UQP - Booktober 2023

UQP

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UQP First Nations reading list: an essential list of First Nations books to amplify your bookshelves with a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers.


AFTER STORY by LARISSA BEHRENDT (Fiction)

Ambitious and engrossing, After Story celebrates the extraordinary power of words and the quiet spaces between.

 ‘After Story is sprawling, cerebral and compassionate. It feeds the brain, offers much-needed vicarious travel and leaves the reader with hope that fraught relationships can be mended.’ – Readings


how to make a basket by JAZZ MONEY (Poetry)

A powerful and lyrical collection of poetry by the winner of the 2020 David Unaipon Award.

‘A luminous and beautifully sculpted, seamless collection of poems that reflects on place and passion. how to make a basket builds on the growing canon of work by contemporary Indigenous women poets, yet offers a new, fresh perspective on remembering and forgetting.’


PERMAFROST by SJ NORMAN (Fiction)

Visual and performance artist, and winner of the inaugural Kill Your Darlings Manuscript Award, SJ Norman turns their hand to fiction with spectacular results.

‘Permafrost is a rare, dark phenomenon of a book, an exquisite collection of stories that are as gloriously unsettling as they are enthralling.’ – Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites


DROPBEAR by EVELYN ARALUEN (Poetry)

An innovative collection of poetry and prose from a vibrant new Indigenous voice on the Australian literary scene.

‘Evelyn Araluen, right out of the gate with her first book, has shown itself to be a writer of formidable power and grace. You'll never see Snugglepot and Cuddlepie in the same way again. This is an electrifying debut.’ – Michael Williams, Sydney Writers’ Festival


WHISPER SONGS by TONY BIRCH (Poetry)

A timely and important collection of poems by the award-winning author of The White Girl and Blood.


DARK AS LAST NIGHT by TONY BIRCH (Fiction)

A masterful new story collection from award-winning Indigenous writer Tony Birch. Throughout this powerful collection, Birch’s concern for the humanity of those who are often marginalised or overlooked shines bright.


BORN INTO THIS by ADAM THOMPSON (Fiction)

Engaging, thought-provoking stories from a Tasmanian Aboriginal author who addresses universal themes – identity, racism, heritage destruction – from a wholly original perspective.

‘Born Into This is drenched in swagger and originality, the blows are head-on, but the comfort is swiftly delivered in the wit and delicacy of Thompson’s phrasing. He has the reader in the boat, on the shore and drowning in the sea at once.’ – Tara June Winch


FLOCK: FIRST NATIONS STORIES NOW AND THEN by ELLEN VAN NEERVEN (Short stories)

Curated and introduced by award-winning author Ellen van Neerven, Flock features luminous storytelling from leading Aboriginal writers, such as Tony Birch, Melissa Lucashenko and Tara June Winch, as well as some of the brightest new stars.


ANOTHER DAY IN THE COLONY by CHELSEA WATEGO (Non-fiction)

A ground-breaking work – and a call to arms – that exposes the ongoing colonial violence experienced by First Nations people.


TOO MUCH LIP by MELISSA LUCASHENKO (Fiction)

Gritty and darkly hilarious, Too Much Lip offers redemption and forgiveness where none seems possible.

‘There is some extraordinary Indigenous writing around at present that heralds a new stage in Australian literature, perhaps in world literature. Too Much Lip is a worthy addition.’ – Australian Book Review


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...

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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.


Vociferate 詠 by Emily sun

‘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...

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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...

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