Cirrus@Austlit

'Some passions just can't be tamed ... Brynn thought she'd be chasing her dreams, not chasing dogs, when she set off on the adventure of a lifetime.

'When Bigambul woman Brynn Wallace leaves Brisbane to pursue her dreams in the Big Apple, she imagines herself landing a fabulous career at a New York City publishing house and acquiring shelves of Louboutin shoes, not working in a doggy daycare with a boss from hell and a wardrobe from her nightmares.

'Yet good things are always possible in New York, especially when you believe in them hard enough. And Brynn has a collection of NYC Missions to set her on her way- challenges from her mother, whose death she is still getting over, to help Brynn rejoice in the city that never sleeps.

'Brynn soon finds herself making meaningful friendships, engaging in flirty flings, and meeting the gorgeous Sienna, also known as dancer Scarlett Belle. And when she stumbles on a handsome, single dog-dad who just happens to be a literary editor, she decides that if she can convince him she's more than just a dog-sitter, her dreams will finally come true. But Sienna has other plans, and as Brynn's NY ride begins to stall, the city shows her just how full of surprises it is.' (Publication summay)

'From the bestselling author of Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams) comes another groundbreaking historical novel about resistance, resilience and love during the frontier wars.

'Miinaa was a young girl when the white ghosts first arrived. She remembers the day they raised a piece of cloth and renamed her homeland ‘Bathurst’. Now she lives at Cloverdale and works for a white family who have settled there.

'The Nugents are kind, but Miinaa misses her miyagan. Her brother, Windradyne, is a Wiradyuri leader, and visits when he can, bringing news of unrest across their ngurambang. Miinaa hopes the violence will not come to Cloverdale, but she knows Windradyne is prepared to defend their Country if necessary.

'When Irish convict Daniel O’Dwyer arrives at the settlement, Miinaa’s life is transformed again. The pair are magnetically drawn to each other and begin meeting at the bila in secret. Dan understands how it feels to be displaced, but they still have a lot to learn about each other. Can their love survive their differences and the turmoil that threatens to destroy everything around them?

'Anita Heiss is breathing new life into the Australian historical epic. Dirrayawadha (Rise Up) shows the resistance leader Windradyne as the remarkable figure he was and surrounds him with fascinating figures otherwise lost to history. With irresistible imagination and verve, as well as a deep desire for truth telling, Anita Heiss’s novels are re-peopling our past.' (Publication summary)

''You can't enslave us all, Captain!' I yelled into his face. 'We will resist, and you will die a beaten man. Our Blackfellows will rise...'

'From the acclaimed author of the Miles Franklin longlisted Madukka: The River Serpent (UWA) and the Barbara Jefferis Award shortlisted Benevolence, Compassion continues Julie Janson's emotional and intense literary exploration of the complex and dangerous lives of Aboriginal women during the 1800s in colonial New South Wales, which she began in Benevolence as a counter narrative to colonial history in Australian literature.

'Compassion is the dramatised life story of one of Julie Janson's ancestors who went on trial for stealing livestock in New South Wales, and it is an exciting and violent story of anti-colonial revenge and roaming adventure. A gripping fictive account of Aboriginal life in the 1800s, Compassion follows the life of Duringah, AKA Nell James, the outlaw daughter of the Darug hero of Benevolence, Muraging.' (Publication summary)

'Her best friend is dead.

Emma and Ariella, neighbours in one of Sydney's most exclusive suburbs, appear to have it all - perfect homes, perfect husbands, perfect lives. But they both know dark secrets lurk beneath the surface and shallow waters can't hide Ariella's. Now she has been found murdered.

'Her daughter filmed the killing.

Not knowing what she's filmed, Emma's daughter Kiki innocently uploads footage of Ariella's brutal death. Emma fears the worst - the killer will know what she and Kiki have seen. Their safe suburban lives no longer exist.

'Her husband knows more than he's revealing.

Emma's husband Charles forces the family to leave their perfect life and escape on their yacht. His dangerous plan to flee means Emma is trapped and desperately seeking answers. What are they hiding from? What did Ariella have to confess? And who else knows Emma's own secret?

'Her secret isn't safe and neither is she.' (Publication summary)

'A sharp-edged semi-futuristic riff about a rebellious teenager’s last week at an industrial orphanage.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A young autistic woman finds her voice and a path toward justice in this uplifting short story about the power of family history by Thomas Keneally, award-winning author of Schindler’s List.

'When Alison Strange receives a debt claim she can’t afford to pay from the Australian government’s unemployment office, she’s caught completely off-balance. As she wrestles with a slippery bureaucracy, her history-loving grandfather bolsters her resolve with the story of their ancestor John Strange, an English cobbler who was banished to Australia for his part in a political movement. Drawing inspiration from John’s life, Alison finds her own unique way to demand a future that’s fair for all.

'Thomas Keneally’s Alison’s Conviction is part of A Point in Time, a transporting collection of stories about the pivotal moments, past and present, that change lives. Read or listen to each immersive story in a single sitting.'  (Publication summary)

'Your wife is a liar.

'Has your wife told you the truth yet?

'Do you know who Claire really is?

'Lenny has always known that his wife, Claire, is the love of his life. But somehow his marriage is in shambles, he’s struggling with the kids, and a string of anonymous text messages are tormenting him, insisting that Claire is a liar.

'Claire knows Lenny is a good man, but there’s a lot she hasn’t told him about her past. Now she’s terrified that the horrors that haunt her are about to put her entire family in danger.

'Strange new neighbours, insidious clients and schoolyard scandal begin to fracture Claire and Lenny’s happy families façade. As secrets are revealed and pasts uncovered, the lies will be exposed and everyone's lives will change forever. 

'A gripping suburban thriller from the bestselling author of Beneath the Shadows and The Hush.'(Publication summary)

'From orphanage to prison, the story of Mirii is a heartfelt, brutal, funny, and diverse story about when corporate interests overwhelm human rights, and what happens to children when they bloom in the darkest of places.

'Fast-paced, gritty and original, the Orphancorp series confirms Marlee Jane Ward as one of Australia’s best YA authors.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'I know your world is feeling grey but it won’t always be this way. And everyone alive can say they’ve felt the way you do today.

'We all have bad days, and bad days do pass.

'From creative superstars Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys comes a message of hope that we can depend upon and live by: bad days pass, and no matter what happens, we are deserving of love. An uplifting and healing book that every family needs in an era of overwhelming change.' (Publication summary)

'Mirii has been caught — along with the friends who were helping her find her partner, Vu.

'Being in prison is just like her revisiting her childhood in Orphancorp — only worse. Under the beating heat of a desert sun, the prisoners fight for food, water and a safe place to sleep.

'Our heroine begins to question her urge to fight back and rebel as all it seems to do is lead her and the people she cares for deeper into trouble.

'Fast-paced, gritty and original, Prisoncorp is the final instalment in the Welcome to Orphancorp trilogy. It confirms Marlee Jane Ward as one of Australia’s best YA authors.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Having barely made it out of Orphancorp alive, Mirii is on a mission to find the most important babe in her life, Vu. Vu has been taken to ‘Psynode’, a secret facility operated by the megacorp Allnode.

'After wrangling her way into the Allnode warehouse as a picker, Mirii meets Rowe, the daughter of one of Allnode’s execs, who may just be the perfect person to help her with the mission.

'But life at Allnode is far from cushy and Mirii has to battle her way through the dangers of her new job, the corps that she knows are watching her and get to Vu before it’s too late.

'Fast-paced, gritty and original, Psynode follows on from Welcome to Orphancorp, winner of the 2016 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Young Adult fiction and confirms Marlee Jane Ward as one of Australia’s best YA authors.' (Publication summary)

'When Indigenous lawyer Jasmine decides to take her mother Della on a tour of England’s most revered literary sites, Jasmine hopes it will bring them closer together and give her mother an inspiring break from the difficult life she has endured.

'Twenty-five years earlier the abduction and murder of Jasmine’s sister shocked and broke their tight-knit community in northern NSW. The legacy of losing their sister and daughter follows Jasmine and Della as they visit the homes of English literary greats such as Thomas Hardy, the Brontë sisters, Jane Austen and Virginia Woolf, with Jasmine hoping to escape the challenges of the life she has carved for herself and Della, reflecting on the rich stories of her own life and people.' (Publication summary)

'The false cold of the theatre makes it hard to imagine the heavy wind outside in the real world, the ash air pressing onto the city from the nearby hills where bushfires are taking hold.

'The house lights lower. 

'The auditorium feels hopeful in the darkness. '

'As bushfires rage outside the city, three women watch a performance of a Beckett play.

'Margot is a successful professor, preoccupied by her fraught relationship with her ailing husband. Ivy is a philanthropist with a troubled past, distracted by the snoring man beside her. Summer is a young theatre usher, anxious about the safety of her girlfriend in the fire zone.

'As the performance unfolds, so does each woman's story. By the time the curtain falls, they will all have a new understanding of the world beyond the stage.' (Publication summary)