Books

A snake, an octopus and the near death of Johnny Ramone. The almost true account of the 1977 New York City blackout.Set in the 1970s, the story's capstone is the 1977 New York City blackout. Ray the snake is a sad, lonely, middle aged insurance salesman...

In this thought-provoking and timely examination, academic and writer Michael Wesley asks what Australians really think and how they feel about our universities, and where to next?In 1964, Donald Horne wrote in his classic The Lucky Country that, in a...

Exploring dislocation and longing, Sarah Krasnostein dives into Peter Carey's literary tour de force, True History of the Kelly Gang, in this latest offering from the stunning Writers on Writers essay series.Award-winning writer Sarah Krasnostein shines...

Why a First Nations Voice to Parliament is a 'constitutional moment' that offers a new vision of AustraliaAt Uluru, an invitation was issued to the Australian people. With the upcoming referendum, the nation will decide whether to accept that invitation...

The music and mayhem behind the seminal sounds of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Models, The Go-Betweens, Hunters & Collectors, Cold Chisel, The Saints, The Cruel Sea and so many more'The most obsessive, single-minded character I've ever seen, outside...

From its early settler days and Federation to the extreme literary censorship of the 20th century, from the 2017 Marriage Amendment Act to present-day morality and identity politics, it's tempting to ask- is 'fun-loving, laid-back' Australia actually a...

A violent and senseless crime committed against an innocent citizen, and a father's desire 25 years later to speak directly to others who have lost a child or experienced similar grief to help in the necessary recovery back into their lives.Ciara Glennon...

I Had a Father in Karratha tracks a daughter's epic undertaking to honour her father while cleaning up his mess and, ultimately, laying him to rest. This is a fly-in fly-out marathon about commitment, responsibility, doggedness and love.What happens when...

Making history visible through one of the most vibrant and distinctive art movements in Australia, this book illuminates the community drive and the individual artistic decisions that have resulted in a body of breathtaking paintings.The Spinifex people...

A startling, vibrant, radical new form of desert art arrived in Papunya Tula in 1971, anchored and inherited in ceremony; stimulated by the twentieth century and painting onto canvas.The course of Australian art changed in 1971. Kaapa Tjampitjinpa, Tim...

On a chance visit to Palm Springs, the author was immediately drawn to the desert gardens and the beautiful lines of the modernist houses from that post-war era.On a chance visit to Palm Springs, the author was immediately drawn to the desert gardens and...

Tom, our narrator, is a stranger in an intellectual community whose members experience the world by wondering how things are made and how they might be made differently.Instead of characters undergoing dramatic changes, Tom's life in this world is...

The inspiration for a Netflix series starring Celeste Barber, Wellmania is an in-depth, entertaining, laugh-out-loud-funny exploration of wellness culture.Now with a new preface by the author.Cold-pressed juices, quitting sugar, Paleo, hot yoga,...

From the author of The Oak Papers, a beautiful meditation on how to foster a profound and healing spiritual communion with the natural worldFor thousands of years, our ancestors held a close connection with the landscapes they lived in. They imbued it...

In January 1972, five women took to the stage of Carlton's Pram Factory to preview their women's play Betty Can Jump.Claire Dobbin, Helen Garner, Evelyn Krape, Jude Kuring and Yvonne Marini mocked the ocker character beloved by Pram Factory playwrights,...

Can anyone smell the suffering of souls? Of sadness, of hell on earth? Hell, I imagine, has a smell that bloats into infinity. Has a nasty sting of corpses. What was it Dante wrote? Abandon Every Hope is a lament, an elegy, a deranged encyclopedia, and...

Like To The Lark is a poetic Back to Mine that is diverse in form- from sonnets to new forms invented by Barnes, and in inspiration, from popular culture to classical mythology. Framed by conversations with famous artists, this collection fearlessly...

Ruwanmali Samarakoon-Amunugama's childhood memories of visits to her parents' homeland in Sri Lanka were filled with colourful trips to the market, lively, happy meals with her extended family, and long, scenic car rides from the capital of Colombo, past...

A gift of an essay that illuminates the literary talents of two of Australia's greatest writersIn this beautifully written personal essay, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Geraldine Brooks offers readers brilliant insights into the work of one of...

This is the much anticipated follow up book to Beaumaris Modern- Modernist Homes in BeaumarisIn reality, the first Beaumaris Modern book, featuring Mid Century Modern houses of Beaumaris just scraped the surface of what was out there. And, fortunately,...

Paulie Stewart AO is an Australian rock legend. He's also a legend of the movement advocating for the freedom of East Timor and West Papua.In this tell-all, highly entertaining memoir, we read how Paulie channelled his anger from the murder of his...

The 90s was a magical time for Australian music. Record labels had money to spend, the Big Day Out and Triple J went national and suddenly everyone was getting a 3-piece together and gigging in the inner-city pubs of their town. Sound as Ever is a...

An unprecedented look at the lived experience of mental health in creative work, as told by writers, comedians and public figuresWe are full of worlds that can't be contained by a pill.This groundbreaking collection documents the state of mental health...

A brilliantly entertaining, full-colour collection of words and pictures by Melbourne's favourite cartoonist, Oslo DavisOslo Davis has a complicated relationship with Melbourne- the fear of living anywhere else is pretty much the only thing keeping him...

With both drollness and acuity, Sally Olds takes us into worlds we may not have ever visited before. In these sometimes alien spaces she explores and reports on everyday intimacies and vulnerabilities.This book is about working and not working, hating...

A revelatory biography of Harold Holt, the prime minister who helped create modern AustraliaHarold Holt was a pivotal prime minister in Australian history. Ambitious, modern and telegenic, he helped bring his party and nation into the late twentieth...

Economist and Labor MP Daniel Mulino explains how the Australian welfare state was created - and what we need to do to protect and extend itThe welfare state is one of the crowning achievements of the twentieth century, giving citizens access to...

'Russell Marks unravels a national tragedy. From the front line he delivers a first-rate, firsthand account of how so many First Nations people end up in jail, again and again.' -Patrick Dodson, Labor Senator for Western Australia Indigenous Australians...

A collection of bold new writing capturing Melbourne's identity in cinemaMelbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is Australia's most revered celebration of cinema. It is one of the world's oldest and most storied film festivals, continuously running...

A vivid and original account of the age of vaudeville in Australia and the eccentric women who gave it life.Whip-smart and fabulously funny, the women of vaudeville entertained Australia and challenged ideas of how women should behave. Opening a...

Why beautiful clothes in natural fibres are the answer to fashion's climate crisisIn this superbly written book, fashion insider Lucianne Tonti looks beyond sustainable fashion to a future remade by natural fibres. An exploratory dive into the art and...

Exquisite and challenging essays on the wonders of the natural world and the cultural complexities of writing landscape in AustraliaA collection of beautiful and moving essays on the wonder of the natural world and the cultural complexities of writing...

A beautiful work of the imagination, straddling history, memory, trauma and testimonyIn 1917, a young composer writes a suite of twenty pieces for piano. Each pass by like a gust of wind. They are short, violent and strange - the music of another world...

Is the US-Australia alliance now based on a fantasy?In this gripping essay, Hugh White explores Australia's fateful choice to back the United States to the hilt in opposing China. What led both sides of politics to align with the US so absolutely? Is...

Introducing a major new Australian literary voice - an unforgettable memoir of the complicated love between a mother and daughter'Easily the most vivid memoir I have ever read' -Sebastian Smee'I am sitting at my father's desk, waiting to call Intensive...

A luminous account of largely unrecognised experiences in the aftermath of war.This is not a war story about heroism or healing trauma, but an attempt to fill the gaps in a family story in the wake of the Vietnam War and re-animate a father never really...

Susan Varga's memoir covers a varied life across seven decades, circling between Australia and Europe, activism and seclusion, everyday life and the writing life.This compelling memoir of Susan Varga's life spans seven decades and circles between...

Can we build moral machines? Toby Walsh, AI expert, examines the ethical issues we face in a future dominated by artificial intelligence.Artificial intelligence is an essential part of our lives - for better or worse. AI can be used to influence what we...

A gripping account of Melbourne's unsolved Easey Street murders, now updated with new interviews and insightsSummer in Melbourne, 1977. Two young women are viciously murdered. The killer has never been found.Forty-five years ago, Suzanne Armstrong and...

A masterful portrait of a major Australian writer, her incandescent poetry and her battles to be heard in a male-dominated literary establishment.Winner of the 2023 National Biography AwardThe first biography of Gwen Harwood (1920-1995), one of...

How can Australia recalibrate its national security settings to meet future demands amid global disruption? Plicy expert Allan Behm offers practical ideas, imbued with optimismIs increased defence spending all that Australia needs to ensure its national...

In her exquisite poems, Marjon Mossammaparast explores the physical experience of being human, bound to four dimensions, matched with the belief we are also spirit beings.And to Ecstasy is a poetic journey through space and time, projecting a...

How can we mend Australia's broken mental health system?Mental illness is the great isolator - and the great unifier. Almost half of us will suffer from it at some point in our lives; it affects everybody in one way or another. Yet today Australia's...

The final, posthumous collection of poems from Australia's unofficial poet laureateIn a poetic gift from beyond the grave, Les Murray left a trove of last poems. These are poems he was working on up to his death, as well as work uncovered from his...

The first major anthology by parents with disabilitiesHow do two parents who are blind take their children to the park? How is a mother with dwarfism treated when she walks her child down the street? How do Deaf parents know when their baby cries in the...

Tennant Creek and Australia's Unresolved PastWinner of the 2022 Australian Political Book of the Year Award'A drily elegant, bracing work from a pained and open heart' -Helen Garner'Refreshing and original. A unique window on Australia's past and its...

The definitive guide to the world's most contested regionUPDATED WITH A NEW INTRODUCTIONWhat we call a part of the world is totemic- a mental map that guides the decisions of leaders and the story of order, war and peace. The Indo-Pacific is thus a...

An illuminating and entertaining history of the law's treatment of animalsTrespassing bees, murderous zebras, reasonable cows ... Ever since biblical times, animals have been clashing with human laws.In Guilty Pigs, animal law experts Katy Barnett and...