FICTION

The FarmJessica Mansour-Nahra was a communications consultant and writer in Brisbane, London and Sydney, before tree-changing to a hamlet in Wiradjuri Country, where she lives with her husband and their beloved dog. Jessica holds degrees in history and law from The University of Queensland. The Farm is her first novel.

The Body FarmThe long-awaited new book from the critically acclaimed author of The Lightkeepers and The Wildlands- an intense and insightful collection that celebrates the horrors and joys of inhabiting our bodiesThe body cannot tell any lies. From birth to death, and through all the transitions in between, the body stores our knowledge and history, our feelings and experiences. Our betrayals. These insightful and empathetic stories, from the critically acclaimed author of The Last Animal, shine new light on our physical vessels set against our physical world, two landscapes irretrievably connected and altered over time.An entomologist solves cold cases and upholds a sense of justice by studying the decay of corpses in a field and the insect life they develop. A caregiver obsesses over a stained-glass lampshade to deal with the elegiac losses of Alzheimer's. A sister with webbed fingers highlights the often-universal belief that our siblings just might be creatures brought forth from the deep. The memory of a scent evokes the haunting legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic.These eleven stories display Abby Geni's great capacity to take us into the lives and experiences of others to scrutinize the physical self- birth, childhood, transition, mental health, trauma, aging, illness, love, sex, and death.

ElaineA brilliant portrait of motherhood, sublimated desire, and the reverberations of the Cold War in a novel that investigates and reimagines the life of the author's mother.

The Watervale Ladies' Writing And Firefighting SocietyIt's never too late to start over - sometimes all you need is a spark. In the tradition of Sophie Green, Joanna Nell and Tricia Stringer comes an absolutely sparkling, feelgood delight of a novel, where four very different women are thrown together in a creative writing course in the library of a small country town.When international lawyer Matilda 'Tilly' Marr is summoned back from London to a small town in South Australia's wine country, she expects to close a billion-dollar deal in a matter of days. Instead, she's handed an ultimatum: stay for a month and serve as the town's only solicitor, or watch the opportunity slip away. Setting up shop in the Beechwood Cafe, Tilly braces for a brief detour, but life in Watervale Downs soon proves to be anything but simple.Drawn into the orbit of three very different women - fierce matriarch Bev Jackson, fallen TV star Fenna de Vries, and warm-hearted librarian Jane Robertson - Tilly unexpectedly finds herself joining a local writing group and training with the country fire service. Slowly, friendships form, long-held secrets surface, and the rhythms of country life begin to change her in ways she didn't anticipate.As the season turns and challenges mount, each woman finds herself at a crossroads. Bev must confront a past she has kept hidden for sixty years, Fenna must decide whether she is ready to stop running, Jane must summon the courage to reimagine her future, and Tilly must ask whether the life she has built is truly the one she wants. And in the meantime, bushfire season is approaching and a day of reckoning is coming for them all.Sparkling, warm, heartfelt, wise, and irresistibly uplifting, The Watervale Ladies' Writing and Firefighting Society is a story of friendship, second chances, and the bravery it takes to begin again. For anyone who has ever felt stuck, adrift, or quietly wondered, 'Could there be more to life for me?', this novel will feel like an open door.'An uplifting story of friendship and being true to oneself ... a delightful dose of sunshine. I loved it' Tricia Stringer, Birds of a Feather'A charming and layered exploration of unexpected friendship, personal reinvention and the quiet strength of women who show up for themselves and each other ... [with] a satisfying emotional centre. A thoroughly enjoyable and easy-to-devour read' Books+Publishing

The Poppy FieldsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of the smash-hit The Measure— a runaway bestseller and a Read with Jenna TODAY Show pick— comes a stunning speculative story of healing, self-discovery, forgiveness, and found friendship."A masterful, tender exploration of love, loss, and the poignant echoes of memory... A profoundly moving read." —Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Daughters of Afong MoyWelcome to the Poppy Fields, where there’s hope for even the most battered hearts to heal.Here, in a remote stretch of the California desert, lies an experimental and controversial treatment center that allows those suffering from the heartache of loss to sleep through their pain...and keep on sleeping. After patients awaken from this prolonged state of slumber, they will finally be healed. But only if they’re willing to accept the potential shadowy side effects.On a journey to this mystical destination are four very different strangers and one little dog: Ava, a book illustrator; Ray, a fireman; Sasha, an occupational therapist; Sky, a free spirit; and a friendly pup named PJ. As they attempt to make their way from the Midwest all the way to the Poppy Fields— where they hope to find Ellis, its brilliant, enigmatic founder—each of their past secrets and mysterious motivations threaten to derail their voyage.A high-concept speculative novel about heartache, hope, and human resilience, The Poppy Fields explores the path of grief and healing, a journey at once profoundly universal and unique to every person, posing the questions: How do we heal in the wake of great loss And how far are we willing to go in order to be healed

Paper HeartPip’s world is small. But it’s about to become a whole lot bigger.For years she’s tucked away her dreams, shrinking herself into the space left behind – like the delicate origami she creates alone in her room.Then hope comes from an unlikely place: an astronomer from the local observatory. He teaches her to look up at the stars, and to see a world far bigger and more beautiful than she ever imagined.And perhaps in that big, beautiful universe there’s someone waiting for her. If she can find the courage to open her heart.Pip never stopped dreaming, but now it’s time for her to live – and maybe even to fall in love.'A lovely, transportive, deeply felt story. My heart grows a bit bigger each time I read a Cecelia Ahern book' Karin Slaughter'An immersive, sometimes heartbreaking, yet ultimately uplifting rollercoaster read. Her best yet' Patricia Scanlan‘A tender, moving story about second chances and the quiet courage it takes to hope again’ Louise O’NeillCecelia Ahern's book 'In a Thousand Different Ways' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2023-04-10

Loved One'THE FUNNIEST BOOK YOU'LL EVER READ ABOUT GRIEF' MAGGIE SHIPSTEAD'PERFECTLY CAPTURES THE MESSINESS, HEARTACHE AND BEAUTY OF GRIEF' RED MAGAZINE‘For years I'd known exactly who I was to Gabe. It was a long story but I could tell it confidently, like a bartender sharing a recipe for her signature cocktail. Now things were so jumbled, I didn't know where to begin…’When Julia’s first-love-turned-close-friend Gabe, a successful indie musician, dies unexpectedly aged 29, Julia is launched into an intercontinental quest to recover the possessions he left with friends and acquaintances across the world.The search for these items leads Julia to Elizabeth, the last woman Gabe loved, in an interaction that leaves Julia with more questions than answers. Both women, it turns out, have something to hide, and soon find themselves engaged in a complex dance of withholding and revelation.Together, the two must reconcile their conflicting memories of Gabe and who he was to each of them…and who they now are to each other.From the Emmy Award-winning writer behind Hacks and Parks and Recreation, Loved One is a wise, witty and profoundly moving coming-of-age story with a powerful love at its heart, set to become an instant classic.

CrowWhen gentleman farmer Harold Crow dies after routine surgery in rural Tasmania, his death exposes a web of forbidden love, secret offspring, and devastating betrayals that will tear two families apart. Local GP Dr David Boyd fears his secret affair with Harold will surface at the inquest. His wife Morven hides her own hurtful truth…Nurse Nathan Wentworth fears his malpractice may have killed Harold. But he's not the only one with blood on his hands.When Harold’s daughter Primrose comes home to Albert Falls for the funeral, she inherits more than her father's business – she inherits his secrets and has to confront harsh truths. As a marriage crumbles and alliances shift, the Boyd family will use any weapon to protect their lies and reputations. Set in the stunning landscape of Tasmania’s southern highlands, this blend of classic Australian family saga and medical intrigue brims with unexpected twists and turns, revealing Rhonda McCoy as a natural and cinematic storyteller.

A Catalogue Of Love A young woman surfer’s coming of age in Tasmania, where the natural world helps her find herself and navigate grief and trauma. Echoes of Love and Virtue, Breath and H is for Hawk.‘Did I still love him? No, probably not. Just the memory of him. Except it wasn’t even that. It was probably that I was in love with the memory of the me who’d loved him before.’Neika learned to surf in the sometimes crystal-clear, sometimes opaque green barrels of Cloudy Bay, under the guidance of her father and stepfather. Bruny Island, surfing and the natural world are as much a part of her as her blood and breath.In her twenties now, she has made her way in the world without her mother, who died when Neika was only two. Her path to adulthood was shaped by the love of two adoring fathers, but sitting alongside their love was always a mother-shaped hole. How different would she be if she’d had her mother there to guide her? Would she have dodged the mistakes that seem to define her life?Neika watches the world around her like the scientist she has become, seeking to understand what it means to be a woman in a culture that does not always treat women kindly. In navigating her catalogue of experiences – desire, loss, love and power – she comes to see how each has made her who she is.A moving and thrilling novel from the acclaimed author of The Octopus and I.

Life, And Death, And GiantsRon Rindo taught English and creative writing for many years at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He has previously published one novel, Breathing Lake Superior, and three short story collections. He lives in Pickett, Wisconsin.

The Book ThiefMarkus Zusak is the international bestselling author of six novels and one memoir. His work has been translated into more than sixty languages, and The Book Thief was a New York Times bestseller for more than a decade. His work has also been adapted into film, television and theatre, and has won numerous honours around the world, ranging from literary prizes to bookseller and readers' choice awards. He lives and writes in Sydney.

Hollow Air Isolation can be hard on a person. It can be hard on the mind, especially when the bush closes in on you in the darkness of night.In the tin fields of Far North Queensland, Sarah, a fly-in-fly-out geologist, is working alone at a remote mine site. She spends her time in a sort of limbo, never quite fitting into her life at site or back home in Sydney with her fiancé.Strange things keep happening at the mine site, and Sarah can try to explain them away as the ramblings of a lonely mind, but there are dead bodies from a mining accident a century ago at the old Dulcie Ada mine, still buried beneath more than a hundred metres of rock.A deeply moving novel that explores the friction that comes with the desire to understand the secrets of the Earth coupled with the knowledge that this can exact a toll.PRAISE FOR HOLLOW AIR‘Layered with suspense, subterfuge, and the fractures that absence can cause, Hollow Air moves seamlessly from life above ground to the value of what lies beneath. Verity Borthwick’s female FIFO geologist, Sarah, is tough-as-titanium and a total joy to read. A superb debut.’ – Eleanor Limprecht, author of The Coast‘The remote mining setting of Hollow Air infuses this novel with mystery and drama right from the start as we anxiously watch its protagonist Sarah confront isolation and uncertainty, both professional and personal. Meanwhile, haunting events from a hundred years before slowly emerge to remind her – and us – that when the earth is violated it will inevitably seek revenge. In a beautifully paced story that never falters, Verity Borthwick explores the tensions between women and men, and the abrasive truth that the past is somehow never behind us.’ – Debra Adelaide, author of The Women’s Pages‘As starkly disarming and beautiful as its setting, Hollow Air is at once a thriller, rural gothic mystery and love story. This is a sensory wonder that both suffocates and enraptures, with all the hallmarks of an Australian classic. Borthwick’s storytelling will haunt me.’ – Anna Spargo-Ryan, author of The Gulf

In this mesmerizing and profound novel, Ruth's life in a devout, insular community challenges assumptions about what gives life meaning.Ruth is raised in a world of Christian communism without private property, television, or tolerance for idle questions. Each day, she follows the same routine, wearing the same costume and braiding her hair, singing a familiar breakfast song in a family room identical to others in the community. These moments, meant to be prayers, puzzle Ruth. Through glimpses of her childhood, marriage, and motherhood, we see her struggle to navigate her curiosity in a community shrouded in mystery. As we follow Ruth's journey, we are forced to question our own beliefs and notions of happiness. The novel immerses us in an experience that challenges our deepest assumptions.

Discontent An audacious, darkly funny novel and perfect summer read about a young woman in Madrid whose carefully crafted office persona threatens to crack when she's forced to attend her company's annual retreatLife can't go on like this - can it? This book is for everyone who has ever wanted more- more time, more meaning, more connection.On the surface, Marisa's life looks enviable. She lives in a nice apartment in the heart of Madrid, her friendly neighbour and lover Pablo lives downstairs, and she's risen quickly through the ranks at a successful advertising agency.And yet Marisa hates her job and everything about it. Over one hot summer, she spends her working hours locked in her office, bingeing on YouTube videos and getting high on tranquilizers, wondering if everyone cries when their alarm goes off in the morning. When she can, she escapes to the air-conditioned basement of the Prado Museum.But Marisa's fa ade of success is in danger of being exposed as she's forced to deliver a talk on creativity at her company's horrendous annual team-building retreat. Surrounded by psychopathic bosses, annoyingly overzealous colleagues, flirty facilitators, and an excess of drugs, Marisa is pushed to the brink of a complete spiral.Told with acid humour to explosive consequences, Discontent is a dazzling tale of modern angst and finally acting on our wilder impulses to reclaim our lives from work.

Albion shakes the country house novel to its foundations, in a story of family, inheritance and accountabilityThe Brooke family are gathering in their eighteenth-century ancestral home - twenty bedrooms of carved Sussex sandstone - to bury Philip- husband, father and the blinding sun around which they have all orbited for as long as they can remember.Frannie, inheritor of a thousand acres of English countryside, has dreams of rewilding and returning the estate to nature- a last line of defence against the coming climate catastrophe. Milo envisages a treetop haven for the super-rich where, under the influence of psychedelic drugs, a new ruling class will be reborn. Each believes their father has given them his blessing, setting them on a collision course with each other.Isa has long suspected that her father thought only of himself, and hopes to seek out her childhood love, who still lives on the estate, to discover whether it is her feelings for him that are creating the fault lines in her marriage.And then there is Clara, who arrives in their midst from America, shrouded in secrets and bearing a truth that will fracture all the dreams on which they've built their lives.