AustLit

Celebrating the amazing career of AFL star Tom Hawkins, from his family background, with his dad also a champion player, through to his contribution to Geelong's ongoing success on the football field, we learn what has made Tom a star.

From a scholarship in 2006 as an under-18, Tom’s career has been full of accolades, including three times being part of a winning premiership team for Geelong, four McClelland trophies, five all Australian team selections, a Coleman medal in 2020, eleven times being the leading goal-kicker for Geelong and many many other accolades.

In Tom Hawkins: An Autobiography you will discover what has made him the star player he is, and meet all of the people who have been part of his journey including players, coaches and family. Tom's story is rich with events, people and the development of a winning attitude that has been his mainstay.'(Publication summary)

'The Legend of Mad Max is the ultimate guide to the high octane post-apocalyptic film series, directed by visionary filmmaker George Miller. This comprehensive history delves into the making of each film, exploring the unique vision and groundbreaking live action and special effects that have made Mad Max a cultural touchstone for over four decades.

'From the unforgettable characters and thrilling action sequences to the complex themes and deep mythology, this stunningly illustrated book provides an in-depth look at the world of the iconic road warrior, Mad Max.

'Buckle up and get ready for a wild ride through the wasteland as you discover the full story behind this classic film franchise. With detailed production information, behind-the-scenes stories, and stunning photography, The Legend of Mad Max is a must-read for fans of this celebrated series.'(Publication summary)

'Looking for Alibrandi meets Arrested Development in this YA screwball comedy about a student exchange gone hilariously, criminally wrong.

'Maria Petranelli will do anything to get away from her overbearing Italian-Australian family. She’s over their constant heckling about getting a boyfriend, their unspoken belief that she’s not normal, and their loudly spoken belief that she’s incapable of doing, well, anything. So when her family declares she ‘couldn’t handle living in Italy’, Maria immediately signs up to go there on student exchange. What could possibly go wrong? Well, everything …

'Despite months of mental preparation for every possible scenario, Maria is out of her depth in Italy. She struggles with the language, immediately gets scammed, and is bewildered by her growing attraction to Kennedy, the sweet-but-hopeless American exchange student who is determined to be her friend … if only Maria would let her.

When the two girls accidentally witness a crime, Maria discovers just what she can and can’t handle. Being kidnapped in the boot of a car and driven off into the Italian countryside? Maybe. But working out her feelings for Kennedy before it’s too late? 

'Maria Petranelli is prepared for anything … except this.' (Publication summary)

'Jiggliest Jellyfish is the brilliant new book in a series spotlighting the most fascinating creatures around the world, from real-life explorer Tim Flannery!

'You might think that there’s not much to jellyfish, but this book will make you think again. Did you know that jellyfish can thrive in waters that would suffocate other sea creatures? Or that some jellyfish can flash different colours from purple to green? Or that they have the world’s most powerful venom? There is even a jellyfish that is immortal!

'Come along on an exciting expedition with the world-renowned scientist and explorer Tim Flannery and his daughter Emma as they spotlight some of the world's weirdest and most fascinating creatures.' (Publication summary)

'With a colourful and shiny cover, this illustrated book covers all the oceans and seas in the world.

'Drop into the Ocean is a beautifully illustrated children's science book for kids aged 6 and up. Join Neptune the jellyfish on a sensory journey through the world’s oceans and seas with a narrative that weaves in onomatopoeia and a series of fun facts. 

'Welcome to the ocean! It covers over 70 per cent of our planet and is home to literally trillions of animals and creatures. Our tour begins in the crystal-clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea. From here we will meet many different marine creatures, frolicking and exploring the world’s interconnected oceans with us. We’ll pay a visit to the Great White Cafe, play and romp through the kelp forests, get lost in the depths of the Mariana Trench, and sing with the whales. Our oceanic adventure comes to an end on sunny Australian shores.

'Featuring whimsical illustrations by Marta Tesoro and a shiny cover, drop in and come along on an immersive journey of oceanic discovery. There’s so much to see, hear and do in the ocean.' (Publication summary)

'Donald Thomson at 10 years old was a lone figure in Melbourne’s Bayside with its billabongs and creeks meandering to the sea. In his ‘Naturalist’s Diary’, he recorded his collection of wildflowers to wattles, seabirds to tiny blue wrens, mammals to reptiles to fish and to insects of every shape and hue. By 16 he was part-time editor of a national nature magazine.

'At 28, as Australia’s first home-grown anthropologist, he met the only people who truly shared his worldview: the First Nations of northern and central Australia. He wrote, ‘We learned much about their language, social life, and customs, and of their elaborate rituals and tabus…and we grew to love these people.’

'It was this love for a world threatened with extinction that drove Donald Thomson for the rest of his life, fighting for justice through a threated invasion and the reality of a hostile and unrepentant occupation.' (Publication summary)

'An iconic Australian sports story about being true to yourself – on the court, on the field and in life.

'Inside Out is the inspiring memoir from one of Australia’s all-time sporting champions: AFLW icon and basketball legend Erin Phillips. 

‘When I was born, people felt sorry for my dad because he didn’t have a son to play footy someday.’

'The AFLW changed the face of Australian sport forever, and Erin Phillips was the face of that change. Formerly a champion basketballer, born to Port Adelaide Football Club icon Greg Phillips, Erin’s success on the footy field was no surprise to anyone who has followed her remarkable career on the court. Now at the end of her professional sporting career, the final two years of which were spent at her father’s old club, Erin candidly looks back at her astonishing playing journey and her life so far. 

'Follow Erin as she recounts her sporting successes – two WNBA championships, two AFLW premierships with the Adelaide Crows – and her setbacks – Olympic disappointment with the Opals, injury strife and her long road to playing professional football. In this honest and revealing memoir Erin also moves beyond the field and court as she uncovers the challenges she has faced from all sides, from dealing with body image to discovering her sexuality. 

'Inside Out is a story about love, about family, about being okay in your own skin, and most of all, about playing by your own rules.' (Publication summary)

'Girl Friday: A job title used in 1970s workplaces for a junior administration assistant or receptionist. Common synonyms include junior office chick, shit-kicker, donkey worker, general dogsbody or gofer (go for this, go for that).

'Girl Friday: An Extraordinarily Ordinary Working Life is the hilarious and moving memoir about women at work, pay inequality and the alienating nature of the 21st century workforce. This is a story about resilience and reinvention, and it is also a story about how we are not human resources, we are human beings.

'Kristine was 15 when she lied to get a junior office job as a Girl Friday in 1975 – she took the job because she thought she only had to go to work on Fridays. She went on to experience the full gamut of working life, from joblessness, self-employment, mind-numbing office roles, toxic workplaces and out-of-control workloads. Miraculously, Kristine clocked up forty years of admin work, and then in her fifties she became unemployable and ready to tell all.

'Wisecracking, frank and completely relatable, Kristine Philipp’s Girl Friday offers stirring insights into the personal and political contexts of working women’s lives, the lengths older women must go to keep a job, the trials of walking the poverty line in later life and the power of friendships and camaraderie in the workplace.' (Publication summary)

'A fugitive in the present. A runaway in the past.

'Eliza Carmody returns home to the country to work on the biggest legal case of her career. The only problem is this time she’s on the ‘wrong side’ – defending a large corporation against a bushfire class action by her hometown of Kinsale.

'On her first day back Eliza witnesses an old friend, Luke Tyrell, commit an act of lethal violence. As the police investigate that crime and hunt for Luke they uncover bones at The Castle, a historic homestead in the district. Eliza is convinced that they belong to someone from her past.

'As Eliza becomes more and more entangled in the investigation, she is pulled back into her memories of youthful friendships and begins to question everyone she knows … and everything she once thought was true.' (Production summary)

'From amphibians and reptiles to monotremes and pilosa, discover our world of enchanting fauna in this stunning, illustrated book, Wildlife Compendium of the World by Tania McCartney.

'Divided by continent, and with a handy map opener, you can explore some of the wildest, weirdest and cutest animals that call Earth home. Each animal profile includes the Latin name, type, diet, size, weight, conservation status, curious facts about the species, and the collective noun or baby name for that animal.

'Meet a slug that resembles a banana and a fuzzball mammal with 90 strands of hair per follicle. Marvel at an ant that burns like fire, a pig-beaver-hippo-cow-camel hybrid that eats its own poop, and a creature with the shortest lifespan on Earth (five minutes!). Discover that a group of bears is called a sloth and a baby lizard is called a hatchling.'

Source: Publlisher's blurb.

'1964 tells the story of a city lost in a world of relentless change. The year 1964 was one of transition from the certainty of the 1950s to the doubt and disruption of the modern world.

'A young journalist leaves the security of school and discovers an unfamiliar workplace and an escalating series of confronting experiences. As he begins university, he struggles to relate his studies to the everyday events that he encounters. As he seeks to find a place in this new world, he is torn between reporting local stories or following others who have sought grander achievements.

'While he seeks knowledge through his reporting and academic studies of philosophy and politics, it’s through lived experiences that the young journalist discovers different notions of truth. He learns the way language determines meaning and knowledge by shaping our perceptions, and he is confronted by the meaning of truth – do we construct our own truth or does one immutable truth exist? When confronted by these competing realities, along with uncertainty, doubt and incremental failure, he soon faces life changing decisions that lead to unanticipated and sudden catastrophe.

'As his world starts slowly collapsing; as the city of his youth is to be obliterated; and as he is sent to fight in a South-East Asian war, he soon becomes part of the pivotal events that he once reported on.

'1964 is a story of our inability to anticipate the future, of how we have arrived at where we are today, and of what we lost on the way.' (Publication summary)

'A glimpse into the lives of others is a tantalising offer, and short stories give us such a window. A slice of someone’s life – whether it be in a factory, on a road trip north, the unquestioned love between two people, a child’s way of seeing or their passion for art – provides us an escape into their world or can serve as a mirror to our own inner lives. Within this anthology, sixteen brilliant writers allow us to imagine places and feelings we may not know but can seem all too familiar, touching our emotions with their imaginative tales.'  (Publication summary)

'Short Stories: and now for something completely different, as they once said in a famous film. Over more than 45 years Derryn Hinch has written 19 books from novels to autobiographies; Scrabble, Wordle, and several diet and health books. But he had never tried anything like this. A compendium of short stories.  

'It came about, almost by accident, because he was writing (again) about that fictional intrepid journo Jonathan Hunter, as a full-length novel -- The Big Hawaii Mystery. Hinch says, to be honest, he just ran out of words. The story was finished. A friend suggested a book of short stories. And here it is. 

'The stories range from a murder mystery to a man who never was.  Obviously, they are fiction, but many are based on fact. Hinch likes to call it ‘faction’ because real experiences from his own life as a police reporter, TV host, federal senator, weave through the narratives. You may even recognise some of the characters.' (Publication summary)

'Meet Billie B Brown …
Billie can be many things.
She can be boisterous, brainy and bright.
And Billie is always the best friend ever!

'Celebrate all the best things about Billie B Brown with this gorgeous hardback collectible edition – featuring five of Billie's favourite stories in glorious colour.' (Publication summary)

'Mayo Street is a whodunnit that takes a deep dive into suburban life in contemporary Australia, where things aren’t always how they seem

'Mayo Street. It’s a very desirable address. And it seems to promise the perfect suburban dream. Until three of the street’s residents die.

'Behind its respectable facades lie some terrible secrets, and in the course of one autumn many of them are shockingly exposed. Relationships come under pressure that not all of them can survive.

'Enter a couple of unlikely sleuths – a teenage girl and a septuagenarian woman. Like their neighbours, both have plenty of problems of their own – growing up and growing old are tough enough without having a killer in your street.

'Mayo Street takes a deep dive into suburban life in contemporary Australia, where things aren’t always what they seem.' (Publication summary)

'These amazing tales were written by young Australian authors all around Victoria, and assembled by a crew of seafaring young editors through the Early Harvest Program at 100 Story Building.

'Stories On the Run by Young Australian Escape Artists

'Expect escapades in this year’s Early Harvest short story anthology. This collection features daring jailbreaks, unlikely survival, fugitives on the lam, and countless other runaway plot points! 

'Fifteen young editors, mentored by author Alice Pung and publishing industry professionals, have assembled a collection of escapist fiction unlike anything you’ve ever seen. 

'The collection includes 15 intrepid tales and poems written by young Australian writers between the ages of 8 and 12, alongside a white-knuckled rollercoaster ride of a contribution from a best-selling children’s author.'' (Publication summary)