Cirrus@Austlit

'Three friends travel to Marcoy, a regional town for a weekend away from family life. One year ago, a tragic incident splintered the group, and the women have seen little of each other since.

'Melissa has slept much of the past twelve months away, and she hopes this weekend will help her re-emerge from the depression she’s been living with. Bridie worries that she is not a good enough mother. She worries about most things, really, but she’s dealing with things just fine. At least that’s what she tells herself. In fact, she only agreed to this weekend away out of a sense of duty.

'What Cassandra really needs is a break, so she’s come away to forget it all, to enjoy a cab-sav and an open fire and the company of her long lost friends.

'This weekend is about reconnecting, about enjoying their friendship the way they used to, while not—at any cost—having to address the reason for the distance between them. But when they witness a young girl being coerced into a car by a man she fears, they are forced to reckon with the chasm of grief and trauma that’s kept them apart.

'Everywhere We Look explores domestic abuse, the dynamics of female friendship, and the danger that can hide in plain sight.'  (Publication summary)

'At seventeen, Maeve is naively single-minded about pursuing a life in the theatre. After a rigorous audition process, she secures a position at one of the most competitive drama schools in the country. Leaving behind the security of her childhood home in Queensland, Maeve moves to Melbourne and devotes herself to the course.

'The expectations of the faculty are made clear from the outset: to avoid failure, the process must be adhered to without question and, as the youngest student at the school, Maeve knows she must gain life experience in order to inhabit her roles. With the encouragement of her new classmates, Maeve explores the darker pockets of her personality, disastrously blurring the line between the characters she must play and herself.'

Source: Abstract.

'For Ava, heading to university in Sydney is her escape from a poverty-stricken upbringing. Her mother is long gone, her father able to provide love but little else. On the other side of the world, Laurie tolerates university only at the insistence of her father, a Marxist professor. Her mother died in childbirth, and Laurie dreams of freedom, far from the Cambridge cloisters.

'It is within these college grounds that Ava and Laurie cross paths. They could not be more different, and yet as each grapples with the lasting effects of losing a mother, their lives become entwined in ways neither could have anticipated.

'Alison Edwards' brilliant novel Two Daughters explores family, class, social justice and love with a large dose of wit, the occasional detour into darkness, but always with the heartbeat of hope.' (Publication summary)

'Sabine returned carrying a bag containing an effortless pair of Christian Wijnants fringed trousers and Ann Demeulemeeter Crinkle Nero boots. The sales assistant had agreed that the combination made Sabine looks exactly like an artist. 'A conceptual artist?' Sabine asked, and the sales assistant said, 'Or an actual artist.'

'Sabine is having a moment. Her new exhibition, Fuck You, Help Me, is opening soon and, as her gallerist says, 'hell is an artist three days before their exhibition opens'. But it's not only this coming milestone that is causing Sabine to melt down.

'She is being stalked. As exhibition day draws closer, so too does the man who has been watching her. As his approaches become more overt and threatening, Sabine's fear amplifies and transforms into something feral and primal. And then things start to get really strange.

'Darkly funny, intense and unsettling, Woo Woo is an astonishing and unflinching dissection of creativity and obsession, love and passion and vengeance and rage. Nothing will prepare you for this literary firestorm from the author of the internationally acclaimed debut New Animal.' (Publication summary)

'Lally has invested everything into her gallery in Manhattan and the sacrifices are finally paying off. Pat is a scholarship boy desperate to establish himself in Sydney's antiquities scene. When they meet at New York's Armory Show their chemistry is instant - fighting about art and politics is just foreplay.

'With an ocean between them they try to get back to work, but they're each struggling to balance money and ambition with the love of art that first drew them to their strange industry. Lally is a kingmaker, bringing exciting new talent to the world, so what's the problem if it's also making her rich? Pat can barely pay his rent and he isn't sure if he's taking advantage of his clients or if they are taking advantage of him, and which would be worse? Their international affair ebbs and flows like the market, while their aspirations and insecurities are driving them both towards career-ending mistakes.

'If love costs and art takes, what price do we pay for wanting it all? The Work is about the biggest intersections of life: of art and commerce, of intimacy and distance, of talent and entitlement, and of labour and privilege. Dazzling, funny and unforgettable, it is an epic and forensic exploration of modern love and passion, politics and power. The Work announces a brilliant new voice in Australian fiction.' (Publication summary)

'All Lorrie wants is to get promoted, accept her body and end global warming. By Friday. Is that really too much to ask?

'Council employee Lorrie Hope has a great partner, two adorable kids and absolutely no idea what to do with her life. This Friday, she’s hoping for change: it’s launch day for her big work project, and she’s applied for a promotion she’s not entirely sure she wants. Meanwhile, her best friend, Alex, is stuck in a mess involving Lorrie’s rakish ex, Ruben—or, more accurately, his wife. Oh, and Ruben’s boss happens to be the mining magnate Sebastian Glup, who is sponsoring Lorrie’s project...

'As the day spirals from bad to worse to frankly unhinged, Lorrie and Alex must reconsider what they can expect from life, love and middle management. The Opposite of Success is a riotously funny debut novel about work, motherhood, friendship—and the meaning of failure itself.' (Publication summary) 

'Accidental strangers or star-crossed lovers? Tom and Sophie are about to find out.

'Tom and Sophie have never met. 

'Tom is a music student and aspiring songwriter. He wholeheartedly believes in meant to be and, more specifically, in his turbulent relationship with a far more successful recording artist. Even when her sudden overseas tour threatens to upend everything.

'Sophie is an astrophysics PhD candidate. To her, the vast mysteries of the universe can be reduced down to cold, hard science. She knows there’s no such thing as fate or destiny, and not even the handsome undergrad assigned to her research project will change her mind.

'Sophie doesn’t know it, but she’s been orbiting Tom all year. 

'They might be destined for each other, if only their meet-cutes were not a series of near misses…' (Publication summary)