Cirrus@Austlit

'A story of enduring love and friendship, and bold wild women who refuse the dictates of their times.

'London 1833: The cast-out child of an aristocratic mother, Hannah 'Birdie' Bird is a laundry maid with a hidden past and a suspicion that the wealthy family she serves is hers.

'Longing for beauty and liberation, Birdie risks everything to change her circumstances. She falls into love and crime, committing an audacious heist. When she is betrayed, she finds herself swept into a wave of female convicts, transported to the ends of her known world.

'The journey to the early Australian settlement drives the women to deepest despair. Birdie finds wonder in even this darkest hour, and forms deep bonds with her fellow prisoners. But greater than even the trials onboard is the fear of what awaits them in Sydney Cove.

'What chance does Birdie have of beating the odds? Can she fight her way to freedom?'  (Publication summary)

'Oriane has a secret.

'Every morning she transforms into the skylark, and it is her song that brings the dawn. Seclusion has kept her safe, but Oriane craves freedom. One morning, Oriane chooses not to return to her human form and continues to fly, through the forest, and into the wild unknown. When she lands unexpectedly in the gardens of the royal palace she is taken in by the king and treated like a goddess and a prisoner. Unable to escape palace politics, Oriane yearns for the simplicity of her previous life. There is a growing danger in the royal city, and Oriane and her gift are at the centre of the intrigue. But within the whispers and intrigue comes an unexpected surprise: she may not be as alone as she thought. There may be another like her. The nightingale.' (Publication summary)

'From the author of The Mothers comes a propulsive family drama that explores the possibilities and dangers of designing the perfect child.

'In 2027, Emily is deciding whether to take advantage of a new health service that promises a healthier, stronger baby through gene editing. There's plenty in her family tree that she would like to protect her unborn child against.

'But not everybody loves the so-called designer baby technology.

'Decades later, Adelaide is an ambitious political staffer trying to make a difference. Adelaide and her husband are working towards a goal they've called The Cyprus Project, but their plans risk being derailed when an unexpected threat looms.

'Told across two generations, and two continents, Inheritance is about the legacies we leave our children, the bonds between mothers and daughters, and how it's never too late to fix our mistakes.' (Publication summary) 

'A couple moves to Far North Queensland looking for a fresh start, but can they escape their past? A page-turning domestic thriller for fans of Sally Hepworth and Liane Moriarty.

'On a cold, dark night, two cars collide …

'Inside the vehicle at fault, Jennifer Ashby survives with barely a scratch. In the wreckage of the second, the occupants are not so lucky. Jennifer's good character helps her escape jail, but she is traumatised by the event.

'Desperate for a change, and with her marriage buckling under the stress, she convinces her husband Jon to move to the beautiful but wild Daintree region, far away from family and friends.

'As Jon spends long hours at his new job and Jennifer makes plans to absolve her lingering guilt, cracks begin to form in their idyllic new life. Will the shadow of their past continue to haunt them? Will their dark secret be exposed?'   (Publication summary)

'So-called Australia is built upon a lie: that 97% of the population are human, and the others simply ‘Indigenous’, devoid of the same basic rights.

'Human? is the story of acclaimed Wik artist Ziggy Ramo’s experience growing up under the weight of this lie. We’ve had 236 years of continued destruction in the name of ‘civilised progress’, under an oppressive colonial system that punches down on almost everyone. We all deserve more. But to move forward we have to be honest about the past.

'Written on the precipice of becoming a parent, this is Ziggy’s offering for the future – an attempt to bridge a nation-wide knowledge gap, and start a new conversation. Prerequisite reading for anyone searching for a way forward, together.

'Human? is a book, an album and an exhibition by one of the most exciting voices of this generation. With his powerful debut, Ziggy asks: Would you still fight for human rights if it meant giving up your privilege?

'A groundbreaking, provocative call-to-arms.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'‘I think it was one of us,’ Walter says … ‘We had the perfect opportunity. Everyone’s thinking it, I’m just saying it.’

'The last thing Hallie and her drama classmates expect to find on a high school scavenger hunt is a dead body. In a town with a population of about thirty-six, no one has experience with murder investigations, but now everyone’s asking who killed Ms Lovelace.

'The drama kids thought they were the only people nerdy enough to be at school on a Sunday. When they learn that Adam Tolentino, football star, drama-club nemesis and the hottest boy in school, was there too, Hallie is given the task of finding out what he knows – but she soon learns there’s more to Adam than meets the eye.

'Although still grieving her favourite teacher, Hallie knows the show must go on. Managing a musical and a murder investigation is a lot, but Hallie and her friends won’t give up on Ms Lovelace – or each other.' (Publication summary)

'The fascinating true story of Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross, Sydney a quiet revolution in Australian history, from a side street of the red-light district.

'Alana Valentine's mother, Janice, was married by the charismatic and controversial Methodist minister Ted Noffs at the Wayside Chapel in 1969. Not long after that, however, Janice died, leaving behind many unresolved questions for her family. Years later, Alana found a photo of her mother on her wedding day, and the longing to speak to her about that day â" a day when her mother radiated hope for a new beginning â" drove her to seek out and find others who had begun new chapters of their lives at Wayside, an institution that is etched into the folklore of Sydney and this country more generally.

'As part of the research process for the play that was to become Wayside Bride, staged at Belvoir Theatre in 2022, Alana set up a website where people could upload stories and photos of their own marriages. This book contains many of the remarkable stories that didn't make their way into the play, stories that reshape our understanding of this country's social history, from a uniquely Australian institution where people have been welcomed for decades in spite of social taboos around race, class, religion and sexuality.' (Publication summary)

'A stunning debut novel from a bright new voice in Australian fiction in this deeply affecting portrait of a dysfunctional family.

'For the past seven years, Clare has been living in London. She works for a judge on child protection cases. Her partner, Miriam, is devoted to raising their young son, Rupert; their days are dominated by nap times, laundry, and hiding from each other.

'When Clare returns to Melbourne to visit her ailing father, another family crisis looms - her brother Max's long-term drug addiction. She turns her efforts towards helping Max into rehab, but is this at the expense of her family back in London?

'Moving, heartbreaking and insightful, Together We Fall Apart is a beautifully written novel about running away and coming home.' (Publication summary)
 

'150,000 adoptions took place in Australia between 1950 and 1975. It is estimated that one in 15 was forced. Proud Dhunghutti woman, laywer, human rights advocate and former midwife Lynda Holden tells her own heartbreaking story and of her fight for justice.

'In 1970, Lynda was eighteen, unmarried and pregnant when she was forced to give her baby up for adoption. She was sent by a doctor to a Catholic girls' home for unmarried mothers, and told she'd have no hope of keeping her child because she was Aboriginal.

'After twenty-six years, Lynda was finally able to make contact with her lost son – but the much wished for reunion didn't go well. When she looked into the adoption records, she found a web of lies – lies about her family, the baby's father, her 'consent' for the adoption – and her Indigenous heritage had been completely erased.

'So began a quest for justice: Lynda took on the Catholic Church in an attempt to right the wrongs of the past. In this incredibly powerful memoir, she sheds light on the lasting impacts of forced adoption on mothers, children and their families, and gives voice to the countless women who have been silenced for generations.' (Publication summary)

'Victoria Vanstone was trapped in a cycle of binge drinking and hangxiety. In this hilarious and heartfelt memoir, she charts her transition from party girl to parent, and how she eventually chose love over liquor.

'Victoria grew up in 1980s England in a happy home full of laughter, booze and a disturbing amount of fancy-dress parties. From her youthful days downing cheap wine at the local park to dodging disastrous relationships and a messy run-in with a firework, her reliable mate alcohol was never far from reach.

'Eventually, Victoria found herself in Australia with a husband and a child on the way. After sobering up for her first pregnancy, becoming a boring, bottom-wiping, cleaning machine meant she soon returned to her binge-drinking ways, and had to grapple anew with the habits and beliefs that had gone unchecked since childhood.

'Can a party girl put down the pint glass for good?

'Incredibly funny and highly relatable, A Thousand Wasted Sundays is for anyone that has ever had a close encounter of the drinking kind. For fans of Rosie Waterland, Judith Lucy, Dolly Alderton and Adam Kay.' (Publication summary) 

'Norm has lived in Norman his whole life. It's where he grew up with his dad, where he went to school and met his best friend Ella. But the town is dying - the river has dried up, and with it all the jobs.

'One night at the pub, on the anniversary of his dad's death, Norm announces a plan. He's going to build a Big Thing - like Coffs Harbour's Big Banana or Ballina's Big Prawn - to drive tourism to the town and give it a future. And to show Ella that she could have a future here too, maybe even with him.

'Ella, meanwhile, plans to leave Norman for the big smoke. She's tired of being a big fish in a small pond, especially when that pond is running out of water.

'Ella encourages Norm's big idea nonetheless. If it works, Norm will have a four-metre-high reminder of her. And if not, at least they'll have one last perfect summer together.' (Production summary)

'1983, Moscow
Twenty-one-year-old Ella dreams of stardom and playing Natasha Rostova in War and Peace at the Moscow Theatre Academy. One day when meeting her friend Vlad in the city, she finds herself in the middle of a protest and attracts the glare of the KGB.

'Labelled a traitor, she must withdraw from the academy and she soon yearns to escape the cruel and oppressive Soviet regime. However, her hopes of leaving the country are smashed when her husband Roman is sentenced to two years' labour camp for selling American jeans with the intent to make a profit.

'As she looks for another way out, Ella is drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a KGB general, who has the power to secure her freedom. Will she risk everything and leave behind those she loves to pursue a life in the West?' (Publication summary) 

'PI Edwina 'Ted' Bristol's latest case is proving complicated. Ballerina Giselle Terreiti is the target of a stalker, but she is also the ex-wife of Ted's good friend, swordcraft nemesis and cop Spike.

'While accepting the case is a win for the agency, Ted must distance herself from Spike without explaining why. As the stalker ups the ante, breaking into Giselle's house and leaving a disturbing message, Ted throws herself into the investigation, identifying three suspects. She must go undercover via the dating apps to locate her most promising lead, life coach Jarrod, who Giselle dated briefly. Meanwhile, Ted's sister Bob refers a curious case: Cecily is trying to find her husband, Pete, who has been missing for a year, presumed dead, after he failed to return home from a day out surfing. As Ted closes in on the culprit in the stalking case and Spike questions her friendship, a murder turns everything upside down ...' (Publication summary)

'Get ready to discover just how gross our universe really is.

'Learn the foulest facts about space, Earth, humans, animals and science that have been tested by real scientists, and even do your own gross experiments.

'Meet your guide, Slimon, who loves all things rotten, revolting, despicable and downright disgusting.

'Rate the facts yourself using the grossometer!'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The explosive conclusion to the Branded Season duology: two sisters harness their powers to fight for the people they love. But when those powers are capable of overturning worlds, love can be an uprising.

'Nara and her twin sister, Osha, have escaped the Citadel and the brutality of the Wastelands to arrive in the capital of Reis, home of the wrangler.

'The Shadow City is rife with political power plays, complicated by rumours of a long-awaited prophecy – the coming of a Pure healer with the ability to cure the Branded. With her healing powers growing ever stronger, all eyes are on Osha. But there are those in Reis who would kill to control her gifts.

'If she is to protect her sister, Nara must navigate new allies and old enemies in the Shadow City. That’s easier said than done when she’s caught between her first love and the man who’s stolen her heart but broken her trust. Worn down by lies and deception, Nara is forced to question who she truly is and what she can believe.

'One thing is becoming clear: she and Osha must learn to wield their powers to guard their freedom, but also to fight for what is right. With dark forces taking control across the continent, the Branded must rise to survive.

'The explosive, action-packed conclusion to the epic, high concept fantasy duology, The Branded Season.' (Publication summary)

'Journey back to the world of Medora to follow Alexandra Jennings and her friends – and enemies – for one last adventure.

'Spanning four years after the final book in Lynette Noni's #1 bestselling series The Medoran Chronicles, this is an epilogue like no other, full of laughter, tears, and above all, the unending power of friendship.'  (Publication summary)

'Urgent. Come tomorrow. Can't wait any longer

'Charli Trenthan plans to leave her hometown of Stone Lake. But when she receives a cryptic message from a member of the Sanctuary, a conservative closed community nestled in the forest, she is determined to find answers.

'A gruesome discovery soon lands Charli in hot water with the police, but how is the Sanctuary connected? As she digs deeper, dark secrets are uncovered and the fight to prove her innocence turns into a fight for her life.

'A gripping thriller with a shocking conclusion that will leave you spellbound, Deep in the Forest raises questions about who we trust and why.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Funny, touching uplit set in the Sydney restaurant scene. Bitter & Sweet will be Amal Awad's breakout book

'The lake in the middle of her father's kitchen is only the first in a series of disasters in Zeina's life. Nassar's recent health crisis has seen his well-established community restaurant, Casablanca, losing ground and customers to trendier competition.

'Casablanca's deterioration is not the only chaos in Zeina's world but, unlike her husband who won't speak to her, her best friend who is sliding towards self-destruction, and her cousin who is stealing Zeina's life story for content, the restaurant is something she can fix. And Zeina, lonely and adrift, needs something she can fix.

'Taking leave from her prestigious chef position, Zeina throws herself into caring for her ailing father, immersing herself in the familiar foods and flavours of her childhood, trying to save both him and his restaurant. But working in the kitchen and her childhood home brings memories, secrets, and unexpected ambitions simmering to the surface. When it comes time to make hard decisions, Zeina will have to accept that growing up is an ongoing process one that never gets any easier.' (Publication summary)