What Am I Reading?
Common Places – Gillian Hagenus
The eclectic, strange, beguiling collection of short stories COMMON PLACES (UQP 2026) won the Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer at the 2025 Queensland Literary Awards. Author Gillian Hagenus has a history of involvement with short story festivals,...
The Graduate – Rebecca Lim
Rebecca Lim’s THE GRADUATE (Affirm Press 2026) is an original and fast-paced psychological thriller and mystery suspense. The plot is an iceberg: so much going on under the surface narrative. The main protagonist, new law graduate Fei Fei Chou, is a compelling...
The Waiting Place – Megan Jacobson
The YA novel THE WAITING PLACE (Hachette 2026) by Megan Jacobson is a compelling and imaginative read for both young people and adults alike. With a unique premise, a fast-paced plot, superb characterisations, and themes of connection, belonging, grief, loyalty,...
How To Kill A Guy In Ten Dates – Shailee Thompson
Who knew (not me) there is such a crossover Venn Diagram in traits between slasher movies and rom-coms? In HOW TO KILL A GUY IN TEN DATES (Simon and Schuster 2026), debut author Shailee Thompson indulges in two of her favourite genres: slasher/horror/bloody crime...
Tenderfoot – Toni Jordan
Nobody writes 1970’s Queensland, specifically Brisbane, better than Toni Jordan. In her new novel TENDERFOOT (Hachette 2025) she immerses the reader in a time machine, transporting us right back to the tastes, smells, sounds and eccentricities of the decade formative...
A Short History of Longans – Mirandi Riwoe
Author Mirandi Riwoe’s latest novel A SHORT HISTORY OF LONGANS (UQP 2026) once again showcases her extraordinary literary style, her lilting and evocative prose, her intimate characterisations, her ability to paint an enormous multigenerational portrait, her carefully...
Sisters in Arms – Sarah Cochrane Ridout
A good book keeps the reader entertained with lively prose, interesting characters and an intriguing plot. A great book does all this but also conveys information and facts, encourages discussion and provides readers the opportunity to learn something or to see the...
Mantle – Romy Ash
Romy Ash’s second novel MANTLE (Ultimo Press 2025) explores our natural environment, community, isolation, fear, infection, love, desire, death, decay, ends and beginnings. MANTLE is full of contradictions: it is lovely literary prose yet highly engaging and...
Two Tongues – Maria van Neerven
Maria van Neerven’s stunning and beguiling debut collection of poetry, TWO TONGUES (UQP 2026) is charmingly naïve in form and style, yet devastatingly profound in content and themes. This slim collection celebrates Blak history and contemporary culture, raises an...
The Hurt – Catherine De Saint Phalle
Author Catherine De Saint Phalle composes thoughtful, meditative, introspective words that come together into works of great insight and profound curiosity, whether it be fiction or non-fiction. THE HURT (Transit Lounge 2026) is a memoir of a transformational time in...
Yeah The Boys – Holden Sheppard
YEAH THE BOYS (Pantera Press 2026) is author Holden Sheppard’s much anticipated sequel to his award-winning novel INVISIBLE BOYS, and while you can definitely read this one as a standalone, your experience will be much richer if you’ve read INVISIBLE BOYS first. Same...
When The Cranes Fly South – Lisa Ridzen
For fans of characters like Ove (Fredrik Backman) and Olive (Elizabeth Strout), the elderly Bo, and his dog, Sixten, are your new obsession. WHEN THE CRANES FLY SOUTH (Penguin Random House 2025) by debut author Lisa Ridzen (translated from Swedish by Alice Menzies) is...