AustLit

'From award-winners Margaret Wild and Hannah Sommerville comes a story to remind us of the wonder and magic of reading.

'When Dora was born, her brothers were very excited.

'I'm going to cuddle her,' said Alex.

'I'm going to rock her to sleep,' said Liam.

'I'm going to make her laugh,' said Bruno.

'I'm going to read to her,' said Peter. 

'Dora has doting big brothers who play with her, look after her, and guide her as she grows. But Peter reads to her, which turns out to be the greatest gift of all.' (Publication summary)

'There's no such thing as safety in numbers ...

'Rachel and Rory Sullivan decide to celebrate making it through a difficult year by taking their teenagers, Emmet and Bridie, to their first stadium concert. By the end of the night, one of the four has vanished without a trace.

'As the police investigation intensifies, suspicion is cast on the remaining family members. Everyone has been deceiving one another, but who is to blame for what went wrong? The passing of each hour amplifies their terror that life will never be the same again.

'One of Us is Missing is a dark domestic thriller about the dangers lurking right in plain sight.' (Publication summary)

'Her family's story made Henry Lawson famous. But was it his story to tell?
Fact and fiction meld into one in this stirring family saga set against shifting landscapes and pivotal moments in Australian history.

'Lillian was born in 1892, the same year Henry Lawson wrote 'The Drover's Wife' and cemented his place in Australia's literary canon. When Lillian reads the short story as a teenager, she is convinced that it is based upon her own family and becomes determined to prove it. But as the years pass, the truth becomes more problematic, and Lillian must decide what is more important: holding onto the past or embracing the future.

'The Story Thief  is about mothers and daughters, love, loss and the power of words. Ultimately it is about how each of us must find our own way to live.' (Publication summary)

'Henry spends his nights exploring the world alone and wondering one thing: what are stars for?

'One morning, he decides to come out of his shell and ask someone.

'Can Henry find the answer to his question and make a friend?

'From Margeaux Davis comes a moving story about curiosity, overcoming your fears and finding friendship.' (Publication summary)

'An affirming picture book that reminds readers it's okay to be themselves!

Inside every body a heart sings brave and true.

Slow down and listen carefully.

It's singing ...

'This is YOU!' (Publication summary)

'In the 80s and 90s, surf culture was toxic, especially towards women. But Pauline Menczer - a dirt-poor, chronically ill, freckle-faced teen from Bondi - defied insults and intimidation to ride the waves. The reason: she simply loved to surf.

'But when Pauline's determination propelled her onto the pro circuit, her battle for acceptance and equality didn't end there. The endemic sexism of the industry meant prize money for women was a pittance, while sponsors ignored her because she was gay and didn't have the beach babe look. Despite these challenges, Pauline became the 1993 World Champion and played a key role in bringing greater equality to the sport.

'This is the inspirational story of a true underdog battler, whose fearlessness and grit broke down the door of surfing's boys' club for the next generation of women.' (Publication summary)

'Listen deeply now, if you remember how and why.

'On a hot October afternoon, a girl walks barefoot out of the Wimmera desert, near the small town of Gatyekarr.

'She finds sanctuary with Beth, a regenerative farmer and collector of seeds, devoted to bringing her family's farm back to life. The arrival of the mysterious 'desert girl' unsettles the community and old tensions erupt. The longer the girl stays silent, the more volatile the town becomes. Who is she and what does her presence mean?

'The Desert Knows Her Name is an exquisite novel that speaks to a deep longing for connection with the land, and the silences that persist in contemporary Australia.' (Publication summary)

'It's the Festival of Fish – the biggest party of the year! Everyone seems to be having a great time … except for Blobfish. The clownfish tells some funny gags, the sawfish does magic tricks and the dolphin swims loop-the-loops, but no-one can make Blobfish happy.

'Or can they?

'Featuring energetic rhyme, joyful illustrations and some fascinating blobfish facts, Cheer Up, Blobfish! is a celebration of difference that stars one VERY misunderstood sea creature.' (Publication summary)

'Itty Bitty Kitty LOVES cheek rubs, hiding under the sofa and looking after her humans. She HATES being called cute. She is almost a tiger, after all!

'She may still be a kitten, but Itty Bitty is ready to take on the world. And she knows all the Cat Laws.

'She knows much more than her family, who don't even realise that babysitters are evil or that cats should go to school with their humans. And don't get her started on the vet!

'Join Itty Bitty on three epic adventures. Will she stick to the rules? Or will this kitty make up her own rules for life?' (Publication summary)

'When Tilda Finch is diagnosed with invisibility, she's not overly surprised – she's felt invisible for years. She has a good life and a successful business selling inspirational quotes on merchandise. But she's never really recovered from her divorce. Or, if she's honest, her childhood. Tilda's past has taken a toll and she's lost sight of herself. Now, with the possibility of completely disappearing, she must face the trauma of her past and rewrite the way she perceives the world, and herself.

'Entertaining, hilarious and poignant, Tilda Is Visible addresses the power of our thoughts and how childhood trauma shapes our adult experience.' (Publication summary)

'Following the year Rachael Mogan McIntosh gave birth to her third child and shapeshifted from wild to mild, Mothering Heights is an hilarious, moving celebration of early parenthood – written by a survivor.

'As Rachael navigates her way through the confusing rules of modern-day motherhood and grapples with the crazy-making Sisyphean beast that is housework, her three children under five grow like weeds, eat like footballers and deliver non-stop comedic shenanigans.

'Rachael adapts to the realisation that her old identity no longer quite fits, and neither do her trousers. The year is beyond tough but the hard-won wisdom of motherhood cracks her heart wide open. A comedy, tragedy and farcical romp all rolled into one, Mothering Heights is a love story about becoming a mother.' (Publication summary)

'Linda Taylor is livestreaming her glamourous life as an alternative health guru when she trips over in front of her followers ­‑ and can't get up. When Linda's children, Jack and Alice, find out she's broken her hip and can't care for their ailing father or pay her bills, they decide to help. There's just one problem: Jack hasn't spoken to Linda since he came out as a trans man over a decade ago.

'As the family gets together in Noosa and thunder clouds gather overhead, will family ties be enough to disentangle years of hurt, prejudice and pyramid-scheme brainwashing? Or will Jack have to cancel his mother for good?

'The Pyramid of Needs is a dark, wry and deeply illuminating examination of family dynamics in a world full of division and misinformation.' (Publication summary)

'Celeste, Esme, Logan and Ferd are summoned to the Realm of Mountains to answer for the part they've played in the growing rebellion, and Celeste soon finds herself in a brand-new kind of trouble. Separated from her cousin and forced to work with the trickster Pan, Celeste must navigate the wild landscape, dodge dangerous creatures, find Ferd, save a Guardian, recover a hagstone and rescue a friend. No pressure.

'And this adventure is just the beginning. A shocking discovery in the Realm of Mountains changes everything, and when Wherewithal seeks allies in the Realm of Desert, they find the outpost in chaos and a deadly creature on the prowl. The Realms have never been so perilous – and Celeste has never had quite so much to lose.

'Return to the Realms of Seven Wherewithal Way in this magical and action-packed third instalment in Samantha-Ellen Bound's epic portal fantasy series.' (Publication summary)

'Kerstin is childless by choice and married to her job when Gianni, a charming Italian, turns her life into a champagne-coloured fairy tale.

'Soon after their runaway wedding, Gianni is diagnosed with cancer and Kerstin becomes his dedicated carer. But when she discovers that he has been cheating on her all through their relationship, she is faced with a difficult choice: walk away, or continue to care for the man who betrayed her. She turns first to wine and then to therapy, eventually ending up in a Buddhist monastery. There she realises that finding a new way of loving her lying, dying husband might offer a chance to grow from her pain rather than be crushed by it - and to avoid liver damage.

'Written with wisdom, humour and unfailing kindness, this is a life-affirming tale of one woman's search for better ways to love, grieve and forgive.' (Publication summary)

Everyone feels like this sometimes, even grown-ups.

'If you have ever wanted to give up, you are not alone.

'This book is for any child who needs a reminder that hard things won't be hard forever.' (Publication summary)

'Do you have a special Happy Place,

'where a smile swims over the whole of your face?

'Celebrate the places, people and things that bring us joy in this uplifting and spirited book.' (Publication summary)

'Long, long ago, storytellers all around the world told tales of wonder both to enchant and entertain us, and also to teach us that – if we are good and kind and courageous enough – we can change the world for the better.

'For this is what fairy tales do. They give us hope.

'As we travel through the dark and dangerous world of the fairy tale, as we fight dragons and outwit ogres and save our sisters and brothers, we learn that we are capable of anything. And then we return to our own world with all that we have learned along the way, stronger and braver than before.

'The stories in this book come from all the corners of the world. Some were told in deep time before history was recorded, and some were written not so long ago. All of them have been unjustly forgotten.

'In this collection of long-lost fairy tales, author Kate Forsyth and illustrator Lorena Carrington work together to bring tales of wisdom, compassion, and courage to life for the modern-day reader.

'This enchantingly beautiful book will transform the way you think about fairy tales. (Publication summary)

'Isn't it your job to stop people being murdered?'

'1911, on a winter's night in arid New South Wales wool country, mounted trooper Augustus Hawkins discovers the bodies of three young people. They are scions of the richest family in the district, savagely murdered on a road that Hawkins should have been patrolling, had he not been busy bedding the local schoolteacher.

'Detectives arrive from Sydney and the disgraced Hawkins, a traumatised veteran of the Boer War, comes under fierce scrutiny. With his honour and sanity at stake, he becomes hell-bent on finding the murderer. But as ever darker secrets are revealed about the people he thinks of as friends, Hawkins is forced to confront an uncomfortable question: who is paying the price for the new nation's prosperity?'  (Publication summary)

'Beth doesn't feel like she belongs in her rambunctious, bohemian family. Apart from the special relationship she shares with her grandma, Elise. When Beth wins the lottery (on a ticket she bought to prove she could be spontaneous), she decides to spend it on treating Elise. 

'But instead of anything material, Elise wants Beth to help her track down her first love, Gerry. It's a fun and uncomplicated little adventure, Beth thinks, until she discovers that her grandma's great love is actually a woman, and their romance was thwarted by the conservatism of the day. Grappling with her grandma's past spurs Beth to reconsider herself in the present.

'Birds of a Feather is a funny, poignant and utterly charming debut novel about questioning who you are and what you might become.' (Publication summary)