This annual award aims to shine a light on some of the outstanding titles produced by small and independent Australian publishers that, for whatever reason, did not receive their fair dues when first released. Organised by the Small Press Network (SPN), it has recently been sponsored by Booktopia.
Replaced from 2020 with the Small Press Network Book of the Year Award.
'Since the slaughter of her people, Ailia has been living, alone, in the forest. It is a time of deep healing and communing with the earth and its spirits - the Mothers. But now, Ailia has regained enough strength to return to the tribes, and rejoin the war.
'She goes to Llanmelin, a major tribal centre in southeast Wales, where the British war king, Caradog has been leading a bitter guerrilla campaign against the encroaching Roman army.
'Ailia and Caradog begin a passionate relationship - but as the Roman general Scapula becomes ever more determined to claim the rich roils of Wales, pressure mounts for a final battle that will determine the future of Britain.
'As the battle approaches, Ailia must use her powers to protect, forever, what is most sacred amongst her people. The future of Britain will depend upon her success.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
'The killing times were barely over in the Kimberley.
What I knew, even as a small boy, was that no-one argued with a whitefella. People talked in whispers.
I was still so small.
This is the story of the early years of my life. The story of a boy who was taken away from his mother and his family forever when he was just six years old. He had no say in it. His family had no say in it. The government had all the say in everything.
'A memoir of boyhood by a man who was removed as a child – from country, from culture and language, from family, from his mother.
'Filled with surprises and unlikely fun, this is more than just a story of surviving. From hiding out from the Japanese in spring-fed caves in the deep Kimberley, to being let loose in a paddock just like a poddy calf at Moola Bulla, to cowboy comics at the Beagle Bay mission.
'A story of white bosses, of priest bosses, of black stockmen and of staying out of trouble.
'With honesty and unexpected graciousness, Frank reminds us of a not-so-distant past and of how things happened for Aboriginal people in the North West.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
'While treating a patient with dysentery, Sister Annie Barnaby encounters a strain of lethal bacteria. As the invaders journey deep into her gut, the resident microbes must ght to survive. Annie’s life hangs in the balance. Enter the phage, a deadly predator, ready to wage war to protect their host.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
'The Grapple Annual is Grapple Publishing’s flagship publication. It’s a calendar-based anthology, always full of excellent prose, poetry, comics and art. Each will be a diverse collection, with contributors from all over Canberra, across Australia and around the world. Only 365 numbered and dated copies of each Annual are printed (366 in leap years). It’ll hook and hold you for the whole year.' (Publication summary)