thousands of species into a ruthless test: prove your usefulness in eternal war or die. Among the human captives, Dafyd Alkhor rises to power – feared by his own people for his ruthless role in shaping humanity into tools for their alien masters. Meanwhile, the Swarm, a covert agent of the Carryx’s ancient enemy, infiltrates the empire disguised among human slaves. Tasked with destroying the empire, it begins to change as it lives within humanity. As the empire’s vast power unfolds, a desperate plan to bring it down emerges.

The Dully Dispatch

You asked for it and we delivered! Dully’s Very Own Book Club is now up and racing. Our first meeting was a sellout, so be quick to get your ticket to the next one, which will be held on Monday 4 May at 7pm. We will be reading Kin by Tayari Jones

Dully’s Very Own Book Club is a monthly affair at Goldie’s in Dulwich Hill, hosted by the inimitable Heather McNab. Head to the Gleebooks or Goldie’s websites for details and to buy tickets.

So, what has the Dully team been reading?

Beloved local author and academic Debra Adelaide has penned an astonishing work of autofiction with her new book, When I Am Sixty-Four. Renee and Letitia are busy recommending this book to anyone who will listen. The book is based on Debra’s friendship with the late Gabrielle Carey and is nothing short of a masterpiece. Friendship, loss, the creative life and all the beauty and banality of the human condition are all captured here. A must read.

Letitia is swooning over the new novel by Douglas Stuart, John of John. This is a tender and enthralling story about small town life and extraordinary secrets. Every sentence sings and the yearning is palpable. Readers of Colm Tóibín, Niall Williams and Claire Keegan will love John of John. Published 12 May.

Renee has entered her Lily King era (and she’s not alone). Read her novels Heart the Lover and Writers & Lovers in any order. But believe the rave reviews and dive into the Casey/ Jordan universe.

Renee is also enjoying the perks of being a bookseller with advance copies of the new novels by Ann Patchett and Meg Mason. Yes, this is not a drill! It’s a huge year for exciting publications so be sure to pre-order your copies. Renee is only part way through Patchett’s new novel Whistler but is already wondering whether it might be her best book yet. Published 2 June. Waiting in the wings is Meg Mason’s long-awaited new novel Sophie, Standing There and, having dipped in and read a

few pages, Renee can confirm that lovers of Sorrow and Bliss will not be disappointed. Published 28 July.

Meanwhile, Lachlan is loving White River Crossing by Ian McGuire, reporting that it scratched all his reading itches. This is a historical novel set in a distant time and place – an outpost of the Hudson’s Bay Company where the discovery of gold prompts a secretive expedition into the frozen north. This being McGuire, the protagonists all have hidden motives, and conflicts within the party and with the Indigenous peoples ensue. Full of ingenious twists and turns, it’s another fine work from the Booker longlisted author of The North Water

We are delighted to see the younger reader’s edition of The Sunbird in the No. 1 spot on our children’s bestsellers list. Local author Sara Haddad has masterfully adapted her bestselling book, The Sunbird, for children aged between 8 and 12 years (but in truth, this book can be read and enjoyed by anyone). Lovingly illustrated by Palestinian artist Baraa Awoor, this middle-grade story of a child’s experience of the Nakba is a lyrical ode to sovereignty, freedom and homecoming. Congratulations Sara. We have many more exceptional picture books for kids of all ages, including Tiny by Laura Stitzel, Dog Stayed by Tammy Forster and Margeaux Davis, The Future Book by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris, and Fuzzy Feelings by Michelle Mackintosh and Cat Rabbit (you’ll remember Cat Rabbit’s beautiful hand-stitched figures from The Library of Bears, one of our all time bestsellers).

We look forward to seeing you all at the bookshop.

With love from the Dully bookheads Follow us on Instagram @gleebooks_dulwich

Children

EARLY READERS

Edith

Catharina Valckx

As a newborn, Edith received two gifts: the ability to bring any object to life and eternal childhood. That’s why today, 100 years later, Edith is celebrating her centenary as a sevenyear-old. What will she wish for this time? Certainly a new life – being seven forever has its downside. She sets out to find the fairy who bewitched her and reverse the spell, taking her only friends, a wise dog and a talking lemon with her. Edith playfully combines fairytale with absurd comedy to ask a big question about what makes a good life.

$18, Gecko. Out May

Worst Hero Ever

Matt Cosgrove and Eva Amores

If you could have any superpower, what would you choose? Super strength? Invisibility? The ability to fly? Super speed? So many superpowers to choose from. Unfortunately, for Licky Ricky, he didn’t get to choose. He just woke up one day with the most useless, least impressive, socially unacceptable, slightly embarrassing, frankly gross, superpower of all time! Grab your barf bags, buckle up and brace yourself for the unbelievable but entirely true origin story of the worst hero ever!

$16, Scholastic. Out April

Myra in the Middle

Seetha Dodd, illus. Peter Cheong

Myra’s world flips upside down when her family welcomes a new baby. Myra is now a middle child –and everyone knows middle kids always get forgotten. On top of that, Myra tries out for the school’s soccer team, only to be put in the midfield. She can’t show off her skills when nothing exciting ever happens there! What will it take for Myra to feel marvellous in the middle?

$15, UQP. Out now

PICTURE BOOKS

Somewhere You Can Dream

Janeen Brian, illus. Hilary Jean Tapper

From the smallest cubby to the highest hilltop, this heart-warming, read-aloud picture book is all about finding your own special place in the world. It’s a beautiful, lyrical story that asks readers to consider where in the world they feel most at home, exploring safe spaces and cosy feelings, self-awareness and belonging. Perfect for reading at bedtime, with glorious illustrations by Hilary Jean Tapper.

$25, A&U. Out now

Now You Know Your ABC … or do you?

Caspar Salmon, illus. Matt Hunt

A is for apple. B is for ball. C is for castle. But wait! D is NOT for dog. There’s a wolf in this book and it’s lurking right behind you. YOU are the hero of this story! Can you spot the sneaky wolf hiding throughout this book, escape its clutches and make it all the way to Z? You better watch out for its devious disguises! This hilarious alphabet adventure will have readers racing from A to Z!

$25, Nosy Crow. Out May

Fuzzy Feelings

Michelle Mackintosh, illus. Cat Rabbit

Just like felt, our feelings can often get a little fuzzy. Fuzzy Feelings follows the story of Little Cat who is experiencing lots of emotions as they navigate their way through the day. Cat wonders, am I happy? Am I sad? Am I confused? It’s hard to express how they are feeling. As you turn the pages of the book with your own little one, discover together how to understand the big feelings that children have and how it can be hard to describe these different emotions.

$25, Little Smith. Out now

Is This a Plum?

Dan and Fin Ojari

Through the hole in the page, you might see a plum … or a spider … or a spoon. But turn the page to see the full picture and – SURPRISE! – it’s something unexpected: the moon, a tiger, even a hippo’s bum! This delightfully clever picture book is full of visual tricks and rhymes to inspire wonder while making you chuckle – brought to life by an Oscarnominated animator and based on his seven-year-old son’s original idea and drawings.

$20, Puffin. Out May

Rumplestiltskin

Mac Barnett, illus. Carson Ellis

Once upon a time there was a clever girl with a not-so-clever father. When her father claims she can spin straw into gold, the king forces the girl to perform this impossible task. She has no other choice than to accept a strange deal from a mysterious little man. But when he arrives and attempts to collect the debt, the fiendish trickster Rumpelstiltskin discovers that he is the one who has been tricked! This is a beautifully illustrated retelling of the classic fairytale.

$27, Scholastic. Out April

We Live On a Boat

Dave Petzold

We live on a boat. She’s called Lucky Sea Legs. We call her that because we always tumble into good things. From the bestselling author of We Live in a Bus comes a windswept family adventure about sailing the open seas, swimming in the moonlight and living a life less ordinary.

$27, Thames & Hudson. Out April

PICTURE BOOKS

Monkeypig

Huw Aaron Molly lives in the jungle with all the other monkeys, dancing and playing and being silly among the treetops. But Molly has a secret. Molly is a pig. When Norman becomes suspicious that an imposter has infiltrated the monkeys, he sets them all some monkey tests. Will Molly be discovered?

$17, Picture Puffin. Out April

YA

Drawing Nudes While Making Other Plans

Zoe Gaetjens

Checklist for the perfect summer before year 12: a life-drawing course at the Australian Art School (try not to freak out the first time you have to draw a naked man); find your friends (your real ones); first kiss (only if it’s with the right person); and try not to wish your sister were still here (impossible) … This is a warm and funny novel about finding yourself … in a room full of strangers, drawing naked people. $20, Penguin. Out May

Fearless

Kelly Canby

Bea Ware is afraid of everything – from shadows to ladders to trampolines, she is in a constant state of anxiety and trepidation. Her friend, Annie Venture, seems completely carefree, skipping through life without a single worry. But Annie shares her secret with Bea. Annie is not fearless, she has simply learned to fear less. So, just a little every day, Bea tries to fear less too, and uncover a more carefree life.

$25, Fremantle. Out now

Don’t Let Them Leave

Mike Lucas

Ghosts aren’t real and houses can’t come to life. Charlotte knows these facts to be true. Yet when she and her siblings are orphaned and sent to live with their grandmother on remote Black Island, she begins to realise that only one thing is certain: they shouldn’t be there. But will they ever be able to leave? This is a compelling and spooky thriller from Mike Lucas, a modern master of suspense. $20, Penguin. Out May

Rachel’s picks of the Sydney Writers’ Festival

This year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival has a whole host of exciting events (both ticketed and free) for the whole family. Here are some I am busting with excitement to see.

Family Day (Sunday, 23 May, from 9.30am) has loads of free events, including a fabulous storytime with Victor and Sandra Steffensen, Sue Whiting introducing us to her Story Thingy, Sami Bayly drawing weird and wonderful animals, and Mick Elliott breaking a world record for drawing a ridiculous amount of portraits in one hour. There will also be a free choose your own adventure extravaganza, an epic illustrator battle and kids’ dance party.

Get in fast to grab a ticket to these must-see events: Tristan Bancks (pictured) talking about exciting books for tweens; a whole bunch of kidlit legends discussing the Ella-verse; superstar Dav Pilkey making lots of mischief; and All Day YA (Saturday 23 May) where you’ll find awesome panels about vampires, romance, murder mystery, coming of age stories and a celebration of verse novels. And come and see us at the children’s bookstore at the festival and we’ll recommend your next great read. Go to swf.org.au for event details.

- Rachel

Deli Days

Jenna Rothberg, illus. Marta Pantaleo

One moment you’re carrying a tray of the deli’s famous sandwiches. The next, you’re standing in a sea of broken cookies and scattered sprinkles while the lunch rush stares. But right there in the chaos, a grandchild learns what family tradition really means – and that sometimes the best memories come from our biggest messes. A warm, funny story about growing up one matzo ball at a time.

$28, Scribble. Out now

Piper at the Gates of Dusk

Patrick Ness

Something has been spotted in the night sky. Something that’s bringing back dreams of Noise, dreams of terror. Brothers Ben and Max have never really gotten on, each being more like one of their parents – Todd and Viola. But now they will have to come together. Return to the world of global bestselling series Chaos Walking with the first in a brand-new trilogy of gripping, dystopian sci-fi YA novels. $30, Walker. Out April

Children

AGES 9-12

The Wild Unknown

Emily Gale

It’s 2045, and Eddie lives in a world filled with constant tech –from bots in his ear to surveillance in school and drone-filled skies. When a boy named Theo goes missing and police give up, Eddie and his friends secretly investigate. Soon, Eddie begins changing in strange ways: enhanced speed, night vision, and feather-like growths. It’s both thrilling and frightening. As the mystery deepens, Eddie wonders if his transformation is connected to Theo – and whether it might be the key to finding him.

$17, Text. Out April

One Day Soon

Cristy Burne

When Alex’s uncle is diagnosed with a genetic form of motor neurone disease, the ripple effect is immediate – it means his dad has a 50% chance of carrying the fatal gene. And if Dad has the gene, Alex has a 50% chance of carrying it, too. But even as Alex grapples with mortality, he discovers the unexpected joy, deep love and impromptu dance parties that come from living closer to death. Told in verse, One Day Soon is a story of how, ultimately, a few special moments can matter most.

$18, Fremantle. Out April

If I Could Eat the Stars

Ed. Sally Murphy and Rebecca Newman, illus. Briony Stewart

This is a collection of fun and relatable Australian poetry for middle readers, featuring poems by a mix of award-winning, established and brand new writers. With stellar illustrations by Briony Stewart and featuring shape poems, haiku, cinquain and free verse ... these are poems to tickle your funny bone, make your belly rumble and keep you up at night.

$18, Fremantle. Out April

Raised By Wolves

Tristan Bancks

Twelve-year-old Olive Silver knows how to check every room with a knife when she gets home from school, how to survive alone and how to keep secrets. She’s had to – ever since her criminal dad abandoned her family five years ago and let them pay for his crime. But now, he’s back. The day she spots him outside her school, everything tilts. Does Dad love her? Or is he only back for the money? As the night spins out of control, Olive faces a choice: let Dad go, or hunt him down and bring him to justice.

$18, Penguin. Out May

Running In Circles

Shivaun Plozza

When crop circles appear in Tully, north Queensland, 12-yearold Dell knows it’s a hoax. She’s a future climate scientist who believes in facts, not science fiction. But Dell’s estranged mum is an extraterrestrial fanatic. She blusters back into town armed with alien conspiracy theories and a dazzling smile. If Dell can prove the crop circle is fake, surely her mum will hightail it out of Tully again. But as alien fever takes over the country, Dell worries she’s fighting a lost cause. How can she convince anyone of the truth when they’re all so desperate to believe a lie?

$18, UQP. Out April

The Apocalypse

Alex Dyson

Xavier Gency, 12, knows the world is doomed, but that doesn’t stop him cracking jokes wherever he goes: in his country town, where politicians are bulldozing trees to “prevent” bushfires; at home, even though his dad’s sense of humour is just like native wildlife – extinct; and at his new boarding school. But then Xavier hears devastating news about his family’s farmhouse – should he sit back and poke fun? Or should he take action, even if that means sneaking off campus and having run-ins with the law? The Apocalypse and Other Mild Inconveniences is a fun, thrilling story that shows hope is worth holding out for.

$20, Hardie Grant. Out April

The Greatest Goal in the Galaxy: Uranus FC #1

Mick Elliott

Meet Tyko Brayne. He’s the biggest football fan on planet Earth. Only problem is, he’s stuck on Uranus. Tyko’s chances of playing for Earth FC in the glooff* Cup are about one in a gazillion. But when a cosmic catastrophe results in planet Earth vanishing, someone needs to step up and take Earth’s FC’s place. Where in the universe is there a team to represent humankind? Uranus. Do the players of Uranus FC have the skills to take on the galaxy’s most vicious football playing species? No. Does the team have the courage to take the field? Yes. Will they survive? Probably not ...

$17, Scholastic. Out May

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

The Framing

Fernanda Dahlstrom

When Fernanda Dahlstrom was eight, her mother went to jail and their idyllic life in rural Victoria was shattered. Now a young lawyer in Darwin, Fernanda tells her new partner about her chaotic past and her determination to show the world how her mother was framed. The Framing explores the complexities of trust and betrayal in family relationships, through a searing study of identity and justice.

$35, Melbourne University Press. Out April

Journey to the End of Time

Alex Miller

Robust, textured and fascinating, this collection of short stories, memoir, journal entries, essays and poems spans decades of Alex Miller’s life. The collection opens with a moving depiction of Miller’s father leaving for war and closes with the final words of a poem written in 2023. His discerning writing engages with the works of prominent authors and artists, many of them longstanding friends, including Janine Burke, Jacob Rosenberg, Rick Amor, Sidney Nolan, John Wolseley and Emily Kame Kngwarreye, each of whom have deepened the richness of Australian cultural life. $45, Allen & Unwin. Out now

A.D. Hope

Susan Lever

Alec Derwent Hope (1907-2000) was one of Australia’s most acclaimed poets, though his first collection was not published until he was 48 years old, due to concerns about its sexual content and fears of censorship. Its release secured his reputation. This biography traces his rural Tasmanian upbringing, education at Sydney and Oxford, and his prominence as a sharp critic in the 1940s-50s. Drawing on letters and notebooks, Susan Lever reveals Hope’s contradictions – polite yet biting, conventional yet intellectually complex –and his belief in renewing poetic tradition. $37, La Trobe University Press. Out now

Coming Up Short

Robert Reich

Nine months after the end of World War II, Robert Reich was born into a hopeful America shaped by rising inequality. From early experiences with bullying to activism during the civil rights era and the Vietnam War, Reich traces a life in public service alongside figures like Bill Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Reflecting on his generation’s impact, he questions whether they strengthened democracy and offers ideas for rebuilding a more inclusive, community-driven capitalism.

$37, Scribe. Out now

The Titanic Story of Evelyn

Lisa Wilkinson

Lisa Wilkinson’s The Titanic Story of Evelyn is the true tale of the only Australian survivor of the sinking of the Titanic. It is the story of a brave young Australian nurse who wanted to see the world, fell in love, then almost lost it all in one of the greatest maritime tragedies the world has ever known. And yet somehow, few Australians know anything of Evelyn’s existence, the courageous role she played in the hours after the Titanic hit an iceberg, or the heartwarming love story behind it all. $35, Hachette. Out April

Enough Said

Alan Bennett

Enough Said is Alan Bennett’s fourth collection of diaries and prose. Covering the turbulent years 2016 to 2024, the diaries take us through lockdown, Brexit, the reign of Johnson, the rise of Trump and the death of the Queen. In between, he returns to Yorkshire to celebrate the herons, the newts and the street fairs, and lament the closure of the last local bank and the deteriorating welfare state. 2024 is the year that Alan turns 90; he reflects on old age and the importance of luck. A book for the bedside, this is poignant, funny and contemplative. $60, Profile. Out now

Oscar Piastri

Anthony Meredith

Oscar Piastri is a rising star in the world of Formula One. Laserfocused, talented and with a huge future ahead of him, he represents the new breed of drivers hungry for success. After just a few seasons at the top, he has shown himself to be a driver of exceptional ability. Motorsport writer Anthony Meredith charts Piastri’s remarkable rise from the suburbs of Melbourne to the pinnacle of his sport. $37, Icon. Out May

London Falling

Patrick Radden Keefe

In 2019, a London teenager, Zac Brettler, mysteriously fell to his death from a luxury apartment building on the banks of the Thames. When his grieving parents began their desperate quest to understand how their son had died, they made a terrible discovery: Zac had been leading a fantasy life, posing as the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch. In his inimitably gripping and forensic prose, Patrick Radden Keefe follows Zac’s parents on a dark journey to find out what brought Zac to the balcony that night – and how a teenager’s world of make-believe drew him into the city’s terrifying underworld.

$37, Picador. Out April

Judy Blume: a life

Mark Oppenheimer

Judy Blume’s novels –including Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret –touched the lives of tens of millions of readers. Journalist and longtime Blume aficionado Mark Oppenheimer creates a multidimensional portrait of the acclaimed author through extensive interviews with Blume herself, her personal papers and correspondence, and thoughtful analysis of her novels. He explores Blume’s middle-class 1940s upbringing, complicated childhood, varied relationships and marriages, unabashed sexual experiences, bouts of heartache and loss, and enduring legacy as a champion of free speech.

$40, Scribe. Out now

To Catch a Fascist

Christopher Mathias

Most Americans don’t understand what antifa really is. Nor have they listened when antifa sounded the alarm about white supremacists taking positions of power. To Catch a Fascist follows different factions of anti-fascists as they work to expose white supremacists before they can make their violent fantasies a reality. Journalist Christopher Mathias paints a vivid picture of the stakes in this often-unseen battle, highlighting the scrappy resourcefulness of antifa against their increasingly emboldened adversaries. $37, Atria. Out now

To Lose a War

Jon Lee Anderson

The colossal waste, missed signals, and wishful thinking that characterised the 20year arc of the US-led war in Afghanistan have consecrated it as one of the greatest foreign policy failures of the modern era, and a bellwether of a larger American imperial decline. To Lose a War collects Jon Lee Anderson’s writing from Afghanistan over almost 25 years, offering a chronological account of a monumental tragedy as it unfolded.

$35, Fitzcarraldo. Out May

AUSTRALIAN POLITICS

The Age of Carnivores

Peter Hartcher

The world is “made up of herbivores and carnivores”, French President Emmanuel Macron said. And the meat-eaters are circling. China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are banding together. We have an expansionist America under President Trump and his merry band of disruptors. In this gripping book, leading journalist and commentator Peter Hartcher explores what all this means for Australia. $37, Black Inc. Out September

Righting Wrongs

Kenneth Roth

Over three decades leading Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth investigated abuses in 100 countries, pressuring governments to change. The son of a refugee from Nazi Germany, he confronted global injustices – from the Rwandan genocide to conflicts in Ukraine and beyond. Challenging powerful states, including the US and China, Roth advanced human rights using strategies like public “shaming”, demonstrating its effectiveness in holding perpetrators accountable and driving international pressure for change. This is a story of wins, losses, and ongoing battles in the ceaseless fight for a more decent world.

$35, Penguin. Out April

The Challenge of the Future

A. C. Grayling

We live in a time of unprecedented technological change and uncertainty, from AI to transhumanism. Humankind is faced with the question of what the future will be like – and should be like. We confront increasing dangers from geopolitical instability, war and the climate crisis that threaten to render these developments either irrelevant or deadly. A.C. Grayling asks the questions no one else is asking: What do we wish to keep from yesterday that will help us decide today what we want and don’t want tomorrow? And how might we navigate the complexities to build a fairer, more equal, sustainable future?

$37, Oneworld. Out now

After Bondi

Israel: What Went Wrong?

Omer Bartov

Historian Omer Bartov, raised on a kibbutz and a veteran of the Yom Kippur War, examines Israel’s evolution in Israel: What Went Wrong?. Once rooted in liberation, Zionism, he argues, has shifted toward ethno-nationalism, exclusion and violent domination of Palestinians. Bartov traces how Israel – founded in 1948 with global support after the Holocaust –now faces allegations of war crimes and genocide. What are the implications of Israel’s near total impunity for the post1945 regime of international law? And how do we understand the widespread support for these policies by Israel’s Jewish citizens?

$37, Fern. Out April

In the aftermath of the devastating Bondi terrorist attack in December 2025, Jewish writers and artists reflect on the trauma and their hope for the future. Poet and singer-songwriter Jessica Chapnik Kahn, writer Lee Kofman (Ruptured: Jewish women in Australia reflect on life post-October 7), musician and writer Simon Tedeschi (Fugitive) and journalist Michael Visontay (Noble Fragments) come together to discuss the experience of the Sydney and wider Australian Jewish community and the many political, social and personal ramifications of the massacre. With host Michaela Kalowski.

Sunday 17 May, 2pm, State Library of NSW, $35/$25

Secrets of the Lodge

Writers Troy Bramston (Gough Whitlam: The Vista of the New), Sean Kelly (The Game: A portrait of Scott Morrison), Amy Remeikis (Where It All Went Wrong: the case against John Howard) and Niki Savva (Earthquake: the election that shook Australia; pictured) all turn their keen eye for analysis on key points in the modern history of one of the highest political offices in our country. Hear Troy, Sean, Amy and Niki as they share insights into the lives of leaders past and present. Thursday 21 May, 11am, Bay 24, Carriageworks, free

The Migrants

Christopher

de Hamel

Christopher de Hamel, a leading scholar of illuminated manuscripts, recounts a childhood in New Zealand far from Europe, where his fascination with medieval books began.

The Migrants traces the remarkable journeys of manuscripts and people, exploring colonisation, cultural exchange, and history’s complexities. Through vivid stories – from shipwrecks to rediscovered treasures – it follows these works across centuries and continents. Blending memoir and historical investigation, de Hamel retraces their origins in Europe, creating a richly layered, reflective narrative about migration, identity, and the enduring movement of culture.

$60, Allen Lane. Out April

Saint Petersburg

Sinclair McKay

This biography of a city stretches from Peter the Great to Vladimir Putin, who was born and made in St Petersburg. The story centres on the “900 days and nights” of the Siege of Leningrad, 1941-44. Unlike in Paris or Prague, the Nazis weren’t trying to take over, they wanted to wipe it off the map. According to some, this siege of 1.5 million people – including Putin’s mother – was an attempted genocide. Based on firsthand accounts from figures from all walks of life – authors, factory workers, furriers, dancers, sailors, grandparents, children – this masterpiece reveals the central importance of the city over the centuries.

$27, Penguin. Out April

AUSTRALIAN HISTORY

The Writer and the Traitor

Robert Verkaik

The friendship between Graham Greene and Kim Philby is one of the most mysterious of the 20th century. The two men met as young MI6 officers in wartorn London, working together to defeat the Nazis. But after Greene suddenly resigned just days before D Day, he turned back to literature, using his experience in the intelligence services as a backdrop for his novel Our Man in Havana and the screenplay for The Third Man. Robert Verkaik chronicles the relationship of these two giants of the 20th century and explores the perplexing question: Why did Greene remain loyal to Britain’s most hated traitor?

$55, Headline Welbeck. Out July

Israel

Göran Rosenberg

On 22 April 1962 what remains of Göran Rosenberg’s family embark from his native Sweden to make Israel their new home. Transplanted into a nation born only a few months before him, he is first enchanted by its vitality, imprinted by its ideals. It is the beginning of a lifetime’s journey across the promised land and into its past, a reckoning with the utopian visions and desperate fears that went into Zionism as well as the violence and dispossession of its realisation. This landmark book tells the story of that journey – through buried stories and erased villages, and the histories still unfolding today.

$27, Penguin. Out April

South

Malcolm Traill

On Western Australia’s southern coast, Albany stands as the state’s oldest European settlement, founded in 1826, but its human history begins more than 40,000 years ago with the Menang people of the Noongar nation. Historian and heritage expert Malcolm Traill presents a compelling collection of stories and rare images offering a vibrant portrait of Albany’s layered past – its people, its places, and the events that have shaped the region. South is both a celebration and a reflection – an invitation to rediscover the unique heritage of a town at the southern edge of a vast continent.

$35, UWA. Out now

Stalin’s Apostles

Antonia Senior

Using newly declassified files, Stalin’s Apostles reveals the betrayal of the Cambridge Five –Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, Anthony Blunt and John Cairncross – who passed secrets to Joseph Stalin. Their intelligence shaped wartime strategy and aided Soviet ambitions, contributing to widespread suffering. Shielded by the British Establishment, four of the five were never prosecuted for their crimes. The legacy of the Cambridge Five is not only in the graveyards of eastern Europe, but at the heart of Putin’s Kremlin.

$35, Hodder & Stoughton. Out July

The First Fascist

Sergio Luzzatto

In 19th-century France, the Marquis de Morès emerged as a precursor to fascist politics, blending populism with open antisemitism and helping inflame divisions during the Dreyfus Affair. In The First Fascist, historian Sergio Luzzatto draws on original sources to trace Morès’s turbulent life – from failed ventures abroad to leading a violent political movement at home. Blaming his setbacks on imagined conspiracies, his influence endured long after his fall. This vivid, unsettling account explores the early roots of fascism and their lasting impact on modern political unrest.

$55, Allen Lane. Out May

The Wall Dancers

Yi-Ling Liu

In the late 1990s, China began building the Great Firewall, a vast system of online censorship. Yet behind it, a vibrant digital world emerged, filled with subcultures, innovation, and new opportunities for connection. As state control over public discourse tightens, journalist Yi-Ling Liu offers an intimate portrait of entrepreneurs, activists, artists, and dreamers navigating this landscape. Drawing on years of reporting, The Wall Dancers explores China’s internet as a force of both control and liberation.

$55, Ithaka. Out May

Silent Catastrophes

W. G. Sebald

The evolution of Austria from vast empire to diminutive Alpine republic, followed by its annexation by Nazi Germany, had a profound traumatic impact on the literary output of the nation. Appearing for the first time in English, Silent Catastrophes brings together W.G. Sebald’s essays on the Austrian writers who meant so much to him. Essays on the writings of Kafka, Handke, Bernhard and more, explore the concepts of “home/ land”, “borderland” and “exile” with deep compassion and insight.

$27, Penguin. Out April

Every Moment Is a Life

Edited by Susan Abulhawa

Every Moment Is a Life delivers rare, unfiltered portraits of life under genocide, platforming the emerging voices struggling to survive in Gaza today. These essays are raw and real, capturing human moments – buying bread, going to the bathroom, sharing a meal, drinking coffee – all set against the backdrop of history’s first livestreamed ethnic cleansing. With courage, anger, love, agony, and – impossibly – hope, these achingly tender voices from Gaza will stay with us, captured in these pages, forever.

$30, Atria/One Signal. Out now

The Ruin of Magic

Kate Holden

In gorgeous prose Holden meditates on her instinctive yearning for long-ago Europe versus the natural belonging she feels to the Australian landscape, and asks, “What is a home?” The strongest shelter or the most lethal trap, a museum of ourselves or a showcase of fashions? What, then, does it mean to make ourselves at home in an Australia still finding its way amid old and avoided truths? Is nostalgia a reasonable mourning of timeless lore lost or a dangerous fantasy? And what has happened to magic and beauty in the glare of modern life?

$37, Black Inc. Out April

The Man Who Couldn’t Wait

Debbie Whitmont

Cabramatta was embroiled in a heroin epidemic, gang wars and demands to deport Vietnamese gangsters when local MP John Newman was gunned down in the driveway of his home. Vietnamese refugee and deputy mayor Phuong Ngo was quickly identified, later convicted, and sentenced to life in prison. However, doubts persist about the case: it took seven years and three trials to convict him, key evidence and witnesses were kept secret, and the alleged gunmen were acquitted. Years later, many still question Ngo’s guilt. The Man Who Couldn’t Wait unpicks one of the country’s longest and most secretive investigations.

$35, Allen & Unwin. Out April

TRUE CRIME

Murder in Paris ’68

Edward Chisholm

In 1960s Paris, glamour and crime intertwine in a world of film stars, gangsters, and political intrigue. At the centre is actor Alain Delon, dubbed “the most beautiful man in the world”, whose rise is shadowed by a murky past. When his associate Stevan Markovic is found dead, suspicion mounts. Drawing parallels to Delon’s role as Tom Ripley, questions arise about art and reality. Edward Chisholm’s account immerses readers in the scandalous Markovic Affair and its farreaching consequences.

$35, Monoray. Out April

ENGINEERING

Jumbo

Scott Bateman

Nothing like Boeing’s 747 had ever been seen before. The biggest, heaviest, most powerful and ambitious airliner ever to take to the air would go on to become an icon, described by Bill Gates as “the world’s first world wide web”. Since that landmark first flight in 1968, the 747 has served presidents as Air Force One, explored the origins of the universe for NASA, fired airborne lasers, launched space rockets, performed dramatic rescues, bombed forest fires and survived extraordinary close escapes to bring her passengers home safely. Former 747 pilot Scott Bateman tells the story of this “Queen of the Skies”.

$50, Michael Joseph. Out May

GENDER STUDIES

FLICK

Dr. Kate Lister

There is a common misconception that before modern day feminism, women throughout history simply lay back and thought of England or their respective place of origin; that the modern “sex positive” movement is a radical break from the past. But women demanding better sex did not arrive with free love or the Rampant Rabbit. It has been a very long fight indeed. From Ancient Mesopotamian sex goddesses to the contraceptive pill, Kate Lister takes us through history to show us how women’s sexual pleasure was controlled, understood and thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed.

$40, Bantam. Out May

All We Want Is Everything

Soraya Chemaly

Drawing on her trademark skill, wit, clarity, and sharp insight, Soraya Chemaly walks us through how male supremacy operates, adapting dynamically in order to maintain cruel, exploitative systems of oppression. Male supremacy, she asserts, isn’t primarily about men dominating women; but rather a system that violently pits men against each other using women and marginalised communities as resources in their competition for power. While women, particularly those with multiple marginalised identities, are hurt the most, men also, need liberation from this oppressive system. There is no justice for any community until we confront this defining injustice.

$30, Atria/One Signal. Out now

PHILOSOPHY

A Philosophy of War

Frédéric Gros

Despite claims that war “died” after atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, conflict persists – from terrorism to modern invasions like the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But what defines a “real” war? Drawing on thinkers such as Plato, Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, and Karl Marx, this book explores the concept of a just war, morality in conflict, and whether states shape war – or vice versa – ultimately confronting the enduring question: why war?

$23, Verso. Out May

Open Socrates

Agnes Callard

How should we manage romantic love? What is the right way to think about one’s own death? What form should our politics take? These were the most intractable questions back in Socrates’ time, and that continues to be true, 2,500 years later. Agnes Callard shows us how Socrates’ method allows us to make progress in answering them – and, in the process, gives us nothing less than a new ethics to live by.

$27, Penguin. Out July

GARDENING

The Mushroomery

Buttons Mira

The Mushroomery is an ode to the joys of growing fungi. It features at-home projects for growing and cultivating different varieties of mushrooms. Each project has an introduction, stepby-step instructions, accompanied by photography, and lots of tips, tricks and troubleshooting. The second half of the book features more than 20 mushroomforward dishes including recipes for pickling and drying mushrooms for preservation and to enhance their flavor.

$40, Smith Street. Out June

Why We Garden

Hannah Moloney

This was the question that fascinated Hannah Moloney. So she went out and asked. She spoke to politicians, artists, community leaders, activists and thousands of ordinary gardeners. This book explores their answers – sometimes surprising, often philosophical, always insightful. Much more than a gardening book, Why We Garden is a joyful, life-affirming exploration of nature, humanity and community. Featuring interviews with Tim Winton, Bruce Pascoe, Laura Tingle, Clare Bowditch, Bob Brown, Costa Georgiadis and many more.

$35, Affirm. Out April

Antoinette Lattouf: Women Who Win

Award-winning journalist, presenter and author Antoinette Lattouf hit global headlines and set legal precedent in 2025 when her case with the ABC cracked open urgent questions about free speech and employment rights. Join Antoinette in conversation with Jo Dyer for an evening of sharp insight, hard-earned truth and feminist wins that we were meant to forget.

Sunday 24 May, 2pm, Bay 17, Carriageworks, $45/$40

Wisdom of the Ages

For these modern-day philosophers, the answer to our yearning is already in the work of those who came before us. First Nations writer Paul Callaghan shares knowledge he gained from his culture and his consulting experience in Leading from the Dreaming, while journalist and screenwriter Brigid Delaney finds peace in stoicism in The Seeker and the Sage Hiroko Yoda (pictured) delves into ancient Japanese traditions in Eight Million Ways to Happiness to explain the country’s everyday spiritualism. Find a path forward with these writers and host Ashley Hay. Thursday, 21 May, 4pm, Bay 20, Carriageworks, $40/$35

The Garden Room

Hannah Puechmarin

The Garden Room celebrates Australian garden dwellings – where the old is reimagined into the new: a shed becomes a florist’s workshop, shearing quarters turned into a scent studio and a guesthouse sits quietly on a rose farm. Each space tells a story of renewal, outbuildings given new life with salvaged materials and always with a glorious view of the garden.

$60, Thames & Hudson. Out now

SOCIOLOGY

High Time

Desmond Manderson

Australia’s strict drug laws began with racist anti-Chinese policies around 1900 and remained entrenched until the 1980s. High Time recounts the shift to harm minimisation, driven by the AIDS crisis and pressure from medical professionals, as governments sought to save lives by reducing risks rather than eliminating use. What began as pragmatism evolved into a moral case for compassion. Addressing issues like vaping, pill testing, injecting rooms, medicinal cannabis, and opioids, the book traces Australia’s ongoing, imperfect move toward a more humane drug policy.

$37, La Trobe University Press. Out April

When the World Sleeps

Francesca Albanese

Francesca Albanese draws on years living in Palestine to tell deeply human stories of the people behind the conflict. Blending personal witness with legal insight, she traces lives shaped by displacement, resilience, and struggle. Moving beyond headlines, Albanese highlights the human cost of political failure while pointing to fragile possibilities for a shared future between Palestinians and Israelis, offering a powerful and intimate perspective on a defining contemporary crisis.

$33, Hardie Grant. Out April

These Strange New Minds

Christopher Summerfield

Can AI systems think, know, and understand? Could they manipulate or deceive you? Whose interests do they represent? When will they be able to move beyond words and take action in the real world? Neuroscientist and AI researcher Christopher Summerfield explores these questions, charting AI’s evolution from early ideas in the 17th century to today’s deep neural networks. His book is the most accessible, up-to-date, and authoritative exploration of this radical technology.

$27, Penguin. Out May

Adaptable

Herman Pontzer

As an evolutionary anthropologist conducting groundbreaking research with human populations around the globe, Herman Pontzer has come to understand how our genes and environments combine to shape our bodies and our health – for better or worse. In this book, he takes us on a tour of the human body and the surprising ways it can change in response to its environment, from the Andean groups who have developed increased lung capacity to the Sama divers who have larger spleens. He also highlights the critical ways we misinterpret biological adaptations, from healthcare, race and IQ to sex and gender.

$29, Penguin. Out May

Atlas of Botany

Plants first emerged on a very different looking Earth 500 million years ago. They have populated almost every part of Earth’s land surface – from tropical zones to cracks in city pavements – and have fundamentally shaped Earth’s natural regions. Blending science, geography and history, Atlas of Botany uses fascinating maps and stunning botanical illustrations interwoven with sumptuous photography to tell the story of how plants evolved and survived – and continue to thrive. $65, Dorling Kindersley. Out May

The Ideological Brain

Leor Zmigrod

Drawing on her groundbreaking research, Dr Leor Zmigrod uncovers the hidden mechanisms driving our beliefs and behaviours. She uses the powerful tools of neuroscience to show that our political beliefs are not transient thoughts in our minds, divorced from our bodies, but that ideologies actually change our neural architecture, our cells. While some individuals are more susceptible to dogmatic thinking than others, all of us can strive to be more flexible. The Ideological Brain is essential reading in today’s polarised and polarising world.

$29, Penguin. Out May

Where the Earth Meets the Sky

Louise K. Blight

In Antarctica’s harsh, climate-threatened landscape, conservation scientist Louise K. Blight recounts a summer studying Adélie penguins on Ross Island alongside biologist David Ainley. As an iceberg disrupts breeding cycles, they document penguin behaviour amid extreme isolation and relentless daylight. Interwoven with stories of explorers and modern researchers, Blight reflects on grief after personal loss, finding meaning in the stark environment. Blending natural history, science, and memoir, this moving narrative explores resilience, human connection, and the healing power of nature in one of Earth’s most unforgiving places.

$37, Penguin. Out April

ANIMALS

The Enigmatic Echidna

Danielle Clode

There are few animals more unusual than the echidna – a spiky, egg-laying mammal that eats ants. But some of the most striking things about echidnas are things most of us don’t know. That they can sense electromagnetic fields, they have complex brains, startling physical strength and “backwards” back feet. And that they go into torpor when conditions are poor and can survive fires by sheltering underground. Equal parts surprising, amusing and enlightening, The Enigmatic Echidna is an irresistible journey into their unique and beautiful world.

$37, Black Inc. Out May

Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean

Dagomar Degroot

Our solar system is a dynamic environment whose vast forces shape life on Earth in unexpected ways. In Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean, Dagomar Degroot reveals how planetary events influence geopolitics, science, and culture – from Martian dust storms affecting the Cold War to comet impacts inspiring planetary defence. He links these cosmic phenomena to climate risks and human futures, while warning that space itself is becoming vulnerable to human activity. Blending history and science, the book calls for an interplanetary environmentalism that recognises our deep connection to the wider cosmos

$37, Viking. Out May

ENVIRONMENT

Despite it All

Fred Pearce

There is a climate crisis, extinctions are accelerating, forests are disappearing, water cycles are collapsing and pollution is choking our skies and seas. Fred Pearce has been reporting from the frontline of climate change and environmental recovery for over four decades and what he has seen has given him reason – in fact, seven reasons – for (cautious) hope. Here, we learn how nature is finding ways to thrive in unexpected places, how the population bomb has been defused, and how a combination of ancient wisdom and modern technology can help us correct our course.

$35, Granta. Out May

FINANCE

Prudence and Ambition

Harrison Young

No one much likes banks. We resent their power and wealth. They hold our mortgages and issue our credit cards. They know things about us. They can veto our plans. But we need them. Prosperity requires credit. The economy struggles if its banks are overcautious. When a bank fails, the public suffers. But do we know enough about how they work? In Prudence and Ambition, former director of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Harrison Young looks back on his long career to explain how banks work and why the Western bank governance model is no longer fit for purpose.

$33, Ventura. Out May

NEUROSCIENCE

PSYCHOLOGY

Born to Flourish

Richard J. Davidson & Dr Cortland Dahl

The human species is experiencing a massive mental health crisis. Depression is now the leading cause of morbidity globally. Loneliness is more dangerous to our health than smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Now, based on decades of neuroscientific research, Dr Richard Davidson and Dr Cortland Dahl, share their groundbreaking scientific model that highlights the four core skills of human flourishing to counteract such problems. Each skill – awareness, insight, connection, and purpose –translates into practices that all of us can do in simple ways, every day, with enormous positive results.

$37, Scribe. Out now

Secure

Amir Levine

Years after transforming how we understand attachment styles, Dr Amir Levine returns with Secure, a groundbreaking exploration of human connection. He shows that people with secure attachment feel comfortable in relationships and within themselves – and that anyone can learn this mindset. Living in “secure mode” brings powerful benefits, from better health and resilience to improved job searches and reduced susceptibility to social pressures. Levine offers practical, science-backed tools to build emotional strength, deepen relationships, and create a more fulfilling, balanced life.

$37, Cornerstone. Out April

HEALTH

Autism Myths and Legends

Vera von de Greent

Where does the myth of the refrigerator mother come from? Do vaccines cause autism? Do autistic people lack empathy? Discover the most common myths and legends about autism with Vera and her companions from the Autism Dream Team and the Equality All Stars. This fun, accessible and illuminating book challenges preconceptions about autism and explains complex ideas with a range of superb illustrations and easy to understand language, making it an essential guide for anybody looking to gain a deeper understanding of the topic.

$40, Icon. Out April

Fireside: Sky Stories

Just One Thing Volume 2

BBC

Based on the popular BBC podcast presented by Dr Michael Mosley, the team behind Just One Thing bring you a second volume of 40 brand-new simple tips that could transform your life. Easy to implement, road-tested by Mosley for the BBC Radio 4 podcast of the same name, and backed by science, each chapter brings to life these new, quick, easy and often unexpected hacks that can improve your health through very simple diet, fitness, and lifestyle changes.

$35, Hachette. Out now

In this free fireside event, Professor of Astrophysics Ray Norris and Aboriginal farmer and multi-award-winning writer Bruce Pascoe (pictured) consider astronomy, astrophysics and our place in the world. In their co-authored book Big Sky: When the Emu Left the Earth, they bring together science and philosophy to reframe astronomy through a First Nations’ knowledge and law lens with insights into how to navigate the climate crisis.

Saturday 23 May, 6pm, free, Blacksmith’s Workshop, Carriageworks

Closing Address: A Braver Australia

We are in a moment of increasing tensions, rising inequality, climate crisis and loss of democratic freedoms. In this special festival event, writers reflect on what it takes to make change and consider how we can create a braver Australia. Hear from writer and activist Tony Birch, novelist Shankari Chandran, artist Ben Quilty, chief political analyst at The Australia Institute Amy Remeikis, researcher and writer Amy Thunig-McGregor and activist and author of Better Things Are Possible Jack Toohey as they present their reflections on courage and change. With contributing host, writer Sisonke Msimang. Sunday 24 May, 5.45pm, Bay 17 Carriageworks, $50/$45

Nonfiction

SELF-HELP

What’s Going Right

Paul Conti

Despite the increasing availability of mental health resources and awareness of the issue, the data around mental health shows a steady decline in happiness. Why are all the metrics heading the wrong way? With his characteristic warmth, optimism and expertise, Dr Paul Conti wants you to flip the narrative and ask yourself the empowering question: how can we go right? Informed by Paul’s own journey and his decades of experience helping patients, this book will provide you with a simple, science-based framework for improving mental health, fortified with practical tools that you can tailor to yourself in the real world.

$37, Vermilion. Out May

Lucky People

Nobuko Nakano

Nobuko Nakano is a neuroscientist who demonstrates that while luck may appear to be random, it’s actually something we can cultivate through intentional actions. We can become lucky through our mindset and behaviour. Certain behaviours attract luck, such as taking calculated risks, expanding social networks and reframing setbacks. Our thoughts and actions shape how our brain processes information and affects how we interact with the world. If we believe in good outcomes, we are more likely to act in ways that will make them happen. This is science-based self-help and an expert take on a fascinating subject that can at first seem irrational and unpredictable. $30, Gallery. Out April

Tony Albert: Not a Souvenir

Tony Albert

Tony Albert’s art reclaims and reframes the imagery of Aboriginal Australia with wit, beauty and force. Across painting, photography, sculpture and installation, his practice explores Aboriginal culture, identity and history. Drawing on individual and collective pasts, Albert transforms the visual language of colonisation, turning objects of prejudice into symbols of resistance, resilience and pride. Tony Albert: Not a Souvenir is the most comprehensive publication on the artist to date, tracing his journey as one of Australia’s most incisive contemporary voices.

$100, Thames & Hudson. Out April

Impressions of Japan

Anne Deltour

In 2015, the Musée Jenisch Vevey received a remarkable bequest of about 2,000 Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints, many from leading artists of the Utagawa school, rarely seen in European collections. Noted for their fine technique, vivid colours and exceptional preservation, the works are complemented by 350 rare preparatory drawings (shita-e), offering insight into the creative process. Impressions of Japan showcases 200 pieces from the 19th to early 20th century, depicting kabuki theatre, landscapes, folklore and everyday life in Japan.

$110, Scheidegger & Spiess. Out April

Casa Kahlo

Mara Romeo Kahlo et al Casa Kahlo has been occupied by Frida Kahlo’s family since they bought the house in 1930. Meticulously documenting the interiors, this book features a rich array of personal items and never-before-published letters and postcards from the artist to her sisters, her mother, and her beloved niece Isolda. Hundreds of personal items offer an intimate view into her artistic environment and personal life, including artworks, her distinctive jewellery and clothing and keepsakes ranging from dolls to her taxidermy butterfly collection.

$135, Rizzoli. Out now

Matisse: the Bigger Picture

Anne Sefrioui

This lavishly produced volume explores Matisse’s lifelong reinvention of art through 50 works, six extraordinary vfold-out spreads, and illuminating essays. Tracing his development from early naturalist studies to the luminous intensity of Fauvism and the radical simplicity of his late paper cut-outs, it follows his evolving approach to form, color, and composition. Six major compositions – including Joy of Life, The Red Studio, The Dance, and The Sorrows of the King – appear as expansive map-style fold-outs, allowing readers to savour their ambition and detail in unprecedented depth.

$90, Prestel. Out May

Margaret Preston

Lesley Harding

Renowned for her vibrant depictions of Australian flowers, artist Margaret Preston was also an outspoken personality, dedicated teacher and keen cook with a strong sense of civic duty. She championed a modern national culture grounded in everyday life, finding inspiration in the home and garden rather than traditional pastoral scenes. Believing art should be accessible to all, she shared techniques across creative practices. Focusing on still life, she painted domestic objects and garden blooms, often while cooking. Drawing on recipes and archival material, this book reveals her rich and fascinating private life.

$45, Miegunyah. Out April

Ain’t Nobody’s Fool

Martha Ackmann

Martha Ackmann traces the life of Dolly Parton, from her impoverished childhood in the Smoky Mountains to global fame as a singer, actress and philanthropist. Facing early rejection and criticism within the country music world, Parton rose to extraordinary success, though not without personal struggles, including burnout and depression. Resilient and determined, she built a lasting legacy through ventures like Dollywood and the Imagination Library, which gives free books to children. Drawing on interviews and archival material, this biography offers a rich portrait of one of America’s most enduring cultural icons.

$37, St Martin’s. Out April

Where the Music Had to Go

Jim Windolf

Jim Windolf explores the profound creative relationship between The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Tracing their evolving influence on one another, the book captures key moments – from Dylan’s early scepticism to mutual artistic respect – that reshaped their music. Anecdotes and meticulous research reveal a dynamic mix of rivalry and camaraderie, driving lyrical and stylistic breakthroughs. More than a biography, it offers a vivid portrait of how their intertwined journeys transformed popular music and defined a generation.

$35, White Rabbit. Out April

Pet Shop Boys Volume

Chris Heath & Philip Hoare

Uniquely spanning the worlds of music, art, film, theatre, design, and fashion, Pet Shop Boys have forged an identity as unforgettable as their sound. From the seminal graphic design of their record sleeves to their groundbreaking videos and innovative stage shows, they have set the bar for the visual presentation of pop. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the release of their first album in 1986, Pet Shop Boys Volume presents their entire visual output to date, including sleeve artwork and packaging, stills from every video, film, and performance, stage sets and costume designs, photoshoots and even Christmas cards.

$90, Thames and Hudson. Out April

TELEVISION

Famesick

Lena Dunham

Chronicling the tumultuous decade between the premiere of Girls to her 2021 wedding, Lena Dunham takes us through her journey with her trademark mix of humor, unsparing honesty, and keen eye for detail. We peek behind the scenes – of her work, her family, her relationships, and her battle to reclaim her body – and we come to see, with searing clarity, that the spotlight casts long shadows, distorting the relationships she once held dear and isolating everyone in its glare. Famesick is a frank, deeply personal reflection on illness, fame, sex, and everything in between.

$35, HarperCollins. Out April

DESIGN

Design: Mid-Century Modern

Jenna M. McKnight

Design: Mid-Century Modern introduces you to the celebrated icons that define the era, from Scandinavian furniture and the Bauhaus of Weimar to Brazilian concrete architecture and the sleek houses of Palm Springs. Discover this humanist design era that celebrated innovation and embodied the needs and desires of the world at that time. With an introduction by a leading design expert, discover the creatives and craftsmen that defined the era – from living room decor to the urban architecture of the age.

$30, Hardie Grant. Out April

Vocal Break

Lauren Elkin

Lauren Elkin blends memoir, feminist manifesto and cultural history to explore a plurality of female singing voices – and how women have used them to defy convention, genre, capitalism, racism and sexism. Drawing on her own experiences training as a young soprano in the 1990s, Elkin reflects on the way power and identity shape our voices, focusing on the women who most excited her when she was learning to sing, including Edith Piaf, Maria Callas, Cyndi Lauper, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, Beyoncé and Billie Eilish. $65, Chatto & Windus. Out May

Opera Wars

Caitlin Vincent

Drawing on interviews with dozens of opera insiders – as well as her own experience as an award-winning librettist, trained vocalist, opera company director, and arts commentator –Caitlin Vincent deftly unravels clichés and presumptions, exposing such debates as how much fidelity is owed to long-dead opera composers whose plots often stir racial and gender sensitivities, whether there’s any cure for typecasting that leaves talented performers out of work and other performers chained to the same roles, and what explains the bizarre kowtowing of opera companies to the demands of traditionalist patrons. $50, Scribner. Out now

2026 NSW Literary Awards

The NSW Literary Awards are the longest-standing and richest state-based literary awards in the country. They recognise the best Australian writers, including novelists, poets, playwrights, scriptwriters and authors of nonfiction and children’s books. Join us as we announce the winners for 2026 and celebrate the contribution of writers to our cultural lives. Monday 18 May, 6pm, State Library of NSW, free

How Italy Feels

Italy Segreta/Marina Cacciapuoti

How Italy Feels is a visually rich guide that moves beyond Italy’s familiar clichés to reveal its authentic character. It explores all 20 regions through the work of local photographers, each capturing their home territory with intimacy and insight. Alongside the imagery, the team shares hidden travel gems, shifting focus from iconic destinations to lesserknown areas like Marche and Molise. The book immerses readers in Italy’s diverse beauty, evoking its atmosphere, textures, and emotions from the comfort of home. $80, Quadrille. Out now

Great Adaptations

Don’t Hike Naked in Switzerland

Never make a travel faux pas again with this fantastically funny – but very real – etiquette handbook of thoughtful best practices for tourists. Packed with global do’s and don’ts on eating out, local hospitality and more, this handy travel companion is the ultimate guide to experiencing new cultures and customs without putting your foot in it.

$25, Lonely Planet. Out April

DK China

With a brand-new design, beautiful new photography and new inspirational content, this fully updated guide brings China to life, transporting you there like no other travel guide does. Inside, you’ll find trusted travel advice, expert-led insights, detailed breakdowns of all the must-see sights, photographs on practically every page, and our unique hand-drawn illustrations, which take you inside the country’s buildings and neighbourhoods.

$40, Dorling Kindersley. Out April

Screen adaptations breathe new life into books, expanding their audiences and reimagining their worlds. Crime writer Mick Herron’s Slough House thriller series was adapted into the award-winning Apple TV series Slow Horses starring Gary Oldman, and playwright Suzie Miller’s (pictured) Prima Facie received international acclaim, including a Laurence Olivier Award, before it was adapted into both a novel and a film. Get behind-the-scenes insights into the adaptation process and how reimagining their stories has influenced their careers, with Mick and Suzie in conversation with host Benjamin Law. Friday 22 May, 4pm, Bay 17, Carriageworks, $45/$40

Loop, Hook, Loom

Sophia Cai

From artists knitting giant sweaters to those who create rooms bursting with imagined sea creatures, Loop, Hook, Loom brings together some of today’s most creative textile practices in a celebration of contemporary exploration and play. Broken down into three chapters –Weaving, Crochet, and Knitting – Sophia Cai dips into the history of these artforms and the creative ways they’re being expanded. An accessible entry point into the world of yarn-based art, Loop, Hook, Loom features both working artists and hobbyists, highlighting the endless possibilities of textiles. $40, Smith Street. Out April

A Place Both Wonderful & Strange

Scott Meslow

Film and TV critic Scott Meslow takes us behind the (red) curtain of Twin Peaks and into the unique and immersive world created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. Meslow has conducted dozens of original interviews with cast and crew – including Mark Frost, Kyle MacLachlan, Sheryl Lee, Laura Dern, Naomi Watts, Sherilyn Fenn, James Marshall and Ray Wise – which shed new light on this extraordinary work that often raised as many questions as it answered.

$45, Faber. Out May

The Marilyn Monroe Century

Joshua John Miller & M.A. Fortin

Never-before-seen images from the set of Billy Wilder’s The Seven Year Itch (1955) offer an intimate window into the complex relationship between Monroe and Dr Bruno Bernard, who took the iconic photograph of her wearing a white dress as she stood over a grate. The book revisits their fractured friendship, their quiet reconciliation and her shocking act of rebellion in posing for a photograph that continues to enchant – and provoke – decades later. Through Bernard’s lens – and thoughtfully supplemented by the work of other photographers – the book traces Norma Jean’s transformation into Marilyn Monroe.

$100, Abrams. Out May

Feast: Food Fight

Chinese Australian writer, comedian and food enthusiast

Jennifer Wong (Chopsticks or Fork?; pictured) plays host in this special event, rounding up festival guests to share their heartfelt and humorous stories of food.

Join Durkhanai Ayubi (She Who Taste Knows), Natalia Figueroa Barroso (Hailstones Fell Without Rain), Shirley Le (Love), Debra Oswald (One Hundred Years of Betty), Michael Shaikh (The Last Sweet Bite) and others with their tales of dinner disasters, festive frivolities and heaping spoonfuls of love.

Saturday 23 May, 1pm, Bay 24, Carriageworks, free

The Seafood Restaurant Cookbook

Rick Stein and Jill Stein

Rick and Jill Stein’s legendary seafood restaurant first opened its doors in Padstow in Cornwall in 1975 and has been setting the standards for cooking delicious fish dishes ever since. This is a glorious celebration of half a century of excellence through signature recipes, evocative images and charming tales of a family restaurant. Ten signature recipes from each decade show how a classic dish never dates when the star of the show is always the freshly caught fish, simply cooked and delicious to eat.

$70, Bloomsbury. Out April

Aunty Beryl’s Cookbook

Beryl Van-Oploo

The term “dead-set legend” often comes up when talking about Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo, a respected Elder and advisor on incorporating bush foods into a range of cuisines. These recipes cover pantry staples, salads, sides, easy dinners, food for feasting, biscuits, muffins, cakes and drinks. This is food that is both familiar and comforting, which also champions native ingredients. You’ll discover dishes that will become regulars in your own kitchen, such as pumpkin and honey-roasted macadamia salad with finger lime dressing, lemon myrtle chicken pies, saltbush lamb rump with bunya nut peso, easy chocolate and wattleseed mousse, and Aunty Beryl’s famous lemon myrtle butter biscuits. $50, Murdoch. Out March

REFERENCE

100 Books to Live By

Joseph Piercy

These are 100 life-affirming reads for anyone seeking love, meaning, belonging, purpose, and hope in everyday life. Blending well-known favourites with hidden gems and modern classics, the book offers “literary prescriptions” to guide readers through challenging times. Featuring authors from around the world, each selection is paired with alternative recommendations to expand the experience. Covering a wide range of emotional needs, this collection celebrates the power of reading as both comfort and inspiration, creating a resource to revisit and treasure for years.

$33, Michael O’Mara. Out now

COOK: SWEET COOK: GREEN

Karen Martini

Part of the COOK series – drawn from a lifetime of cooking by one of Australia’s most highly regarded chefs – these beautifully photographed books bring together delicious dessert recipes and mouth-watering vegetable dishes. Karen’s expert guidance ensures success for all cooks whether you’re looking for something sweet or savoury.

$40, Hardie Grant. Out April

A Day in Seoul

Julian Kim

Seoul is a city that’s bursting at the seams with incredible food and the people who love to eat it. Experience Korean staples like kimchi, bibimbap and bulgogi along with contemporary dishes that reflect the modern face of this dynamic city. Wander the streets of Hongdae, Myeong-dong and Seongsu-dong through beautiful photography, and get insider tips on where to find the best local eats. A Day in Seoul captures the culinary landscape of the city, and you can bring the flavours of the city home with 70 easy-to-follow recipes.

$40, Smith Street. Out April

Plat du Tour

Guillaume Brahimi

Renowned chef and SBS presenter Guillaume Brahimi takes readers on a gastronomic journey through the Tour de France’s ever-changing route, showcasing more than 70 timeless regional recipes. From the seafood-rich dishes of Normandy to the rustic flavours of Provence and the indulgent pastries of Paris, this beautifully photographed cookbook captures the essence of France’s diverse culinary heritage – bringing its most beloved flavours into your home kitchen.

$45, Hardie Grant. Out April

Reid All About It

This issue – in a first for my various columns over the years – fellow writer and noted Blue Mountains author Craig Stanton discusses his latest book, Shadows of Razorhurst

All families have their own mythologies and mine was no exception. My relatives spoke in delicious whispers concerning the gigantic boar which lived in the bush near their childhood home, escaping from captivity to attack stray children.

Or the tale of how my grandfather invaded the local cemetery after dark in pursuit of Chinese gold, only to be scared off by a nocturnal rabbit’s sudden materialisation. As a child, I laughed and shivered whenever the conversation revisited these trifles, but then promptly put them to one side.

When I grew up, I started manufacturing my own narratives and never thought much about the family tales. It wasn’t until the dramatis personae of my personal drama began to narrow that I felt that the epic of my family tree might be lost to time. I started to think of all the old stories and to wonder if all that I’d heard was actually what had happened.

Details of the distant relative killed by an unknown assailant after winning big on the horses were difficult to pin down.

On the evening of 7 October 1929, he was coming back from Circular Quay after a big win, heading to Central Railway Station for the last train home. In his coat pockets, he had two bottles of beer, bought before the pubs shut at 6pm.

Walking with his brother along Foveaux Street in Surry Hills, a flash bloke accosted him, plucking a bottle from his pocket; in his attempt to retrieve it, my uncle was shot twice and left for dead. The case was never solved.

The details were about as far removed as possible from the

actual story. A whole tapestry had been woven together from the loosest threads of memory. The unearthing of these facts took me through online archives, as well as the State Library. Along the way, I discovered the rich and absorbing – often terrifying –reality of 1920s Sydney

My tenuous connection to the criminal underworld of Sydney led me on a path to discover more about life in “Razorhurst”, as the tabloids designated the city’s underworld. I was struck by ever more startling events and characters until finally I felt I had to do something with this store of black knowledge.

I began with a single tale, but my fictional characters took up residence in my head and demanded further outings.

Shadows of Razorhurst contains the first six of these gumshoe-y stories of occult detective fiction … These are the tales of Private Investigator Patrick Dolan and his partner Anton Vadász, taken from their crime files, as they pursue the other things that go bump in the night – the supernatural things.

I’ve learned that the thing about family secrets is that they rarely stay secret, and that they can lead to some very colourful places.

Shadows of Razorhurst by Craig Stanton ($37) is out now through Oceaniacom Press

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4. Flesh

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5. Departure(s)

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6. Vigil

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7. Wild Dark Shore

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8. Soft Serve

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9. In a Common Hour

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10. Hamnet

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Yanis Varoufakis

2. Mother Mary Comes to Me

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3. Where It All Went Wrong Amy Remeikis

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Patti Smith

5. Things That Disappear

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6. The Life You Want

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7. Quarterly Essay 101: Blind Spot

Michael Wesley

8. The Shortest History of Innovation

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9. A Time for Bravery

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10. A Hymn to Life

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1. The Sunbird (for younger readers) Sara Haddad

2. The Umbrella Binny Talib and Niki Foreman

3. Nature Knows Yvette Farmer and Chloe Jasmine Harris

4. It’s a Twin Thing Kris Darell

5. Poster Boys Scott Woodward

6. Ludicrous Legends

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8. Wanted, The Cutest Baby In The World Davina Bell and Sarah Zweck

9. Tiny

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10. Bored

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