AustLit

'Vibrant, moving and diverse stories of shape-shifting between cultures.

‘To be Indian growing up in Australia is to tread the narrow line between here and there, to constantly code-switch and navigate between filling the needs and aspirations of your family, your community – and yourself.’

‘Indian-Australian’ is not a one-size-fits-all descriptor. Given the depth and richness of diversity of the Indian subcontinent, it is fitting that its diaspora is similarly varied.

'Growing Up Indian in Australia reflects and celebrates this vibrant diversity. It features contributions from Australian-Indian writers, both established and emerging, who hail from a wide range of backgrounds, religions and experiences. This colourful, energetic anthology offers reflections on identity, culture, family, food and expectations, ultimately revealing deep truths about both Australian and Indian life.' (Publication summary)

'A wild ride through a disaffected youth by a gifted writer. Dominic Gordon explores his memories in tight prose bursting with insight, audacious ideas and dark humour.

'What happens to the adolescent spirit when all vestiges of innocence about the world are foregone, replaced within the grinding sounds of concrete and metal of the CBD of Melbourne? A place where train tunnels become nesting sites, carpark stairwells spots to refuel on methamphetamine and hide from predators; where agility leads you across nightclub rooftops, yielding cash in tight spaces with a quick reflex. For a rest, why not ride on the back of a train as it speeds through the night? The dangers of a decades-long exploration of risk in the streets of his city is exhilarating.

'In these original essays, Dominic Gordon, explores his memories in tight prose bursting with insight, audacious ideas and dark humour. Excitable Boy is an immersive experience of what it was like growing up in and around criminal-class and working-class culture in the inner city of Melbourne at the turn of the twentieth century.' (Publication summary)

'A powerful debut from an extraordinary voice, gentle in the face of extremity

'Khin's sister Theda has a strange illness. Her doctor thinks it's purely physical, and so does she, but Khin is not so sure. He knows what they both went through growing up in Perth – it wasn't welcoming back then for a Burmese-Australian family.

'With Theda's condition getting worse, Khin heads off to the United States. He needs to sort things out with his ex-partner. Once there, events take a very odd turn, and he finds himself in court.

'Fragile Creatures is a family story told with humour, wonderment and complete honesty. This is a book about what happens when realities clash – it's about care, truth and the hardest choices. It will sweep you up and leave you stunned at its power.' (Publication summary)

'A frank, hopeful and darkly funny memoir of postpartum psychosis and recovery

'How strange to be the observed and not the observer.

'Ariane Beeston is a child protection worker and newly registered psychologist when she gives birth to her first child – and very quickly begins to experience scary breaks with reality. Out of fear and shame, she keeps her delusions and hallucinations secret, but as the months pass Ariane gets worse. Much worse. Finally admitted to a mother and baby psychiatric unit, the psychologist is forced to learn how to be the patient.

'With medication, the support of her husband, psychotherapy and, ultimately, time, Ariane rebuilds herself. And she also begins a new chapter working in perinatal mental health, developing resources to support other new mothers.

'Because I’m Not Myself, You See is a candid, often humorous memoir of motherhood and madness, interwoven with research and expert commentary. It’s the story of the impossible pressures placed on new mothers and how quickly things can go wrong during ‘the happiest time of your life’. It’s also about life on the other side of serious illness, trying to make sense of what doesn't make sense, and finding humour, beauty and joy when things don't go according to plan.' (Publication summary)

'An illuminating essay on the bestselling Noongar writer and author of the Miles Franklin Award–winning novels Benang and That Deadman Dance

''I value Kim Scott's fiction so highly because I feel that his approach is to put the flags aside. That Deadman Dance asks us not to consider who we were so much as who we could be, collectively, in the future.'

'Noongar writer Kim Scott has won the Miles Franklin Award twice for his novels. In this moving essay, Tony Birch shows how Scott uses fiction as a pathway to truth. We meet a writer who 'inhabits a range of guises, faces he wears to interrogate the complex and messy frontier history of colonial encounters'. The result is 'new stories' for the nation. This, says Birch, is the work that Kim Scott has been doing for many years.' (Publication summary)

'A journey through Torres Strait Islander culture and identity, past and present

'"My people are expert navigators, adventurers, innovators, ambassadors, teachers, storytellers, performers, strategists, chefs and advocates for change. The blood runs deep when I reflect on the past and the present and imagine what our future might look like." —Leilani Bin-Juda

'What makes Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait unique? And what is it like to be a Torres Strait Islander in contemporary Australia? Growing Up Torres Strait Islander in Australia, compiled by poet and author Samantha Faulkner, showcases the distinct identity of Torres Strait Islanders through their diverse voices and journeys.

'Hear from emerging and established writers from both today and the recent past, including Eddie Mabo, Thomas Mayo, Aaron Fa'Aoso, Jimi Bani, Ellie Gaffney, Jillian Boyd-Bowie and Lenora Thaker. These and many more storytellers, mentors, traditional owners, doctors and teachers from the Torres Strait share their joy, culture, good eating, lessons learned and love of family, language and Country.

'Discover stories of going dugong hunting and eating mango marinated in soy sauce. The smell of sugar cane and frangipani-scented sea breeze. Family, grandmothers and canoe time. Dancing, singing, weaving hats and making furniture from bamboo. Training as a doctor and advocating for healthcare for the Torres Strait. The loneliness of being caught between two cultures. Mission life, disconnection and being evacuated to the mainland during World War II. "Is that really your mum? Why is she black?". Not being Islander enough. Working hard to reconnect to your roots, and claiming back land and culture.

'A book to treasure and share, this groundbreaking collection provides a unique perspective on the Torres Strait Islander experience.

'With contributions by: Ellen Armstrong, Tetei Bakic, Jimi Bani, Leilani Bin-Juda, Jillian Boyd-Bowie, Tahlia Bowie, Aaliyah Jade Bradbury, John Doolah, Donisha Duff, Aaron Fa'Aoso with Michelle Scott Tucker, Ellie Gaffney, Velma Gara, Jaqui Hughes, Adam Lees, Rhett Loban, Thomas Lowah, Edward Koiki Mabo with Noel Loos, Thomas Mayo, Lenora Thaker, Sorren Thomas, Ina Titasey as told to Catherine Titasey, Lockeah Wapau and Daniella Williams.' (Publication summary)

'A gripping reckoning with the bloody history of Australia's frontier wars

'David Marr was shocked to discover forebears who served with the brutal Native Police in the bloodiest years on the frontier. Killing for Country is the result – a soul-searching Australian history.

'This is a richly detailed saga of politics and power in the colonial world – of land seized, fortunes made and lost, and the violence let loose as squatters and their allies fought for possession of the country – a war still unresolved in today's Australia.' (Publication summary)

(Publication summary)

'The inspiration for a Netflix series starring Celeste Barber, Wellmania is an in-depth, entertaining, laugh-out-loud-funny exploration of wellness culture.

'Now with a new preface by the author.

'Cold-pressed juices, quitting sugar, Paleo, hot yoga, mindfulness … if you embrace these things you will be happy, you will be well – just ask Instagram. Wellness has become a global mega-industry. But does any of this stuff actually work?

'Feeling exhausted, anxious and a bit flabby, journalist Brigid Delaney decides to find out – using herself as the guinea pig. Starting with a brutal 101-day fast, Brigid tests things that are meant to make us clean, lean and serene. Travelling the world, she tries colonics, meditation, silent retreats, group psychotherapy and oodles of yoga, working out what is helpful and what is just expensive hype.

'In monasteries and health farms, on hiking trails and massage tables, she asks, she asks, why do so many of us swing from indulgence to detox and back again? Is it possible to integrate good habits into your daily life? What does our obsession with wellness say about us? And why do you smell so bad when you haven’t eaten in seven days?

'Wellmania is the highly entertaining and occasionally dangerous exploration of one of the most fascinating trends in our culture.'(Publication summary)

'Some secrets won’t stay buried.

'‘Scott's lost expedition was still here, she thought – frozen, preserved, waiting to be rescued from the thaw. The truth lay beneath the surface, and she was going to bring it up.’

'In 1912, five British explorers struggle across the freezing Antarctic landscape, through howling winds and plummeting temperatures, seeking the safety of their camp.

'Today, as the world’s ice sheets begin to melt and surrender their secrets, renowned glacial archaeologist Missy Simpson works to discover the true cause of the explorers’ deaths – a subject that has intrigued researchers for more than a century.

'Her colleague, Cambridge professor Jim Hunter, is working on his own scientific mysteries – and is willing to risk everything to solve them.

'In hallowed halls of learning and on the icy polar plateau, these risk-takers must grapple with the unfathomable power of the natural world and the dramatically changing weather – while navigating their own complicated relationships.

'Drawn from the pages of history and cutting-edge science, Thaw is a gripping read that will forever change how you see the frozen continent – and those who seek to conquer it.' (Publication summary)

'A snake, an octopus and the near death of Johnny Ramone. The almost true account of the 1977 New York City blackout. Set in the 1970s, the story's capstone is the 1977 New York City blackout. Ray the snake is a sad, lonely, middle aged insurance salesman from Midway Kentucky, looking for a better life. Strawberry is a Glow Octopus (Stauroteuthis syrtensis) with an inability to control her glow. Strawberry finds herself in constant trouble; she has a prison record and an FBI file to prove it. The unlikely pair embark on a road trip to New York City, where they rub shoulders with rock royalty, things get electric - in more ways than one. A tribute to all kinds of music, from elevator to opera.' (Publication summary)

'The captivating story of the first global cosmetics empire, the fascinating woman who built it, and the past she preferred to leave behind

'This meticulously researched and wryly entertaining portrait of Helena Rubinstein (1872-1965) focuses on the years she spent in Australia as a young woman, recovering a 'lost' chapter in the grand narrative of the woman who created one of the first global cosmetics corporations. At its height, Rubinstein's brand was synonymous with elegance and employed 30,000 women around the world.

'Rubinstein arrived in Australia from Poland when she was twenty-three years old. She lived in Australia for the next eleven years, working first as a governess and then as a waitress, before opening her first beauty salon in Melbourne.

'In later years, owing to the degree of control she exercised over her glamorous image, many details of her early life in Australia were suppressed. But the events she airbrushed out of her own myth reveal the surprising origins of her extraordinary rise. In this absorbing book, we see her laying the foundations for a global empire.

'With a foreword by Sarah Krasnostein' (Publication summary)

'From one of Australia's most wryly funny writers comes an original and utterly hilarious memoir of reaching for the stars while lying in a ditch.

'I was sleeping in what might reasonably be described as a ditch, though I tried not to think of it in those terms for morale reasons . . .

'Robert Skinner arrives in the city, searching for a richer life. Things begin badly and then, surprisingly, get slightly worse. Pretty soon he's sleeping rough and trying to run a literary magazine out of a dog park. His quest for meaning keeps being thwarted, by endless jobs, beagles, house parties, ill-advised love affairs, camel trips and bureaucratic entanglements.

'Sometimes a book catches the spirit of the times. I'd Rather Not is about work, escape and that something more we all need.' (Publication summary)

'Exploring dislocation and longing, Sarah Krasnostein dives into Peter Carey's literary tour de force, True History of the Kelly Gang, in this latest offering from the stunning Writers on Writers essay series.

'Award-winning writer Sarah Krasnostein shines new light on the impossibly vulnerable Ned Kelly of Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang. Carey, who moved from Australia to America, conjured Kelly after seeing Sidney Nolan's paintings of the bushranger at the Met. In this moving essay Krasnostein, who moved from America to Australia, interrogates notions of home, history, distance and identity in Peter Carey's Booker Prize-winning novel.

'In the Writers on Writers series, leading writers reflect on another Australian writer who has inspired and fascinated them. Provocative and crisp, these books start a fresh conversation between past and present, shed new light on the craft of writing, and introduce some intriguing and talented authors and their work.

'Published by Black Inc. in association with the University of Melbourne and State Library Victoria.' (Publication summary)

'‘I first met Nick Cave … at Richmond Recorders in January. I appeared shoeless, red-eyed and late. As usual. The grand piano was overflowing with bits of metal, microphone stands, anything that wasn’t nailed down. “That should sound interesting,” I said. It was the start of a great love affair.’

'Masterful music producer-engineer Tony Cohen defined Australia’s punk and rock sounds in the late ’70s and ’80s. His long and celebrated career took him from the studios of Melbourne and Sydney to West Berlin and London’s Abbey Road, working with innumerable bands up until his death in 2017.

'In candid reflections, Tony’s decades-long relationship with Nick Cave and his bands – The Boys Next Door, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – ­is well documented, along with behind-the scenes classic recordings by The Ferrets, Laughing Clowns, Models, The Reels, The Go-Betweens, Hunters & Collectors, Cold Chisel, Beasts of Bourbon, The Saints, X, The Cruel Sea, Paul Kelly and so many more.

'Half Deaf, Completely Mad is an exuberant, hilarious, tragic and triumphant memoir that reveals a chaotic genius who lived hard and LOUD.' (Publication summary)

'A fascinating portrait of one of Australia's most influential women

'Elected to federal parliament aged just twenty-eight, Tanya Plibersek has lived almost half her life in the public eye - and is the longest-serving woman in Australia's House of Representatives. But how much do we know about what drives her, what she values, and what we can expect from her next?

'Plibersek was born in Sydney to Slovenian parents, both of whom fled post-war Europe as young adults. Their experiences as migrants would profoundly shape the lives of their children. Driven by a commitment to equity and social change, Plibersek joined the Labor Party at a time of intense factional battles for the party's future and emerged as part of a new generation of ALP leaders. Throughout her career she has campaigned for social justice reform on issues such as paid parental leave, fairer rights at work and rights for same-sex couples and is a staunch advocate for gender equality.

'Award-winning journalist Margaret Simons draws on exclusive interviews with Plibersek, her political contemporaries, family and close friends to trace the personal and political strands of this modern Australian story. She considers Plibersek's role in the Rudd and Gillard governments, Labor's soul-searching years in opposition, and Plibersek's position in the Albanese cabinet. She also sheds light on the personal currents that have carried Plibersek, through moments of joy and tragedy, to become the person she is today.' (Publication summary)

'A collection of passionate essays from religious leaders arguing for a First Nations Voice to be enshrined in the Australian Constitution

'In this ground-breaking collection of essays, diverse religious leaders and thinkers come together to advocate for the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Contributors from Christian, Jewish, Sikh, Muslim and Buddhist communities powerfully convey why a First Nations voice to parliament is necessary not only legally and politically, but also morally. Drawing on their unique spiritual beliefs, they argue that the Uluru Statement offers a profound opportunity to heal the wrongs of the past and ensure a better future for all Australians. A rallying cry of support across religious and political divisions, Statements from the Soul shows that the Uluru Statement goes to the heart of who we are as a country and is essential to reconciliation.;;With a foreword by Noel Pearson and preface by Henry Pinskier. Contributors are Sabah Rind, Wesam Charkawi, Fiona Jose, Sardar Ajmer Singh Gill, Prakruthi Mysore Gururaj, Bhikkhu Sujato, Stan Grant, Antonios Kaldas, Rabbi Ralph Genende, Russell Broadbent, Karina Okotel, Kanishka Raffel, Peter Comensoli, Anthony Ekpo, David Saperstein and Rowan Williams.' (Publication summary)

'The first major biography of Lachlan Murdoch, one of the world's most powerful and enigmatic people - an epic saga of ruthless power plays and family battles

As heir apparent to the first global media dynasty, Lachlan Murdoch has been waiting to run his father Rupert's empire all his life. In this riveting first biography of a little-understood but hugely influential figure, acclaimed journalist Paddy Manning asks: can the dutiful son hang onto the empire, or will the third generation of Murdoch moguls prove the last?

'Despite a life in the spotlight, Lachlan's personality, politics and business acumen remain obscure. Is he the ultra-conservative ideologue media reports maintain, or a free-thinking libertarian, as some friends suggest?

'Drawing on unprecedented access to Lachlan Murdoch's inner circle, Manning explores Lachlan's upbringing, his political beliefs, what we can expect from his time at the helm and whether he has what it takes to chart a future for this century-old company.

'This is a book about the good, the bad and the ugly of the global media world, and about America in the age of Trump and Murdoch. It is a book about power, apprenticeship and succession.' (Publication summary)

'A gift of an essay that illuminates the literary talents of two of Australia’s greatest writers

'In this beautifully written personal essay, Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Geraldine Brooks offers readers brilliant insights into the work of one of Australia’s greatest living writers, Tim Winton.

'In the Writers on Writers series, leading authors reflect on an Australian writer who has inspired and fascinated them. Provocative and crisp, these books start a fresh conversation between past and present, shed new light on the craft of writing, and introduce some intriguing and talented authors and their work.' (Publication summary)