JULY READING GUIDE 2026

JULY READING GUIDE

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OUR BOOKS OF THE MONTH

The Vape Lord of Queanbeyan | Omar Musa | $34.99 | Penguin Omar Musa propels us full throttle into the lives of his characters in a series of short, sharp stories with seamless and intelligent articulation.

Told with empathy and wit, reading Musa is like hurtling through the night on an acid-fuel-injected fast train, inviting readers to glimpse the intricate lives, loves and pains of his characters with incredible detail for such short stories. Viewed through the lens of the beautiful Muslim eye, broken systems collide with existential observations of the human condition burning bright like binary stars dancing on the fabric of literary excellence.

– Emily

One Word | Melissa-Jane Fogarty | $24.99 | Hachette When Myra overhears her Pop speaking a language she doesn’t know, she begs him to teach her… but he refuses.

Slowly, Myra uncovers his painful past and learns of what he has endured. Together, they will reclaim his language and help pass it on to the next generation. This story is based on the author’s own personal experiences and is both incredibly important and powerful in its intention, honouring history and tradition while looking to the future through perseverance. For all ages of readers, an excellent learning tool as a reminder to help keep First Nations languages alive, moving and essential, One Word will be a new staple for any family bookshelf.

– Ruby

Graciela in the Abyss | Meg Medina | $17.99 | Walker Books Beneath the ocean an altogether other, supernatural world exists.

Graciela, once a human girl 100 years ago, has become a Sea Ghost tasked with awakening and welcoming other Sea Ghosts to the watery realm. With the help of 12-year-old Jorge, these unlikely allies must track down a mystical harpoon before it falls into the hands of its evil creator, who wants nothing more than to destroy the Sea Ghosts and their ocean world. This action-packed adventure is filled with bravery and a lot of heart, and was a whole experience. Imagine falling into a magical, eerie, totally surreal world that feels like a mix of Latin-American folklore, emotional therapy and one long fever dream.

– Robert

Native Ingredients Every Day | Nornie Bero | $45.00 | Hardie Grant In her very welcome follow up to her best-selling cookbook Mabu Mabu, Nornie Bero – talented chef and proud Meriam woman from the Torres Strait – shows us just how easy it is to incorporate flavourpacked native ingredients into our daily cooking. With the genius idea of focusing primarily on ten native ingredients, including salt bush, native citrus and kangaroo, these achievable, delicious recipes will have you heading straight to the kitchen. The 80+ options range from curries, tacos and salsas to stews, seafood dishes and sweet tarts.

Think: Macadamia Chilli Oil, Warrigal Greens Dressing, Garlicroasted Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta with Saltbush Crumb and Labneh, Lemon Aspen Fried Squid with Pepperberry Mayo (I LOVE pepperberry), and Golden Crumpets with Wattleseed Syrup Butter. Hmm, I personally can’t wait to try the Cassava Yellow Curry…

– Sylvia

The Death Row Club | V. A. Vazquez | $34.99 | Simon & Schuster Nicola is invited to a weekend retreat for the children of serial killers, The Death Row Club, by the woman who exposed her father’s crimes and implicated Nicola as an accessory. When members start getting murdered, the group is thrown into a locked-room mystery – which one of them is continuing their family tradition? The plot of this debut novel feels completely original, with constant surprises, deep tension, family complexity and unexpectedly strong queer tones.

Vazquez’s twisted revelations kept me awake until 2am, or ‘just one more chapter’, until I finished the book. – Lenny

The Last Day of Prior Life | Andrés Barba | Translated by Lisa Dillman | $29.99 | Scribe This trim novel by Andrés Barba, one of Spain’s most renowned writers, unsettles the reader while spurring them on to read more.

It is a masterful example of the plenitudes that can be implied by just a few well-chosen words. Part ghost story, part exploration of fear, guilt and longing, the reader follows a woman as she interacts with a young boy who is present yet not present. What she learns about him – and becomes willing to do for him – changes them both. – Sylvia

A Short History of Longans | Mirandi Riwoe | $34.99 | University of Queensland Press Mirandi Riwoe's latest is a rich multigenerational saga tracing an Irish-Chinese family across four generations of Australian history. Moving between an isolated, elderly Daniel in storm-battered 2049 and the entwined fates of an Irish orphan and a Chinese bushranger in the 1800s, it unravels secrets and inherited memory with extraordinary grace. Spanning centuries yet startlingly intimate, this is a tender meditation on belonging – to place, ancestors and self.

Beautifully written, Riwoe’s words linger long after the final page.

Plant Lady | Minyoung Kang | Translated by Shanna Tan | $34.99 | Penguin Random House Plant Lady, at its core, is an extreme ode to The Sisterhood in the face of misogyny. Yoohee quietly runs a thriving and successful plant shop in a quiet part of a South Korean neighbourhood. She provides expert plant advice by day, and also a dark and sinister service on the side to the women who come to see her, desperate to flee the clutches of the abusive men in their lives. But would anyone suspect the Plant Lady? A highly enjoyable, twisted and hilarious tale of female vengeance. – Emily

STAFF PICKS

Matcha on Monday | Michiko Aoyama | Translated by E. Madison Shimoda |$34.99 | Penguin Random House I just looove matcha, so it was only right for me to review this book! Set in a cute and cosy neighbourhood of Tokyo where the beloved Marble Café has previously served us other warm beverages (Hot Chocolate on Thursday), this novel opens us up to a new set of clientele during Monday tea tastings hosted by the café’s owner. Across delicious descriptions of the matcha-making process, and its uniquely restorative aromas and soothing powers, we are introduced to the lives, stories and troubles of each customer, and the way they slowly connect. This book is about recognising the joy and simplicity of daily exchanges, and leaves you with the same warmth and comfort that a cup of matcha provides. If you love matcha like I do, you will love this!! – Francesca

FICTION HIGHLIGHTS

Cool Machine | Colson Whitehead | $34.99 | Hachette With his usual pitch-perfect prose, Whitehead paints a portrait of New York as a city in transition in this, the third installment of his lauded Harlem Trilogy. Colson’s NY has shimmering skyscrapers rise to the heavens as displaced people huddle in abandoned tunnels below. In a dazzling display of protean imagination, Cool Machine roves all over the city, from Windows on the World to Sugar Hill, to show that in The Big Apple, and in the lives of Whitehead's vivid characters Carney, Elizabeth and Pepper, it's what's below the surface that reveals the truth.

It Will Come Back to You | Sigrid Nunez | $32.99 | Virago/Hachette It Will Come Back to You takes in thirteen stories – never before collected together – from a career spanning three decades, which has seen Nunez become one of contemporary fiction's most distinctive voices.

Moving from an inappropriate teenage crush to a therapist's second chance at love, in this collection Nunez maintains her irrepressible humour, bite and insight, while exploring the philosophical questions we have come to expect from her stunning writing.

Long Wave | Daisy Johnson | $34.99 | Penguin Random House The wild and uninhabited island is where Ori was found as a small child with a handful of stones, no memories and no mother. When she has a baby of her own, the job of motherhood feels immense and sleepless nights begin to shatter her grip on reality. Her head fills with the sound of stones knocking against each other and the mystery of her past begins to unravel, opening up a path to the mother she lost, and the mother she could become. Years earlier, tenyear-old Ruth sees a woman and her baby walk into the river and disappear. But she is the only witness, and the water yields no trace. Ruth's mother, Edith, locks her daughter away to restrain these wild imaginings, then later, to hide shame. Ruth longs to escape and dreams of the island, where she and her baby can finally be free.

Queenie is Working on It | Candice Carty-Williams | $34.99 | Hachette How is it possible for one woman to hold it together when she's: confronted with a racing biological clock when she doesn't even know if she wants kids; trying to act normal when her heart is smashed into a million pieces; ten times smarter than the people she's working for; priced out of the housing market in the place she grew up; and stuck in a situationship when all she wants is the love of her life back… Award-winning author Candice Carty-Williams returns with a scalpel-sharp, poignant and hilarious new book that shines a dazzling light on the realities of modern womanhood.

Country People | Daniel Mason | $34.99 | Hachette Miles is a devoted husband and father. He’s also a bit lost, very late with his PhD on Russian folktales, and haunted by possibly disappointing his family. When his wife Kate accepts a job far away, he decides that this will be the year to finally move forward with his life. But Miles is a man of many enthusiasms. Soon he finds himself entangled with a cast of characters as colourful as those in any of his folktales, until at last he stumbles upon a bizarre local legend – which might not be a legend at all.

Sleeping Children | Anthony Passeron | $24.99 | Picador France, 1981: A village is gripped by an epidemic of heroin usage.

Désiré has become one of the ‘sleeping children’, found slumped in the street. His family try to save him from the lure of addiction as his life descends into chaos; but something else is approaching. In Paris, alarm bells are ringing. A deadly new virus is set to define a generation. This is Désiré’s story.

The New People | Andrea Uptmor | $34.99 | Hachette Newlyweds Emma and Rachel move into a charming house in a college town, hoping for a fresh start. As Rachel immerses herself in her new job, Emma struggles in the shadow of her wife's success. The house is a refuge, until strange occurrences make Emma question whether she and her wife are truly alone. Turns out they’re not; the former owners are secretly living in the attic …

Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun | Mónica Ojeda | Translated by Sarah Booker | $34.99 | Granta/Penguin Noa and Nicole travel to the Andes for a music festival, a world of mysticism and underground music. When the party spills into Inti Raymi, the Incan festival of the sun, the girls' desire for belonging burns, collapsing the thin membrane separating life from death and ecstasy from oblivion. Wild and incantatory, this debut is both an hallucinogenic trip and a heartfelt meditation on love, family and kinship – one that announces the arrival of a major writer.

Air | Christian Kracht | Translated by Daniel Bowles | $29.99 | Penguin Random House Two men venture through strange landscapes towards unknowable destinations in this inventive, chromatically resonant, seductively disorienting new novel from one of the most significant European writers working today. Air unfolds as a haunting journey through a layered universe that may be a dream, the afterlife or reality's inverted twin.

Strangerland | Monika Radojevic | $34.99 | Penguin Random House London, 1990. Newly arrived Zivoin works all hours, sending every penny he can to his family in Yugoslavia. In Brazil, Alegria prepares to leave her home. Bright and ambitious, she strives to give her parents the life they deserve, even if it takes her far from them. Soon, Alegria and Zivoin are thrown together. What follows takes them across countries and continents, and changes them forever. This book is a heartfelt testament to the endurance of immigrants, and a soaring, rich story about love transcending languages, borders and time.

FICTION HIGHLIGHTS

Dreamers of the Full Moon Coffee Shop | Mai Mochizuki | Translated

by Jordan Taylor | $32.99 | Hachette One summer moon, a cat with azure eyes takes over the running of the Full Moon Coffee Shop. But this cat isn't just any old cat: it embodies our deepest desires – and quietly keeps watch over our dream worlds. A story about love in all its forms, this is the third in the beloved and bestselling Full Moon series.

NON-FICTION HIGHLIGHTS

Lollapalooza | Richard Bienstock & Tom Beaujour | $30.00 | Pan Macmillan Through hundreds of interviews with artists – including Perry Farrell, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Sonic Youth, Patti Smith, Metallica and many more – tour founders, promoters, stage crews, record label execs, reporters and roadies, Lollapalooza chronicles the tour’s pioneering 1991-1997 run, alternative rock’s rise, and the reverberations that led to a massive shift in the music industry and music culture at large. From the festival’s groundbreaking origins, through the decade of tours, and to the action onstage, backstage and behind-the-scenes, here you’ll find detailed, uncensored and sometimes shocking first-person accounts of a vibrant rock revolution.

The Infinity Machine | Sebastian Mallaby | $39.99 | Penguin Long before the current obsession with AI, Denis Hassabis founded the path-breaking company DeepMind in order to pursue his dream of artificial superintelligence that could solve humanity's hardest problems, change our lives and work, and even unlock the deepest mysteries of the Universe. He won a Nobel Prize in 2024 for his work in science, and his company, now Google DeepMind, is considered the tech giant's engine room. Here, Sebastian Mallaby interviews Denis, his inner circle, his detractors and rivals in a revelationpacked portrait of a singular mind.

Rainbow Trap | Kevin Guyan | $29.99 | Bloomsbury Looking across six systems – including the police and the recording of hate crimes; dating apps and digital desire; and DEI initiatives in the workplace – Rainbow Trap documents how inclusive interventions have tried to bring marginalised communities out of the shadows. Yet LGBTQ people seem to be expected to locate themselves in a growing list of classifications and labels to 'make sense' to the very systems they are seeking to access. This need catches LGBTQ communities in a rainbow trap, because when we look beyond the welcoming veneer of inclusive interventions, we uncover sorting processes that determine what LGBTQ lives are valued and what queer futures are possible.

The World After Gaza | Pankaj Mishra | $26.99 | Penguin Random House Pankaj Mishra takes the war in the Middle East, and the bitterly polarised reaction to it, as the starting point for a reevaluation of two competing narratives of the last century – the West's account of victory over Nazi and communist totalitarianism plus the spread of liberal capitalism, and the global majority's frequently thwarted vision of racial equality. As the world's balance of power is shifting, and a long-dominant Western minority no longer commands the same authority and credibility, Mishra reckons with the fundamental questions posed by our present crisis: Do some lives matter more than others? Why are identity politics built around memories of suffering? Why are racial antagonisms intensifying amid a farright surge in the West? The World After Gaza is an indispensable moral guide to our past, present and future.

Screw Nice | Amy Remeikis | $34.99 | Hachette The imbalance between those in power and those who oppose injustice is growing. We are told to 'keep things nice', 'be polite' and 'keep our voices down'. To be heard, you must follow the rules – even though these depend on your income, religion, social status or gender. Now, as wars kill hundreds of civilians, domestic violence surges and politicians reinvent history, the politics of civility is a tool used by those in power to suppress marginalised voices.

When lies are treated as truth, the only thing we can do is speak up … and screw nice.

Honeybees | Mary Trumble & Henry Fried | $34.99 | Hardie Grant Mary and Henry devote their lives to honeybees. Bees sustain entire ecosystems, make modern agriculture possible, and uphold biodiversity that supports countless other species, but hives are under pressure across the globe. The good news is that we can help!

Blending science, storytelling and advice, this book shows you how to support bees and contribute to a healthier, more sustainable planet.

Auden | Peter Ackroyd | $39.99 | NewSouth Auden is one of the most significant poets of the 20th century. This new biography explores the evolution of his poetic voice in tandem with his shifting beliefs – Existentialism, Marxism, Freudianism and AngloCatholicism – that reflect the intellectual climate of the last century. Auden's work reveals both public and personal histories, and Ackroyd brings to life the poet’s turbulent era and inner conflicts.

The Knowledge | Victor Steffensen | $34.99 | Murdoch Despite our growing climate crisis, many land management practices continue to destroy the land. As a Tagalaka man, Steffensen educates people around the world about Aboriginal fire and land management knowledge. Here, he shares the core belief underlying Indigenous knowledge systems: that humans are part of the natural world, and land is not something to be dominated and exploited. Rather, the way forward is to realign ourselves with the Earth and recognise our responsibility to care for the planet.

On the Hippie Trail | Rick Steves | $24.99 | Hachette In the 70s, the ultimate trip for any backpacker was the ‘Hippie Trail’ from Istanbul to Kathmandu. On his trek, Steves documented everything: jumping off a moving train, getting lost in Lahore and much more. The trip ignited his love of travel and broadened his perspective. These edited selections from Rick's journal include a 45-years-later reflection on how the trip changed his life.

A Training School for Elephants | Sophy Roberts | $26.99 | Penguin Random House 1879: King Leopold II of Belgium decides to plunder Africa by first controlling the country’s elephants (!), so ships four tame Asian elephants to the Congo to establish a training school for African ones. Roberts, following the route of the expedition, brings to life a cast of historic characters and modern voices, from ivory dealers to Catholic nuns. Vivid and poignant, this story grapples with our history of animal and human exploitation, and reveals an extraordinary tale of colonial greed, ineptitude, hypocrisy and folly.

NON-FICTION HIGHLIGHTS

The Queer Bookshelf | Layla McCay | $39.99 | Scribe This is your guide to an essential queer history, and to its contemporary flourishing. Drawing on the author's own journey as a queer reader and book club host, and packed with recommendations from authors, booksellers and book lovers around the world, The Queer Bookshelf is a celebration of the books that have helped generations of LGBTQ+ people find themselves on the page.

KIDS HIGHLIGHTS

The Mushroom and the Flower | Sally Soweol Han | $26.99 | Thames & Hudson I am the mushroom with the coolest hat. No one else has a hat like mine.

In a peaceful forest, a bright pink mushroom loves being the centre of attention. Can she learn how to share the spotlight when a flower begins to grow beside her? From an award-winning author-illustrator comes this story about giving friendship time to bloom.

Murder at Hotel Marvelo | Ruth Lauren | Illustrated by Federica Frenna | $16.99 | Allen & Unwin Hotel Marvelo is famous for allowing all magical beings a place to relax, rest and recover in safety. Until, that is, the wizard Henry Gravelaxe, is discovered dead in the spa. But who is the murderer? As soon as his parents are blamed, Finnian Marvelo knows that he must do everything he can to clear their names …

Once Upon a Time in the Woods | Anthony Browne | $29.99 | Penguin Once upon a time, three boys, wandered deep into the woods and came across a little cottage …

At first they are curious, but soon they start to tease the inhabitant, with surprising consequences...

Exploring bullying, peer pressure and making assumptions, this new tale from legendary children’s book author Anthony Browne weaves an empathetic moral among stunning artwork and thoughtful storytelling.

Thornbird | E. Kennedy |$22.99 | Harper Collins Ryan Shipley is back in Tennessee. It’s been ten years since her serial-killer father was caught. No one can know the truth about Ryan’s past, but old secrets refuse to stay buried. Eerie coincidences and a chilling note leave everyone wondering: does Ryan know more than she’s letting on? As the truth unravels, it becomes clear that in a town full of secrets, Ryan might be the biggest mystery of them all.

The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers and Other Gruesome Tales | Jen Campbell | $21.99 | Thames & Hudson Campbell's stories undo the gender- stereotyping and twee endings of children's fairy tales to return both classic and little-known stories to their grim versions, while celebrating a diverse range of characters.

Heartstopper Volume 6 | Alice Oseman | $24.99 | Hachette Everyone in school knows Nick and Charlie.

Everyone knows they're going to be together forever. But Charlie's busy with his bid to become head boy. And while Nick is preparing to leave for uni, he's starting to wonder who he'll be… without Charlie.

More than 10 million people worldwide have loved this LGBTQ+ graphic novel series about life, love and everything that happens in between. This latest release is the final chapter in the series – and promises to be a real heartstopper!

Dragons and Other Creatures of the Sky | Celeste Cortright | Illustrated by Giulia Orecchia | $34.99 | Peribo This gorgeous board book will take you into realms inhabited by dragons, fairies and all flying fantastical creatures. This joyfully interactive book features mystical riddles about each creature, and will have readers both young and old guessing at each turn of the page, before the answers are cleverly revealed. – Angus

Shakespeare in the Orchard | Danielle Binks | $17.99 | Hachette This gripping coming-of-age story will open up conversations. Set in Tasmania during WWI, young Jack Thorning helps run his family's orchard.

Soon, internment camps are set up nearby with ‘enemy aliens’ – German and Austro-Hungarian prisoners. When the ‘aliens’ are put to work on the local farms, Jack is against the idea. However, as he moves among these displaced people, he realises that they are hurt and frightened, too. This book explores the things that separate us and those that bring us together, and shows that art and theatre can transcend boundaries. – Teddy F., 11 yrs

Really Rubie: A Diary | Maddie Frost | $16.99 | Walker Books The true middle school experience – awkward, DRAMATIC and really fun! – comes to life in this hilarious, diary-style series featuring colour-lined pages and black-and-white illustrations. Rubie has to face camp without her BFF! Hello, summer! The trauma is real! You’ll fall in love with Rubie, a wonderfully hilarious, socially uncomfortable tween, as she navigates relationships, friendships and relying on herself.

The Frumpling | Jo van der Borgh | Illustrated by Jo Beasley | $25.99 | Walker Books Last year, these two amazing talents gave us The Terrakeet, one of my favourite picture books. Now comes The Frumpling – and what a triumph it is. With Van Der Borgh’s wonderful rhyming phrases and Beasley’s gorgeous Dr. Suess-esque illustrations, this is a must for kids, parents and grandparents to share together. – Robert

KIDS PICKS

Where Am I From? | Yvonne Sewankambol | lllustrated by Ronojoy Ghosh | $25.99 | Walker Books In this story, a mother answers her child's profound question of where they are from. Rather than pointing to a single spot, she reveals that they come from a beautiful mix of places and cultures.

Sewankambo is an Ugandan-Canadian-Australian author who writes from a truly global perspective. Paired with Ronojoy Ghosh’s stunning illustrations, we are given a joyful, colourful celebration of our interconnection with the global community.

– Adina

STAFF PICKS

I Made This Just For You | Chris Ames| $34.99 | Ultimo Press/Hardie Grant Chris Ames truly understands the short story as a form, and I Made This Just for You exhibits one of its great provocations: violent and compulsive introspection.

There’s something to be said about the efficiency of a form that in about 10 pages can make you want to scream in your kitchen, utterly called out. Ames’s characters struggle for authenticity when they would more comfortably be performative, lean on absurdism in the face of dystopia, and slip-slide frictionlessly in the digital world in sharp contrast to the ‘real’, whatever that is.

The one-step-forward, one-step-back pacing of the book makes perfect, bewildering sense of the ‘now’: ‘She has a way of speaking that I can neither fathom nor deny. It sounds like nothing; it sounds smart.’

– Leona

Worry Doll | Laura McPhee-Browne | $29.99 | Scribe Heloise is living with her long-term boyfriend in a house his parents own. Lacy is going through the motions of love and intimacy. One day in Naarm, the pair meet and begin a passionate, short-lived love affair. Worry Doll steeps us in Heloise and Lacy’s inner worlds: McPhee-Browne captures Heloise’s stifling, hot stickiness of obsessive desire and the allencompassing vocation of her yearning; with Lacy, she explores how desire lingers. An unsettling, compulsive read perfect for those looking for a novel with some good old yearning and obsession to sink their teeth into.

– Caro

Grace | A. M. Shine | $32.99 | Bloomsbury An ancient evil has awoken off the coast of Ireland. Weaving together Irish mythology and gothic horror, A. M. Shine creates a twisty tale of damp despair and isolation. The descriptions of the setting really was what impacted me the most – craggy, wet, dank, destitute and thick with an atmosphere of eerie mystery. There’s a delightful cast of local characters harbouring dark secrets amongst the clash of Christianity and folklore. A spooky read for the darker, colder winter hours.

– Ruby

Contrapposto | Dave Eggers | $34.99 | Allen & Unwin David Eggers’s latest book Contrapposto is worth the wait. The two main characters, Cricket Dib and Olympia Argyros, want to change the world for the better. It is a wild and beautiful novel about friendship, art, life and the complexity of friendship over the decades and the decisions we make. Eggers’s phrases are sharp and wistful in the right places, especially when the two main characters get older. It will make you look at your own friendships and how important they are, and cherish them.

– Dan

Billie King | Shannon Kelly White | $34.99 | HarperCollins Wild, rambunctious Billie grows up against the backdrop of poverty, alcoholism and a complex family history involving a female bushranger and a missing mother. At 15, she’s bursting to break free from the confines of her Catholic school, find her mother and keep together what's left of her broken family. This wickedly funny coming-of-age debut centres around three fearless Australian women whose resilience, humour and heart will make you laugh and cry. Perfect for anyone who loves a good Aussie fic with lots of wild stories about the big, beautiful outback!

– Vevie

The Distance of a Shout | Michael Ondaatje | $34.99 | Penguin Random House Through poems that grow out of his profound understanding of the subtle complexities of life and relationships, of how we lose and find ourselves, Ondaatje navigates his own past.

Beginning with memories of his childhood in Sri Lanka and his eccentric family, to his life in rural southern Ontario, to celebrations of treasured friends and the close ties of children, this collection offers us a glimpse into the life and art of one of the most cherished poets and novelists of our time – and is itself a reminder of the power of great poetry to shine a light on living.

Unsafe | Karen McCarthy Woolf | $22.99 | Bloomsbury A disenchanted walk through the afterlives of colonialism across London and LA, Unsafe illuminates the effects of capitalism on those who live at its sharp end. Situated in the midst of a reckoning with a politics of enclosure, Unsafe is an immersive meditation on place, the body, nature and the self. Whether it's via tattoos, trees or the totemic quality of cats, McCarthy Woolf pulls us into the processes of gentrification and class division with an immediacy that makes them impossible to ignore. A moving, critical and highly intuitive epic weaving together poetry, documentary and lyric essay, Unsafe is an interrogation of what it means to be a citizen, and a testimony to the remaining spaces we can call free. after war | Dženana Vucic | $24.99 | University of Queensland Press after war is an unwavering exploration of brutality and its consequences, moving adroitly between personal experience and the written record to plumb the 'after' and ongoingness of war, genocide and displacement. Unfurling from the Bosnian war and its traumas, this searing debut examines identity and un/belonging; language and its elisions; history and how we remember it; violence and how we are implicated in it.

Through experiments in form and voice, Vucic's deeply humane poetry bears witness not only to suffering, but to courage and strength. Generous and incisive, this extraordinary collection refuses both to look away or submit to despair; it compels readers not to either.

Little Alleluias: Selected Works | Mary Oliver | $36.99 | Hachette For the many admirers of Oliver's breathtaking poetry of touch and transcendence, Little Alleluias will be a revelation. These works observe, search, pause, astonish and give thanks to love and the natural world. Oliver has the rare skill of rendering existence, inviting us to walk through her minutes, her moments, and revere the light and dark and rainbowed clothes of the world alongside her.

Three books collected in one, Little Alleluias offers readers the peace that every life deserves.

A SPOTLIGHT ON POETRY

The Deer Woman | Susan Fealy | $27.99 | Black Inc/Upswell Publishing If a deer woman could speak, what would she say? The Deer Woman opens portals into this mystery, gazing at the urban, the darkness within and the earth under the deer woman’s feet. From surrealist feminist reinventions to the mystery of a bowerbird set loose by the sea, the unsettled borderlands of these poems are never fixed. Hybridity opens possibilities: it is mask and site of experiment, tethered to liminal spaces and the natural world. This collection is attentive to the close-up, the distant, the monsters above and below ground, the delights and pain of connection. It travels towards blooded histories, perils, beauty and finitude.

UPCOMING EVENT HIGHLIGHTS: JULY The Good Sea Author Talk with Associate Professor Vannessa Hearman Thursday 2 July at 6.30pm at Better Read I Made This Just For You Launch with Chris Ames Thursday 23 July at 6.30pm at Better Read Juicy Launch with Sheree Joseph Thursday 30 July at 6.30pm at St Stephen’s Church, Newtown For more information, to find out what else is on this month and to RSVP, head to www.betterreadevents.com

creative WRITING In The cotswolds WITH kate forsyth COTSWOLDS, ENGLAND 25 Sept - 3 Oct 2026

Cover Art by Rebecca Goodlud