Media Bites September 2023

SEPTEMBER 2023 - FICTION

The Visitors JANE HARRISON On a steamy, hot day in January 1788, seven Aboriginal men, representing the nearby clans, gather at Warrane. Several newly arrived ships have been sighted in the great bay to the south, Kamay. The men meet to discuss their response to these visitors. All day, they talk, argue, debate. Where are the visitors from? What do they want? Might they just warra warra wai back to where they came from? Should they be welcomed? Or should they be made to leave? The decision of the men must be unanimous – and will have far-reaching implications for all. Throughout the day, the weather is strange, with mammatus clouds, unbearable heat and a pending

The Love Contract STEPH VIZARD

www.harpercollins.com.au

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Can she (pretend to) love her neighbour? An award-winning modern rom-com for all fans of fake dating, enemies-to lovers stories. I didn’t know the guy next door. And given he was now my daughter’s manny, and my fake boyfriend, I needed to find out. Single mum Zoe has to return to work but there’s a childcare drought and she can’t find anyone to look after little Hazel. Enter Will, Zoe’s nemesis and frustratingly handsome neighbour. When Will’s boss mistakenly assumes Will is Hazel’s father and insists he take parental leave, it seems like a simple white lie could get Zoe out of a jam and help Will to make partner at

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Professor Davis was a member of the Prime Minister’s Referendum Working Group, the Referendum Engagement Group and the Constitutional Expert Group. Professor Davis was also a member of the Prime Minister’s Referendum Council in 2017 and the Prime Minister’s Expert Panel on the Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Constitution in 2011. She designed the deliberative dialogues and chaired the Referendum Council’s sub-committee for the First Nations Regional Dialogues and the First Nations National Constitutional Convention in 2017. Since 2017 she has been director of the Indigenous Law Centre at UNSW. Professor Davis is a globally recognised expert on Indigenous peoples’ rights. She was an expert member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (2011-2016) and an expert member and Chair of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous peoples (2017-2022). In 2022 she was a co-recipient of the Sydney Peace Prize for the Uluru Statement From The Heart. Professor Megan Davis OUR VOICES FROM THE HEART

Patricia Anderson AO OUR VOICES FROM THE HEART

Patricia Anderson is an Alyawarre woman known nationally and internationally as an advocate for the rights and health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Ms Anderson is Chair of the Lowitja Institute and has extensive experience in Aboriginal health, including community development, policy formation and research ethics. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2014 for distinguished service to the Indigenous community as a social justice advocate, particularly through promoting improved health, and educational and protection outcomes for children. Ms Anderson was Co-Chair of the Referendum Council that released its Final Report in 2017 and has since led the work of the Uluru Dialogue in partnership with the ILC UNSW. She is a member of the Albanese Referendum Working Group and the Referendum Engagement Group.

thunderstorm... Somewhere, trouble is brewing. From award-winning author and playwright Jane Harrison, The Visitors is an audacious, earthy, funny, gritty and powerful re-imagining of a crucial moment in Australia’s history – and an unputdownable work of fiction. Released: 30/08/23 TPB | 304pp AU $32.99 NZ $36.99 Imprint: 4th Estate blakandbright.com.au/artist/jane-harrison/

his law firm. But life with an adorable toddler – and a growing attraction between Will and Zoe – is never as tidy as their agreement’s bullet points and dry clauses suggest. As they get deeper into the lie, the lines between truth and fiction blur. But Zoe’s hiding a secret and when it comes out, the consequences for all of them could be devastating. Released: 30/08/23 B+P | 336pp www.stephvizard.com

Steph Vizard is an Australian writer and lawyer. After studying literature at Oxford University, she worked in publishing in London. Her debut romantic comedy, The Love Contract , won the 2022 HarperCollins Banjo Prize. She is a connoisseur of salt and vinegar chips and lives with her family in Melbourne. Steph Vizard THE LOVE CONTRACT

THE VISITORS Jane Harrison

AU $22.99 NZ $26.99 Imprint: HarperCollins

Jane Harrison is descended from the Muruwari people and is an award-winning playwright, author and festival director. Her first play, Stolen , was performed across Australia and internationally for seven years. Her young adult novel Becoming Kirrali Lewis won the 2014 Black & Write! Prize, and was shortlisted for the 2014 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards.The stage play of The Visitors was a smash hit at the Sydney Festival in 2020, and the Sydney Theatre Company’s production of the play will take place in late 2023.

FICTION

A Haunting in Venice: Hallowe’en Party AGATHA CHRISTIE The inspiration for A Haunting in Venice – now a major motion picture. When a Hallowe’en party turns deadly, it falls to Hercule Poirot to unmask a murderer… During a night of party games, Joyce Reynolds boasts that she once witnessed a murder. No one believes her, but then she is found drowned, face down in an apple-bobbing tub. Set against a night of trickery and the occult, Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver must race to uncover the real evil responsible for this ghastly murder. Hallowe’en Party is the sensational Agatha

The Library of Broken Worlds ALAYA DAWN JOHNSON A girl matches wits with a war god in this kaleidoscopic, epic tale of oppression and the cost of peace, where stories hide within other stories, and narrative has the power to heal… or to burn everything in its path. In the winding underground tunnels of the Library, the great celestial peacekeeper of the three systems, a terrible secret lies buried. As the daughter of a Library god, Freida has spent her whole life exploring the Library’s ever-changing tunnels and communing with the gods. Her unparalleled access makes her unique – and dangerous.

A Bakery In Paris AIMIE K. RUNYAN

Cult CAMILLA LÄCKBERG & HENRIK FEXEUS A thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last! A kidnapped boy… A young child is snatched in broad daylight outside his nursery. Nobody in charge sees a thing, but the other children say a Detective Mina Dabiri calls on her close friend Vincent to untangle the puzzle that surrounds the kidnapped boy. As he finds a link between the boy and other others who have gone missing, it becomes clear that time is running out for everyone involved …. A looming threat… Meanwhile, Mina’s estranged daughter gets caught up in the secretive world of Epicura, a shadowy organisation that claims to be a centre for leadership development. Can Mina protect her child – a child who doesn’t even know she exists? From the author of The School for German Brides , this captivating historical novel set in nineteenth-century and post–World War II Paris follows two fierce women of the same family, generations apart, who find that their futures lie in the four walls of a simple bakery in a tiny corner of Montmartre. 1870: The Prussians are at the city gates, intent to starve Paris into submission. Lisette Vigneau – headstrong, willful, and often ignored by her wealthy parents – awaits the outcome of the war from her parents’ grand home in the Place Royale in the very heart of the city. When an excursion throws her into the path of a revolutionary National Guardsman, Théodore Fournier, her destiny is forever changed. She gives up her life of luxury to join in the fight for a Paris of the People. She opens a small bakery with the hopes of being a vital boon to the impoverished neighborhood in its hour of need. When the city falls into famine, and then rebellion, her resolve to give up the comforts of her past life is sorely tested. 1946: Nineteen-year-old Micheline Chartier is coping with the loss of her father and the disappearance of her mother during the war. In their absence, she is charged with the raising of her two younger sisters. At the hand of a well-meaning neighbor, Micheline finds herself enrolled in a prestigious baking academy with her entire life mapped out for her. Feeling trapped and desperately unequal to the task of raising two young girls, she becomes obsessed with finding her mother. Her classmate at the academy, Laurent Tanet, may be the only one capable of helping Micheline move on from the past and begin creating a future for herself. Released: 30/08/23 TPB | 384pp AU $32.99 NZ $35.00 Imprint: HarperCollins aimiekrunyan.com woman is the culprit … The police find a link …

Christie novel that inspired the brand new feature film directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh. This special edition is introduced by its screenwriter, Michael Green. Released: 30/08/23 BPB | 288pp www.agathachristie.com

When Freida meets Joshua, a mortal boy desperate to save his people, and Nergüi, a Disciple from a persecuted religious minority, Freida is compelled to break ranks with the gods and help them. But in order to do so, she will have to venture deeper into the Library than she has ever known. There she will discover the atrocities of the past, the truth of her origins, and the impossibility of her future… With the world at the brink of war, Freida embarks on a journey to fulfill her destiny, one that pits her against an ancient war god. Her mission is straightforward: Destroy the god before he can rain hellfire upon thousands of innocent lives – if he doesn’t destroy her first. A sparkling, thought-provoking new offering from World Fantasy Award-winning author Alaya Dawn Johnson. Released: 30/08/23 TPB | 448pp alayadawnjohnson.com

AU $22.99 NZ $25.00 Imprint: HarperCollins

AU $29.99 NZ $32.99 Imprint: Magpie Books

Released: 30/08/23 TPB | 592pp AU $32.99 NZ $35.00 Imprint: HarperCollins

FICTION

FICTION

One Day We’re All Going to Die

Daisy and Kate MEREDITH APPLEYARD

Nineteen Steps MILLIE BOBBY BROWN Love blooms in the darkest days… London, 1942. Despite the raging war, spirited 18-year old Nellie Morris lives a quiet life in the tight-knit East End community of Bethnal Green. Her family and friends all tease that she will marry air raid warden Billy, the boy next door who’s always been sweet on her. The arrival of Ray, a handsome American airman stationed nearby, causes Nellie to question everything she thought she knew about her future.

The Witch Is Back SOPHIE H. MORGAN

ELISE ESTHER HEARST At 27, Naomi is just trying to be a normal person. A normal person who works at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, who cares for lost things, found things, sacred things and her family. A person who finds herself going on bad blind dates, having cringe-worthy sex, a tumultuous, toxic affair, and falling for a man called Moses. Being a normal person would be easy and fine if she didn’t bear the weight of the unspoken grief of Cookie, her Holocaust-survivor grandmother. It would all be fine if she just knew how to be, without feeling the pull of expectation,

Love is a hex of a thing. There’s nothing wrong with being a wallflower. Not to Emmaline Bluewater, anyway. Emma may have been born into witch society, but her days of trying to fit in where she doesn’t belong are over — they ended seven years ago, when the man she’d hoped to marry left town without a word. She’s much happier now, living a delightfully mundane human life in Chicago and running her bar, Toil and Trouble.

Friendship lost and found again. Jealousy destroyed their friendship decades ago, but now they need each other more than ever ... Once upon a time Daisy Miller and Kate Hannaford were the best of friends, sharing the woes of shift work and nursing, the delights of days off together in their small country town, and the joys of blossoming romances. They couldn’t imagine not being the best of friends. Until they weren’t.

Until Bastian Truenote walks through the door and announces that he wants her back.

Now bearing down on their 70s, life hasn’t gone the way either woman expected. Daisy is back in town, homeless and reduced to couch-surfing at her granddaughter’s place. Meanwhile, a recently widowed Kate is facing the harsh reality that the home and lifestyle she worked so hard for is hollow comfort when there’s no one to share it with.

Nellie’s newfound happiness is short-lived when a tragic accident occurs during an air raid. Even the closest family can’t escape the devastation of war, and as the secrets and truth about that fateful night become clear, they threaten to tear Nellie – and those dearest to her – apart.

the fear of disappointing others (men, friends, her parents, humanity), and that pesky problem of being attracted to all the wrong people (according to her parents, anyway).

sophiehmorgan.com.au

Released: 30/08/2023 BPB |368pp AU $22.99 NZ $24.99 Imprint: HQ

By endlessly trying to please everyone around her, Naomi can’t seem to figure out what she wants for herself, or how to get it. With echoes of the dead and dying all about her, in objects, in story, in her grandmother’s firm grasp, Naomi isn’t quite sure she knows how to be a normal person, but she is going to try.

Released: 30/08/23 TPB | 416pp AU $32.99 NZ $34.99 Imprint: HQ

meredithappleyard.com.

Inspired by the true events of her family history, Millie Bobby Brown’s dazzling

Released: 02/08/23 TPB | 384pp AU $32.99 NZ $34.99 Imprint: HQ

Released: 30/08/23 B+P | 320pp AU $29.99 NZ $32.99 Imprint: HQ

FICTION

FICTION

OCTOBER 2022 – NON-FICTION SEPTEMBER 2023 – NON-FICTION

The Revels STACEY THOMAS The stage is set and the witch-hunt is about to begin… ‘I am no witch. I have not sold my soul to the devil for powers. What I am has never openly been whispered of, yet it is enough that people would hang for it.’ England, 1645. After his half-brother dies, aspiring playwright Nicholas Pearce is apprenticed to Judge William Percival, an infamous former witch-hunter who is under pressure to resume his old profession. In a country torn apart by civil war, with escalating tensions between Catholics and Protestants, Royalists and Roundheads, and rumours of witchcraft, Nicholas hides a secret: the dead sing. He hears their secrets, but will he find the courage to speak up to save innocent lives, even if it means putting himself in great danger? A spellbinding debut novel perfect for fans of Stacey Halls, Laura Purcell and Bridget Collins.

Our Voices From The Heart PATRICIA ANDERSON, AO & PROFESSOR MEGAN DAVIS

Hope - How Street Dogs Taught Me the Meaning of Life NIALL HARBISON Most people think I save dogs, but really they saved me. Niall Harbison is a dog hero based in Thailand. He spends his days feeding, caring for and rescuing the many street

A behind-the-scenes book about the Uluru Statement From The Heart, from the co-chairs of the Uluru Dialogue, Professor Megan Davis and Patricia Anderson, AO. The Australian story began long before

dogs he comes across. With every rescue there’s a story. Like the sweet gentle McMuffin who was found with many tumours and hours from death, only to be nursed back to health. She now lives with Niall and is a popular member of the pack. Then there is King Whacker – who escaped a vicious attack and is now ruling the nest living up to his name as the king of the all good dogs. And who could resist the puppy eyes of little Rodney, the beautiful dog with big paws who is melting millions of hearts around the world. Originally from Dublin, Niall was the owner of a successful advertising company. After selling it, he moved to Thailand where his addictions – drugs and alcohol – almost got the better of him. One day he woke up in hospital, close to death, and realised that something had to change. And that was what spurred him on to start saving and helping street dogs. His aim is to help 10,000 street dogs. This is his story. Released: 30/08/23 B+P | 320pp

the arrival of the First Fleet. We Australians all know this. We have always known this.

Australia finds itself standing on the edge of a 60,000-year-old precipice. The Uluru Statement From The Heart respectfully asks for First Nations people

to finally be given a Voice – but what path led us here? The story of the twelve Regional Dialogues and the Uluru National Constitutional Convention has never been told. It is a yarn borne from centuries of struggle, full of vision, determination and courage. These community gatherings, led and attended by fifteen hundred everyday First Peoples, represent the largest ever consultation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in history. The unanimous result was the Uluru Statement From The Heart, and its call for Voice and Makarrata. Our Voices From The Heart is the official celebration of the grassroots campaign that guided us to this inspiring moment in Australia’s history. It is a profound call to action for the nation, but is also an offering of peace and unity that recognises the past and reconciles it with the truth. Filled with powerful never-before-seen photography and helpful information to share with friends and family alike, this book charts the world’s oldest living civilisation’s ongoing fight for constitutional recognition and is destined to become a treasured keepsake for years to come. It’s time, Australia. History is calling. Released: 20/09/23 NSH | 192pp ulurustatement.org

Released: 02/08/23 TPB | 432pp AU $32.99 NZ $34.99 Imprint: HQ

The Lie Maker LINWOOD BARCLAY

In this twisty thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Take Your Breath Away, a man desperately tries to track down his father – who was taken into witness protection years ago – before his enemies can get to him.

Your dad’s not a good person. Your dad killed people, son. These are some of the last words Jack Givins’s father spoke to him before he was whisked away by witness protection, leaving Jack and his mother to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives.

AU $32.99 NZ $37.99 Imprint: HarperCollins

Years later, Jack is a struggling author, recruited by the U.S. Marshals to create false histories for people in witness

Released: 30/08/23 BPB | 384pp AU $32.99 NZ $32.99 Imprint: HQ

AU $39.99 NZ $45.00 Imprint: HarperCollins

FICTION

NON-FICTION

Well-Dressed Dogs

When Life Sucks DR JO PRENDERGAST

The Great Aussie Barbecue Cookbook

TASTE.COM.AU

Welcome to Well-Dressed Dogs , a photographic collection of the world’s most stylish pups, from the creative minds behind Dog Photog. Get ready to sit, stay and smile as you flip through pages filled with pooches of all shapes and sizes decked out in fashion-forward looks to suit any HEATHER LIGHTON & DANIEL AULSEBROOK

Legendary recipes for families and year-round entertaining. Nothing brings our nation together like a good barbecue. It’s no lie we are at our happiest when we are charring, searing or roasting anything from meat and seafood to vegies and fruit. In this extensive cookbook, you will experience the thrill of the grill as never before as the taste food team introduces you to a range of exciting barbecue dishes to impress guests or feed the family in a flash. Roast a whole chicken, steam fish, sear the perfect steak, grill marinated skewers and even char a salad - if it’s any good under the hood, you’ll find a recipe right here. Along the way you will pick up tongfuls of tips and master rubs, sauces and marinades to help your chosen protein and vegies sing with flavour. Every one of these recipes is tried and tested, plated and rated, guaranteeing your great Aussie barbecues are always a huge success and the envy of the neighbourhood.

A first-aid manual for supporting your teen’s mental health, by psychiatrist and comedian Dr Jo Prendergast. When Life Sucks is an essential guide to supporting your teen’s mental health. As a parent and psychiatrist, Dr Jo knows how hard it can be – especially if a teen communicates only in eye rolls and grunts! Covering everything from anxiety,

occasion, from catwalk to classroom. And every photo and accompanying caption is unique, just like every dog. It’s a paw-some keepsake for dog lovers everywhere and guaranteed to have you barking with joy. Perfect for fans of Menswear Dog , Tiny Gentle Asians and The Quokka’s Guide to Happiness.

depression, trauma and eating difficulties, to understanding

www.taste.com.au

Released: 30/08/23 NSP | 256pp AU $34.99 NZ $39.99 Imprint: HarperCollins

neurodivergence and gender identity, this book is a first-aid manual for some of life’s toughest challenges. It’s not easy being a parent in a world of TikTok and bubblegum-flavoured vapes, but When Life Sucks gives you the practical tools to help make your life a little lighter and to support your teen towards a healthy headspace.

Sound Bites ED LE BROCQ Ed Le Brocq invites you to come on a journey with him through a living tradition that spans a millennium - the tradition of Western classical music. Have you ever wondered where our music comes from? How did we arrive here, a place where we can have a hundred musicians on stage executing the wildest rhythms, a singer performing the most heartbreaking of melodies, or a solitary pianist playing an instrument that weighs half a tonne? How did the melodies and harmonies we listen to today, right now, come about? Ed Le Brocq invites you on a journey through a living tradition that spans millennia: the tradition of Western classical music. With Ed, you will roam its magnificently bendy path, from the Mesopotamians to the mediaeval age to music composed just last week by Australia’s most creative minds. You will discover how notes from the Indus Valley influenced the development of scales by Pythagoras and his mates in Ancient Greece, finding their way through the Romans into church music of the Middle Ages, and why some of those notes were banned. You’ll find out how the invention of clocks changed rhythm, how pianos changed society, which composer was afraid of the number thirteen (and why we should be a little afraid of his music) and which composer had two skulls in their grave. This canter through the development of one of humankind’s greatest achievements will delight and exhilarate you and have you listening to music with fresh ears.

Released: 30/08/23 NSH | 144pp AU $19.99 NZ $22.99 Imprint: Harper by Design

Released: 30/08/23 TPB | 320pp AU $34.99 NZ $37.99 Imprint: HarperCollins

www.drjoprendergast.com

www.taste.com.au

Released: 20/09/23 NSP | 240pp AU $34.99 NZ $39.99 Imprint: ABC Books

NON-FICTION

NON-FICTION

SEPTEMBER 2023 – CHILDREN’S & YA Ash Barty - Champion

Bosh! Meat: Delicious. Hearty. Plant-based.

Bunny and Bird - How to Hatch a Dragon

HENRY FIRTH & IAN THEASBY

ASH BARTY

Mighty, meaty meals that will impress and delight your tastebuds.

It’s a tennis story. It’s a family story. It’s a teamwork story. It’s the story of how I got to where and who I am today. My story is about the power and joy of doing that thing you love and seeing where it can take you, from the first time I picked up a tennis racquet as a young girl in Queensland to the night I packed up my tennis bag at Melbourne Park after winning the 2022 Australian Open. I’m the girl who worked through self-doubt, homesickness and a break from the sport to realise my tennis dreams, winning Wimbledon and ranking number 1 in the world. Maybe my story will inspire you to follow your dreams - I really hope it does.

NICK BLAND

Bunny and Bird are best friends. When Bunny buys Bird a present, Bird is surprised to receive an egg. But it’s no ordinary egg. It’s a dragon’s egg. While the egg hatches, the two friends learn that if the dragon is blue, it will make a fantastic pet. But if it’s yellow, they’re in trouble ... From Australia’s bestselling picture-book creator, Nick Bland, comes a new series that celebrates friendship and fun.

Satisfy all your meat cravings, adopt a new way of thinking about food without ever compromising on taste and flavour.

Sunday Times bestselling authors Henry Firth and Ian Theasby show you how to cook delicious dishes that feel and taste like meat, but are in fact 100% plant-based.

Learn to cook chilli cheeseburger nachos, lobster rolls, duck pancakes in your very own kitchen. Whether it’s a quick midweek dinner or an impressive party feast, eat meat without the carbon footprint. I very much hope this book will help and inspire you. I look forward to sharing this new journey with you. We can all thrive and live fearlessly. With practical fashion, beauty, health, and life advice, everyone will be able to transform their self-confidence, to look and

Released: 30/08/23 NSH| 32pp AU $24.99 NZ $26.99 Imprint: HarperCollins

Released: 30/08 NSH | 256 pp

feel great in a holistic and inspiring, yet achievable way.

AU $22.99 NZ $24.99 Imprint: HarperCollins

www.bosh.tv

Released: 20/09/23 NSH | 288pp AU $44.99 NZ $49.99 Imprint: HQ

Copycat KELLI-ANNE HAWKINS There are some things about Seagull’s Nest that 11-year-old Skye Starling likes ... Egg sandwiches (tick) Admiral Mittens (her cat) who’s always trying to get her attention (tick) Writing mystery stories about star detective Red Fox (tick) Spying on suspicious townsfolk with her new friend Bailey (tick) The Annual Squawk Awards (tick) and there are some things she doesn’t like at all ... Winston, the Mayor’s chicken (he pecks!) (cross) Her freshly finished novel being stolen (cross) ThecrimesinhernovelhappeninginREAL IFE!(cross) Everyone in the town acting suspiciously (cross) Being the only one who can find the real criminal! (cross cross cross!) Will Skye uncover the crime wave culprit in time to save the town?

Released: 30/08/2023 BPB| 128pp AU $16.99 NZ $18.99 Imprint: HarperCollins

NON-FICTION

CHILDREN’S

In My Garden KATE MAYES AND TAMSIN AINSLIE In our gardens are where we belong. Planting, watching, growing, dreaming. In our gardens something out of nothing comes. Join children from around the world as they share their gardens, from blossoming flowers in Japan to the waterside of Malawi, the frozen landscape of Iceland to the bush tracks of Australia. These are the places they love and the places they belong. With uplifting lyrical words and stunning detailed pictures from bestselling duo, Kate Mayes and Tamsin Ainslie.

Christmas Days in the Sunshine

That’s Not My Monster...

Creeping Beauty ANDREA PORTES

Babies and toddlers will love exploring the fuzzy, bumpy and fluffy tactile patches, as well as spotting the little white mouse in this colourful board book. There’s lots to look at and talk about, which will help to develop language, as well as sensory development.

BYLL AND BETH STEPHEN

Bitsy is no one’s ideal princess. She’s heard it all: that it’s a shame she’s so plain, so lacking in grace. That the best thing for her to do is simply wait (and wait some more) and hope some prince will grant her a happy ending. Then Bitsy pricks her finger and falls down... down...down. Into a world where cutthroats and con artists are more common than curtsies. Where no one ages and everyone is beautiful. Where an inscrutable evil rests at its core. A land where Bitsy’s fate and her future are solely in her own hands, and neither are what she expects.

Every year in December Christmas lights go up ‘round here.

I wait up late till it’s darker to see them in the moonlight. From Byll and Beth Stephen, the writers behind the ABC TV musical sensations Teeny Tiny Stevies, comes a celebration of summer and the joys of an Australian Christmas.

Released: 30/08/23 NSH | 32pp AU $32.99 NZ $34.99 Imprint: HarperCollins

Released: 30/08/23 BOA | 10pp AU $14.99 NZ $16.99 Imprint:Usborne

Released: 06/09/23 NSH | 24 pp AU $22.99 NZ $24.99 Imprint: ABC Books

Released: 30/08/23 B+P| 368pp AU $19.99 NZ $16.99 Imprint: HarperCollins

Millie Mak the Maker ALICE PUNG AND SHER RILL NG Nine-year-old Millie Mak has discovered that she has a superpower: she can take everyday objects and turn them into something new, beautiful and useful. Who would ever think that a sunhat could be made from an old bedsheet, a skirt from a tea towel, or some hair scrunchies from a scarf? Join Millie and her friends in this joyful and timely series about true friendship and creativity. Like Millie, you can make the special objects that she creates. And, best of all, nothing needs to be bought! An inspiring series for young and old makers everywhere, by the award-winning author-illustrator team Alice Pung and Sher Rill Ng.

How The Grinch Lost Christmas DR SEUSS

The Grinch has grown to LOVE Christmas, so when the Grinch sees a poster for Who-ville’s Christmas tree contest, he has an awfully crafty idea - he will show off his new festive spirit by making the tallest, most spectacular Christmas tree the Whos have ever seen! But when things don’t go as planned, will the Grinch return to his grinchy ways, or can one special Who remind him of the true meaning of Christmas? Celebrate the season alongside all your favourite characters with this sequel to the timeless classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Released: 30/08/2023 NSH| 40pp AU $24.99 NZ $26.99 Imprint: HarperCollins

Released: 30/08/23 CHB | 288pp AU $22.99 NZ $24.99 Imprint:HarperCollins

CHILDREN’S

CHILDREN’S

Out of the Blue JASON JUNE

Crest is not excited to be on their Journey: the month-long sojourn on land all teen merfolk must undergo. The rules are simple: Help a human within one moon cycle and return to Pacifica to become an Elder - or fail and remain stuck on land forever. Crest is eager to get their Journey over and done with. Humans are disgusting. They’ve polluted the planet so much that there’s a floating island of trash that’s literally the size of a country. In Los Angeles with a human body and a new name, Crest meets Sean, a human lifeguard whose boyfriend has recently dumped him. Crest agrees to help Sean make his ex jealous and win him back. But as the two spend more time together, and Crest’s perspective on humans begins to change, they’ll soon be torn between two worlds. And fake dating just might lead to real feelings. . .

This sophomore novel from Jason June dives into the many definitions of the word home and shows how love can help us find the truest versions of ourselves.

Released: 30/08/23 B+P | 400pp AU $19.99 NZ $21.99 Imprint:HarperCollins

Only Children DAVID BADDIEL

MEET ALFIE… THE BOY WHO COULD DO WHAT HE LIKED! Alfie has a routine. To be honest he has a lot of routines. But then one day Alfie’s babysitter is unavailable, and Alfie’s parents get Mrs Stokes instead. Mrs Stokes doesn’t do routines. Instead, she just tells Alfie to do

what he likes. And that’s when things start to go weird. Does everything get hilariously out of control? Yes.

Does Alfie learn a valuable lesson? Nah. This isn’t that kind of story… DISCOVER CHRISSIE… THE GIRL WHO HAD NEVER BEEN ON A TRAIN!

Chrissie loves trains. She has train books, train pictures – and, of course, model trains. But Chrissie has never been on an actual train. In part, because Chrissie doesn’t find getting around as easy as other people. Then, Chrissie finally gets on a train, with her Grandpa Henry, to go down to ondon for an important operation. Her parents and Henry hope the journey will take Chrissie’s mind off things. And they’re right: but in a way they couldn’t possibly imagine. Because Chrissie’s trip from Scotland to London turns out to be quite literally magical – and changes her life forever. MARVEL AT ARIEL… THE CHILD WHO HAD NEVER BEEN ON HOLIDAY! Every year, Max, Lily and Jack are taken to Snoring-On-Sea for their holiday – quite possibly the most boring town in the world. There’s nothing to do and nothing to see – even the beach at Snoring-on-Sea is dull and grey.

Released: 30/08/23 BPB | 304pp AU $15.99 NZ $17.99 Imprint:HarperCollins

CHILDREN’S