Suggested Readings 2021
Here's our recommended reading lists
Robert Watkins – Ultimo Press
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Australian writers who are doing things a little differently.
I’ve worked in Australian books and publishing for over 20 years, and I still get excited when I discover or read Australian authors who are writing provocative, thoughtful works. Some of my favourite books of the last ten years can be found in the list below:
Foreign Soil – Maxine Beneba Clarke.
An Australian writer of Afro-Caribbean descent, Clarke is an extraordinary wordsmith. I think these short stories are evocative, insightful and simply masterful.
This debut novel is so timely and clever – the way Reid tackles big issues like consent, class and power is deeply thoughtful without ever being preachy. Incredible!
Down The Hume – Peter Polites.
Polites’ debut is a contemporary noir novel based in Western Sydney – it’s a ripper of a novel and I truly believe he’s a writer to watch.
Lies, Damned Lies – Claire G. Coleman.
Noongar author Coleman is a force to be reckoned with. This collection of non-fiction pieces about Australia’s colonisation is raw and powerful. Not to be missed.
The House of Youssef - Yumna Kassab.
Kassab is a unique and insightful storyteller. Each vignette packs a punch, densely littered with intricate detail.
My Friend Fox – Heidi Everett.
Everett is a Melbourne-based author living with Schizophrenia. Her beautiful memoir, littered with her own illustrations, is a rare insight into living with a disability in Australia. Magnificent.
No Country Woman – Zoya Patel.
This collection of essays by Canberran author Zoya Patel is wise beyond its years. Tackling identity and popular culture and the authors own lived experiences, it’s a non-fiction work that any reader will devour.
See What I Have Done – Sarah Schmidt.
Who would have though a retelling of the Lizzie Borden story could be such a wonderful character study? Historical fiction that feels contemporary and fresh and as gripping as any airport thriller.
Hannan won a Victorian Premiers Literary Award for this superb debut novel – tender, fierce, heartbreaking, funny.
The Performance – Claire Thomas.
This novel spans the length of one performance of Samuel Beckett’s play HAPPY DAYS. As the play progresses we have an insight into the minds of three very different women inside the theatre while fires rage outside.
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Newsouth Publishing
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Insightful non-fiction.
These insightful non-fiction books from experts in their field will intrigue, delight, and ignite discussion.
Australia & the Pacific: A history by Ian Hoskins
‘A fascinating history that shows how Australia’s relationships with the Pacific have shaped and informed each of our worlds.’ – Iain McCalman
The Best Australian Science Writing 2021 edited by Dyani Lewis, foreword by Cathy Foley
This much-loved anthology showcases the nation’s best science writing. New voices join prominent science writers and journalists, taking us to the depths of the ocean, the fuels of the future, and to the Ryugu asteroid and back.
Coming of Age in the War on Terror by Randa Abdel-Fattah
‘Randa Abdel-Fattah has produced an urgent...
Fremantle Press
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Own voice poetry.
Poetry is a wonderful way to create intercultural and personal understanding and to explore issues of belonging and identity. This list includes diverse own voice writers representing First Nations, refugee, immigrant and queer communities.
‘Every poem here is like a little grenade, sometimes filled with sizzling rage, sometimes wry humour, but always with expansive wit and erudition. Vociferate is polemical, personal and political. Be prepared to be blown away!’ Alice Pung
Poems that do not sleep by Hassan Al Nawwab
Hassan Al Nawwab is a former Iraqi soldier who came to Australia after the war with his family 20 years ago. With devastating simplicity, these imagistic poems speak of war and...
Text Publishing
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The team at Text Publishing has long believed that Australia punches above its weight when it comes to crime fiction, and here's the list to prove it! From rural thrillers to slow-burn suspense, there’s something for everyone—even if you don’t fancy yourself much of a crime buff.
THE NIGHT WHISTLER by Greg Woodland
Nostalgic yet clear-eyed, simmering with small-town menace, Sydney author Greg Woodland’s wildly impressive debut populates the rural Australia of the 1960s with memorable characters and almost unbearable tension.
WHITE THROAT by Sarah Thornton
Sarah Thornton’s second novel featuring the feisty-yet-flawed Clementine Jones, White Throat is a nail-biting thriller set in an idyllic coastal town, where the leader of an...