AustLit

'Opposites attract in this laugh-out-loud rom-com about a heart-throb actor, the grumpy woman who minds his beloved dog, and the cat that steals his heart.

'Ethan James has a problem: he’s about to start shooting a movie and he needs someone to mind his anxious dog, Harry. This film could make or break Ethan's career, and he knows he has to give it all his attention, but Harry's new minder turns out to be more of a hindrance than a help. She's gorgeous and funny, and throws so much shade in his direction that Ethan can't think straight.

'Hazel Conor has a problem: she’s just lost her job as a sous chef at the fancy beachside restaurant she uphauled her life for. And if she doesn’t get another job soon, she won’t be able to afford food – or worse, cat food, and then her grouchy cat Kevin will finally murder her in her sleep. So when she sees an ad for an easy dog minder job, she goes for it.

'Hazel finds everything about Ethan annoying; he’s flashy, flirty, and a total charmer. She probably wouldn’t look at him twice if it wasn’t for her cat. Because Kevin, the cat who hates everyone, is totally smitten with Ethan James. And with each purr, cheek rub and head bump that Kevin bestows on Ethan, Hazel begins to wonder if there’s something her cat can see that she can’t.' (Publication summary) 

'A captivating tale of love, glamour and betrayal, inspired by the life of 1920s Australian film icon Annette Kellerman, for readers of Kate Morton and Taylor Jenkins Reid.

'Blue Mountains, 2023: 

'Working on a documentary at the historic Carrington Hotel, videographer Emma Quinn rescues a box of vintage film reels destined for landfill. Trawling through the box, Emma finds a series of handwritten letters hidden beneath the reels – letters that seem to belong to Rose Carey, golden girl of the silent film era.

'Intrigued, Emma begins to read the letters and is fascinated by what she uncovers. And as her relationship with her wife fractures under the stress of IVF, she becomes increasingly obsessed with Rose’s story, at the heart of which lies a deadly secret.

''Sydney, 1923: Rose Carey knows her glittering Hollywood days are numbered after a near-death experience following the filming of her latest epic. On top of that, she faces bankruptcy. Rose is no quitter, though – she has reinvented herself many times before, overcoming several obstacles to transform into one of Hollywood’s glamour girls. She can’t stop now, and so she throws herself into planning a spectacular production that will take the world by storm.

'But when she suffers another life-threatening accident, Rose realises that someone close to her wants her out of the way. Who in her close-knit circle has the most to gain? Can she trust anyone, other than herself?' (Publication summary)

'From the scene-stealing star of Pitch Perfect and Bridesmaids comes a refreshingly candid, hilarious, and inspiring book about her unconventional journey to Hollywood success and loving herself.

'For decades, Rebel Wilson had single-mindedly focused on her career, making a name for herself through her iconic roles in Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaids, and Isn't It Romantic. Now she's ready to chronicle the emotional and physical lessons she learned, as well as her most embarrassing experiences. A malaria induced hallucination? An all-style-martial arts fighting tournament? Junior handling at?dog shows? And this was all BEFORE she moved to Hollywood!

'Rebel Rising follows Rebel Wilson's incredible journey of "making it," constantly questioning "Am I good enough?", "Will I ever find love?" and "Will I ever change and become healthy?" Rebel writes for the first time about her most personal and important moments in her life- from fertility issues, weight gain and loss, sexuality, overcoming shyness, rejections and, well...okay there's at least one story thrown in about Brad Pitt! It's all here. This memoir shows us how to love ourselves, while making us laugh uncontrollably.' (Publication summary)

The first dual biography of Bennelong and Governor Arthur Phillip, two pivotal figures in Australian history – the colonised and coloniser – and a bold and innovative new portrait of both.

'Bennelong and Phillip were leaders of their two sides in the first encounters between Britain and Indigenous Australians, Phillip the colony’s first governor, and Bennelong the Eora leader. The pair have come to represent the conflict that flared and has never settled.

'Fullargar’s account is also the first full biography of Bennelong of any kind and it challenges many misconceptions, among them that he became alienated from his people and that Phillip was a paragon of Enlightenment benevolence. It tells the story of the men’s marriages, including Bennelong’s best-known wife, Barangaroo, and Phillip’s unusual domestic arrangements, and places the period in the context of the Aboriginal world and the demands of empire.

'To present this history afresh, Bennelong & Phillip relates events in reverse, moving beyond the limitations of typical Western ways of writing about the past, which have long privileged the coloniser over the colonised. Bennelong’s world was hardly linear at all, and in Fullagar’s approach his and Phillip’s histories now share an equally unfamiliar framing.' (Publication summary)

'Mitchell likes playing soccer, but he loves being a princess.

'On Saturdays, Mitchell plays soccer alongside his best friend, Beck. He likes to wear a tutu over his uniform but feels upset when one of his teammates makes fun of him for it. Damon thinks princesses can’t play soccer.

'Mitchell knows better, though. And he’s excited because next week is both his birthday and the soccer grand final. His princess party is going to be so much fun, but he can’t stop worrying about the game. What will Damon say if he misses a goal?

'Mitchell will need to use all his skills to help his team, and he might just have a special trick up his sleeve…

'Princess Mitchell is a heartwarming story about making friends, celebrating differences and embracing who you are.'(Publication summary)

'The Immortals of Australian Motorcycle Racing: The World Champs celebrates our greatest ever riders. It takes the Immortals concept used elsewhere in sport and applies it to two-wheeled motorsport, choosing the best of the best from the 500cc and MotoGP eras, Bathurst's road racing era, the Dakar Rally, motorcross and speedway.

'Author Darryl Flack selects his top 12 riders then delves into the careers of the true greats. Legendary riders selected and profiled include Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan, Casey Stoner, Chad Reed, Toby Price. Troy Bayliss and Daryl Beattie.

'The book tells the remarkable stories behind each Immortals rise to the top and the adversity faced through their careers.' (Publication summary)

'In Legends of the Track: Australia's champion jockeys and trainers, best-selling author Alan Whiticker tells the stories of 25 modern-era horse racing greats.

'This book celebrates the careers of champions trainers such as Bart Cummings, Tommy Smith, Colin Hayes, Gai Waterhouse, Lee Freedman and Chris Waller, and features interviews with the best jockeys of the modern era – Ron Quinton, Darren Beadman, Shane Dye, Hugh Bowman, Damien Oliver, Glen Boss and James McDonald.

'With full career statistics for each chapter and dozens of rare photos, Legends of the Track details the greatest achievements in a wonderful sporting era of Australian horse racing.' (Publication summary)

'TWO MISSING WOMEN. ONE WITNESS. SO MANY LIES . . . The brand-new thriller by the number-one bestselling and award-winning master of crime 

'Twenty years ago, Cyrus Haven's family was murdered. Only he and his brother survived. Cyrus because he hid. Elias because he was the killer.

'Now Elias is being released from a secure psychiatric hospital and Cyrus, a forensic psychologist, must decide if he can forgive the man who destroyed his childhood.

'As he prepares for the homecoming, Cyrus is called to a crime scene in Nottingham. A man is dead and his daughter, Maya, is missing. Then a second woman is abducted . . . The only witness is Evie Cormac, a troubled teenager with an incredible gift: she can tell when you are lying.

'Both missing women have dark secrets that Cyrus must unravel to find them - and he and Evie know better than anybody how the past can come back to haunt you . . .

'This breathtaking new thriller from the #1 bestselling author will keep you guessing until the very end.'  (Publication summary)

'Social media and business entrepreneur Sophie Cachia reveals never-before-shared details of her marriage breakdown, and how delving into her feminine intuition and falling in love with a woman turned her whole world upside down. 

'I was running late, again. The sweat from under my milk-filled udders ran down my stomach and onto the post-natal recovery shorts I’d squeezed on under my leather skirt. Only eight weeks earlier, I’d birthed my second baby, and this was one of my first work appearances. 

'I raced into the hotel, took the lift to the wrong floor, fumbled my bag and finally landed at the entrance. I went around the circle of unfamiliar faces, smiling, shaking hands, introducing myself…

'Then there was her. 

'As our hands touched, time froze. My whole world changed forever…

'Sophie Cachia had her white picket fence life. By the age of 25, she was a mother and happily married, and had also built a very successful business by documenting her every move online.

'But Sophie and her comfortable existence were thrown a curveball when she met a woman who prompted her to ask herself the questions: What more can I do? What more can I learn? What more can I be?

'In Then There Was Her, Sophie describes how challenging the set social narrative for a young woman led her down a path of awareness, empowerment and acceptance as she navigated identity, sensuality and the true meaning of authenticity as a mother and a woman.

'A deeply honest and inspirational memoir of a strong female who made peace with her decisions all in the unrelenting glare of the public eye, Then There Was Her encourages readers to stop fearing the unknown in life and to instead be excited about what may just come your way.'  (Publication summary)

'Cricket is another ball game altogether with Grug!

'This classic Aussie hero is back from the bush to enchant a new generation of youngsters!' (Publication summary)

'Matildas superstar Sam Kerr’s incredible story!

'Sam Kerr has only been playing soccer for a few months after switching from AFL and now her team are playing in the finals! Sam can’t believe it! But when her best friend, Dylan, is appointed team captain, Sam is worried that his shyness might get in the way. Together with her other bestie, Indi, they must find a way to help him overcome his nerves.

'She is also busy on the home front. New neighbours have moved in next door and Sam has become friends with Jake and his younger brother Will. But strange things start happening. After losing her new water bottle, her soccer boots and then when her dog Penny disappears from the garden, Sam has had enough. It’s time to get to the bottom of the mystery while at the same time preparing for her finals match. There is a lot to deal with for the young soccer superstar!' (Publication summary)

'From the bestselling author of The Bush, the story of a fifty-year relationship between a Vietnam veteran and a remote Aboriginal tribe: a miniature epic of human adaptation, suffering and resilience.

'The Passion of Private White describes the meeting of two worlds: the world of the fiercely driven biologist and anthropologist Neville White, and the world of the hunter-gatherer clans of remote northern Australia he studied and lived with. As White tried to understand the world as it was understood on the other side of the vast cultural divide, he was also trying to transcend the mental scars he suffered on the battlefields of Vietnam. The clans had their own injuries to deal with, as they tried to adapt to modernity, live down their losses and yet hold onto their ancient lands, customs, laws and language.

'Over five decades, White mapped in astonishing detail the culture and history of the Yolgnu clans at Donydji in north-east Arnhem Land. But eventually presence meant involvement, and White became advocate more than anthropologist in the clan’s struggle to survive when everything – from the ambitions of mining companies and a zombie bureaucracy, to feuds, sorcery and magic, despair and dysfunction – conspired to destroy them.

'And the fifty-year endeavour served another purpose for White and the members of his old platoon he took there. Working to help the community at Donydji became a kind of antidote for the psychic wounds of Vietnam. While for the clans, from the old warriors to the children, their fanatical benefactor offered a few rays of meaning and hope. There was no cure in this meeting of two worlds, both suffering their own form of PTSD, but they helped each other survive.

'This is a miniature epic of human adaptation, suffering and resilience, an astonishing window into both our recent and our deep history, the coloniser and colonised – indeed into the human condition itself.'  (Publication summary)

'There is life and love (and plenty of laughter) after divorce, even when your ex is one of Australia’s highest profile sport stars.

'Actually, I Don’t Like Cricket Or Blow Jobs! (And to be honest, I suck at both.) Yes, that was what I originally wanted to call this book. But then I realised that some women like cricket. Also, reading this in front of your inquisitive seven-year-old could lead to some awkward conversations. So, in stepped Currently Between Husbands to save the day and any blushes.

'Having a relationship in the spotlight is hard enough, but in Currently Between Husbands, Cathrine Mahoney details the unique experience of breaking up with one of Australia's highest profile sport stars. Even for a self-confessed over-sharer, the breakdown of her marriage to rugby league player Andrew Johns was more public than she was used to. In her first book, the writer, podcaster and publicist provides a self-deprecating and hilarious look at her life – from fashion mistakes and early crushes as a kid growing up in Wales, to her years working with some of the world's biggest stars at Sony Music, to navigating life and love as a ‘solo’ mum, and coming to terms with hitting the big 4-0. Currently Between Husbands is the equivalent of having a chat with your bestie over a drink or two, with all the inappropriate confessions, front bottom revelations and teary moments that entails. As Mahoney describes, the book is ‘Bridget Jones meets Eat Pray Love, but with less yoga, bigger undies and more vodka!’.' (Publication summary) 

'Let me tell you a story…

'When Chloe Hooper’s partner is diagnosed with a rare and aggressive illness, she has to find a way to tell their two young sons.

'By instinct, she turns to the bookshelf. Can the news be broken as a bedtime tale? Is there a perfect book to prepare children for loss? Hooper embarks on a quest to find what practical lessons children’s literature—with its innocent orphans and evil adults, magic, monsters and anthropomorphic animals—can teach about grief and resilience in real life.

'As she discovers, ‘the right words are an incantation, a spell of hope for the future.’ From the Brothers Grimm to Frances Hodgson Burnett and Tolkien and Dahl—all of whom suffered childhood bereavements—she follows the breadcrumbs of the world’s favourite authors, searching for the deep wisdom in their books and lives.

'Both memoir and manual, Bedtime Story is stunningly illustrated by the New York Times award-winning Anna Walker. In an age of worldwide uncertainty, here is a profound and moving exploration of the dark and light of storytelling.' (Publication summary)

'From the groundbreaking author of 55 comes an extraordinary new thriller...

'The Kane family, Lorcan, Naiyana and their young son, relocate from Perth to Kallayee, an abandoned mining town in the Great Victoria Desert to start over again, free from their chequered past. 

'The town seems like the perfect getaway: Peaceful. Quiet. Remote. Somewhere they won’t be found.  

'But life in Kallayee isn’t quite as straightforward as they hope. There are noises in the earth, mysterious shadows and tracks in the dust as if the town is coming back to life. 

'But the family can’t leave. No one can talk sense into them.

'And now, no one can talk to them at all.

'They’ve simply vanished. 

'Now it's up to Detective Emmaline Taylor to find them… before it’s too late.' (Publication summary)

'You’re lying, sprawled at the bottom of the stairs, legs bent, arms wide. If I squint, you could be playing Sleeping Bunnies. Or maybe Twister.

'I wish I could tell you how the blood pooling around your head looks like a halo. But you’re past listening.

'I need to let the paramedics in. And then I have to be careful.

'Because as the energy trickles out of your body it’s pumping into mine.

'And while this could be a tragic accident, if anyone’s got a motive to hurt you, it’s me.

'Bec and Izzy have been best friends their whole lives. They’ve been through a lot together – the death of Bec’s mother, the birth of Izzy’s daughter, Bec’s engagement.

'But there’s a darker side to their friendship, too – and Bec is about to reach breaking point.

'Then Izzy is found broken and bloodied at the bottom of the stairs.

'It could have been an accident – perhaps she fell – but if the police decide to look for a killer, then Bec is sure to be their prime suspect.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When writer Rebecca Giggs encountered a humpback whale stranded on her local beachfront in Australia, she began to wonder how the lives of whales shed light on the condition of our seas. Fathoms: The World in the Whale blends natural history, philosophy, and science to explore: How do whales experience ecological change? Will our connection to these storied animals be transformed by technology? What can observing whales teach us about the complexity, splendour, and fragility of life? In Fathoms, we learn about whales so rare they have never been named, whale songs that sweep across hemispheres in annual waves of popularity, and whales that have modified the chemical composition of our planet’s atmosphere. We travel to Japan to board the ships that hunt whales and delve into the deepest seas to discover the plastic pollution now pervading the whale’s undersea environment.

'In the spirit of Rachel Carson and Rebecca Solnit, Giggs gives us a vivid exploration of the natural world even as she addresses what it means to write about nature at a time of environmental crisis. ' (Publication summary)

'When Charlie sees a man who is the spitting image of her husband Oliver on a dating app, her heart stops. Her first desperate instinct is to tell herself she must be mistaken – after all, she only caught a glimpse from a distance as her friends were laughingly swiping through the men on offer.  But no matter how much she tries to push her fears aside, she can’t because she took that photo. On their honeymoon. She just can’t let it go.

'Suddenly other signs of betrayal begin to add up and so Charlie does the only thing she can think of to defend her position – she signs up to the app to catch Oliver in the act.

'But Charlie soon discovers that infidelity is the least of her problems. Nothing is as it seems and nobody is who she thinks they are ...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Wilbrook in Western Australia is a sleepy, remote town that sits on the edge of miles and miles of unexplored wilderness. It is home to Police Sergeant Chandler Jenkins, who is proud to run the town’s small police station, a place used to dealing with domestic disputes and noise complaints.
'All that changes on a scorching day when an injured man stumbles into Chandler’s station. He’s covered in dried blood. His name is Gabriel. He tells Chandler what he remembers.
'He was drugged and driven to a cabin in the mountains and tied up in iron chains. The man who took him was called Heath. Heath told Gabriel he was going to be number 55. His 55th victim. 
'Heath is a serial killer.
'As a manhunt is launched, a man who says he is Heath walks into the same station. He tells Chandler he was taken by a man named Gabriel. Gabriel told Heath he was going to be victim 55.
'Gabriel is the serial killer.'  (Publication summary)