AustLit

'From Noah’s Flood to the imprisonment of Paul the Apostle and everything in between, come on a journey through Bible times. Each story listed below is told through the eyes of characters which you may or may not recognise, as they face decisions and experience life-changing encounters.' (Publication summary)

'Up close, the heritage listed house is nothing but a beautiful disaster, but while there are acres of orange trees to lose herself amongst, Isabella realises there’s no escaping the new school. But when intolerance towards Damaska and her family—whom Isabella’s family has hired to help—opens the homestead gates, the threat to both families becomes real. Four lives in Australia become intertwined by one orchard, as they all try to find a place they call home.'  (Publication summary)

'Esteemed in literary circles for his poetry and fiction, Andrew Lansdown is perhaps better appreciated in Christian circles for his essays and sermons. In this, his first collection of essays, he offers biblical and rational perspectives on a wide range of subjects of ongoing concern to Christians. His aim always is to "take every thought captive to obey Christ".Andrew has taught in various tertiary institutions and prisons, pastored two churches, and written and edited for a Christian ministry. In addition to ongoing writing and preaching, he currently lectures part-time in creative writing at Sheridan Institute of Higher Education.' (Publication summary)

'In Flying Blind, musical 15-year-old Essie is missing her dad; her friend at school is treating her strangely and a new boy with an army of siblings moves into their coastal town from the Outback. 

'If this isn’t enough to deal with, a junior lifesaver sweeps her out of the sea when she’s hightailing it to the shore after sighting a fin. It was a dolphin after all, so she wasn’t really in trouble. 

'Does that mean he likes her? 

'Sometimes searching for significance and trying to fit in will lead to blind loyalties before we can recognise our true friends.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'We have always lived in uncertain times. But facing a global pandemic tasks us with questioning the things we take for granted ... Everything is disappearing, but we are still here. 

'The Opposite of Disappearing is an encouraging and inspiring collection of contemporary short stories from Australian authors written during the COVID pandemic.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Here, Paige is immersed in a dream reality called ‘the Journey’. If patients finish the Journey, then they can go home. 

'Secrets are exposed as Paige bonds with other teens who don’t belong. The Journey is meant to be a cure – but Paige soon discovers dark forces within the hospital, and that the dream reality is the stuff of nightmares. Paige and her friends have limited chances to show progress, before it’s too late. 

'Can they escape the ward? And can Paige find reasons to live?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Eva is far from home when everything goes wrong. 

'And then it gets even worse. 

'Her evacuation bus leaves her behind, stranded with classmates she barely knows. The chase is on. But South America is big, and the old rules are changing quickly. This is the road trip Eva never knew she needed. 

'This is the race for the last flight home.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A handsome clockmaker fixes a broken time machine to help a cursed lady. A young scientist betrays his people to protect an alien species. A girl bonds with her new technological helper and sees in him a personality and a soul. A boy finds his whole life changing when his best friend writes in a mysterious notebook. A crew aboard a settlement spaceship discover that sleeping passengers have gone missing.

'Come on a journey of exploration with aliens, spacecrafts, bewildering technology and even ghosts. There’s friendship, strong families and romance. In these seventeen stories humanity is pushed to its limit and forced to question what is most important in life.

'Lynne Stringer and RA Stephens bring together a collection of fantasy and science-fiction stories based in worlds that are not quite our own.

'Authors include Penny Jaye, Emily Larkin, Janeen Samuel, Stephanie Martin, Catriona McKeown, Rosanne Hawke and many more.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Mileva Marinković was born into a family descended from resistance fighters and patriots, and from a young age was already bestowed with an identity formed on the values of brotherhood and unity. Marko Ivanić was born into a family where love is earned, not given, and was branded early on as a troublemaker and somewhat of a lost cause.

'Despite conflicting upbringings, the two find a common ground and develop a formidable friendship. As they grow older, almost inevitably their attraction to one another transforms into a deep love and understanding. Yet as Mileva and Marko approach the turn of the 1990s they find themselves, like the rest of the population, facing the collapse of their country.

'Forced into opposing directions, their separation changes both their lives forever, leading to a tragic event that neither could foresee. As she struggles to make sense of her identity moving forward, Mileva attempts to salvage all that is left of the life and love she once had.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When 18 year-old Maya leaves Chicago for a six week Australian home stay, she assumes she's heading to beautiful Barangaroo with its famous Sydney Harbour views—NOT Barangaroo Creek, a stinking hot, fly-ridden, wi-fi dead zone hours from a decent body of water. Add her host brother, Gus, who wishes she landed in someone else's sheep paddock, and Maya is convinced she's in for six weeks of Hicksville hell. Gus has an important trip planned this summer—a trip that does NOT include helping an animal-phobic girl from the States tick off items on her seriously cliched Aussie must-do list.

'So he comes up with a list of his own-one guaranteed to send Maya back across the Pacific, leaving him free to enjoy the last of his freedom before he heads off to agricultural college like every generation of his family has. But when Maya doesn't scare that easily, sparks begin to fly. Soon Gus and Maya discover there are hidden depths to cliched bucket-lists and secret summer trips, and that sometimes it takes someone half a world away to remind you of all the reasons you're here.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'As Princess Vashta of the Vendel finishes her combat training, she hopes she will lead their forces into battle against her race's deadly enemy, the Verindal. But when Brandonin, the heir to the Verindal throne, comes to see her father, it's clear he desires peace, not war.

'When a new enemy arises, striking at all who call their planet home, each race blames the other, even though the princess is sure this danger comes from somewhere new. She seeks Brandonin's help in fighting this menace, but what can they do when both Vendel and Verindal refuse to work together? Can they defeat this deadly threat themselves or will it mean the end of life on Verindon?'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'Graceland was named after the King of Pop’s mansion by her Elvis-obsessed mum. But she’s not rich, not famous and definitely not noticeable.

'She’s always just been Mikaela’s best friend.

'That is, until Mikaela leaves school without explanation and Graceland finds herself noticed by Cooper Dally. Popular boy and Mikaela’s EX-BOYFRIEND. Now she’s the centre of attention: big parties, new dresses and girlfriend to Cooper. Graceland is finally changing her stars.

'But Cooper has expectations Graceland can’t meet. And when the truth behind Mikaela’s leaving comes out, Graceland realises Cooper might not be the guy she thought he was. Worse, it could cost Graceland more than she’s willing to give to be noticed.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Kyoto Momiji Tanka is a stunning collection of poems and photographs celebrating the ancient capital of Japan, Kyoto, during autumn, when the maples (momiji) vividly colour the natural, cultural and emotional terrains of the Japanese.

'The photographs and poems (written in a traditional Japanese form known as tanka) introduce the reader to a fascinating world of Shinto brides, tanuki, spirit foxes, geisha, shakuhachi players and, of course, autumn maples.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Ionic and covalent bonds are a piece of cake for MJ. But human bonds are a little harder ...

'There are only two things MJ wants in her final year of high school:

'1) Glowing grades and ...

'2) to convince uber-smart, chiselled-jaw Jason they’d be a winning team outside the science lab as well as in.

'Tutoring deadbeat drummer, Luke, isn’t part of the plan. After all, he has average intelligence, takes disorganised notes and looks like a partied-out zombie at their study sessions! Not even his taut biceps will win MJ over.

'But MJ learns that she could be tutored in a few life lessons too: That sometimes there’s good reason to skip chemistry tutorials. That intelligence is so much more than a grade average.

'And that sometimes you can’t beat the chemistry.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Capricorn Station is vast, desolate and Central to Nowhere according to Sydney born Ivy. But she’s also not quite the Jillaroo that stockman Adam O’Rourke was expecting for the summer. Ivy has long hair, long nails and absolutely no idea how to ride a horse.

'With a fair amount of gumption—and one white lie aside—Ivy’s determined to show Adam that she’s got what it takes. And Adam is equally determined that she’s going home ASAP – before he gets too used to having her pretty face around.

'Soon Ivy realises that there’s more between them than the brush and Brigalow that sweeps the planes. But Ivy has only one summer on Capricorn Station. One season that’s passing way too quickly to hurry its pace.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Serena Bellingham is faced with an impossible choice. Either leave her struggling family to serve the eccentric genius, Edward King, or stay, only to see the same man imprison her father.

'Her decision leads her to Aleron House, a home shrouded in secrecy, strange attitudes and even stranger happenings. Is Edward King all that she has heard, or is the truth something entirely different? Is it possible that the handsome architect might need her even more than her beloved family does?

'Unhinged is an Australian retelling of Beauty and the Beast, complete with a mysterious curse and a precious rose.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A young man hiding from his past in a London prison. A body found hanged from a bridge over the River Thames. An Egyptian code that holds the key to an international scandal ...

'Peter has served his prison sentence trying to be nameless. But on his release, Peter becomes entangled in the life of British Museum professor, Alex, whose brother was found hanged under Blackfriars Bridge.

'Investigations into the death lead them into the secret world of Freemasonry and its passion for collecting ancient Egyptian artefacts. Alex calls on Beth, his finest student and an expert in Egyptian hieroglyphics.

'From London to Paris, New York and the ancient temples of Egypt, they lead a frantic race to uncover the clues. As Peter and Beth get closer to solving the mystery of the murder, death stalks their every move. To survive, Peter must discover qualities about himself he never knew he had ... and learn to trust once more.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Sixteen-year-old Therese lives in a small town on a small island. Her Aunt Kath calls her Tiger. Her friends call her Resey. The boy she loves calls her Champ. She’s a lot of different things for a lot of different people. Therese has always had her feet on the ground. She’s running through high school, but someone in her life is about to fall … And when he does, her perfect world falls with him. For the first time in her life, Therese can’t stand being on the ground. Girl Running, Boy Falling is a raw read about a girl and boy—who are beautifully flawed.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)