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'I know what an endsister is,' says Sibbi again. We are endsisters, Else thinks, Sibbi and I. Bookends, oldest and youngest, with the three boys sandwiched in between. Meet the Outhwaite children. There's teenage Else, the violinist who abandons her violin. There's nature-loving Clancy. There's the inseparable twins, Oscar-and-Finn, Finn-and-Oscar. And then there is Sibbi, the baby of the family. They all live contentedly squabbling in a cottage surrounded by trees and possums...until a letter arrives to say they have inherited the old family home in London. Outhwaite House is full of old shadows and new possibilities. The boys quickly find their feet in London, and Else is hoping to reinvent herself. But Sibbi is misbehaving, growing thinner and paler by the day, and she won't stop talking about the mysterious endsister. Meanwhile Almost Annie and Hardly Alice, the resident ghosts, are tied to the house for reasons they have long forgotten, watching the world around them change, but never leaving. The one thing they all agree on - the living and the dead - is never, ever to open the attic door...
Shortlisted for the 2022 Miles Franklin Literary Award A profoundly original exploration of racism, misogyny, and ageism—three monsters that plague the world—this novel from a beloved and prize-winning author is made up of two narratives, each told by a South Asian migrant to Australia “When my family emigrated it felt as if we’d been stood on our heads.” Michelle de Kretser’s electrifying take on scary monsters turns the novel upside down, just as migration has upended her characters’ lives. Lili’s family migrated to Australia from Asia when she was a teenager. Now, in the 1980s, she’s teaching in the south of France. She makes friends, observes the treatment handed out to...
'Sharp' - The Guardian 'Excellent' - Glamour 'Darkly funny' - Harper's BAZAAR 'Chaotic' - The Skinny Amelia is no stranger to sex and death. Her job as a cosmetic mortician at her family's funeral parlour might be unusual but she's good at it. When it comes to meeting people who are still breathing she uses dating apps. Combining with someone else's body at night Amelia can become something else, at least for a while. But when a sudden loss severs her ties with someone she loves, Amelia sets off on a seventy-two-hour mission to outrun her grief - skipping out on the funeral, running away to stay with her father in Tasmania and experimenting on the local BDSM scene. There, she learns even mor...
A multiple award-winning, accessible picture book for young children that introduces First Nations history and the term 'terra nullius' to a general audience, from Australian of the Year, community leader and anti-racism advocate Adam Goodes and political adviser and former journalist Ellie Laing, with artwork by Barkindji illustrator David Hardy. WINNER: 2022 Australian Book Industry Awards Picture Book of the Year (Ages 06)WINNER: 2022 Educational Publishing Awards Australia Primary Educational Picture Book WINNER: 2022 Karajia Award for Children's Literature WINNER: 2022 Speech Pathology AustraliaBook of the Year 5 to 8 Years For thousands and thousands of years, Aboriginal people lived...
Growing up together in a mysterious castle in northern Queensland, Rose and Vivien Blake are very close sisters. But during the Second World War their relationship becomes strained when they each fall in love with the same dashing but enigmatic American soldier. Rose's daughter, Linda, has long sensed a secret in her mother's past, but Rose has always resisted Linda's questions, preferring to focus on the present. Years later Rose's granddaughter, Stella, also becomes fascinated by the shroud of secrecy surrounding her grandmother's life. Intent on unravelling the truth, she visits the now-ruined castle where Rose and Vivien grew up to see if she can find out more. Captivating and compelling, Castle of Dreams is about love, secrets, lies - and the perils of delving into the past...
Ben Lawson was preparing for another Christmas away from home when the Black Summer bushfires began to burn their way across Australia's eastern coast. As the bushfires continued to rage into the new year on an unprecedented scale, Ben, feeling angry, helpless and broken-hearted as he watched the devastation from across the ocean, sat down and put his feelings into words. To My Country is an ode to the endurance of the Australian spirit and the shared love of our country. In the true Aussie spirit, Ben and Allen & Unwin will be donating proceeds of To My Country to The Koala Hospital. 'A delightful love letter to a homeland: the kind only an Australian could write. Full of humour, charm and ...
There is nothing to beat the extraordinary wildlife of Australia. Its colourful parrots, its venomous snakes, its abundance of hopping marsupials and the strange, egg-laying Platypus - these are just a few of the players in a story that began hundreds of millions of year ago. Many members of Australia's wildlife live nowhere else on Earth. They are unique, the result of evolution on a continent that has been geographically isolated from the rest of the world for 38 million years. Wildlife of Australia is an account of how these animals have developed in response to changing climates and habitats. It describes their day-to-day habits, where they live, how they find partners and care for their young, and how they protect themselves and find food and shelter. Superbly illustrated with over 550 colour photographs by renowned wildlife photographer Jiri Lochman, the book also contains a list of scientific names, good zoos and wildlife parks, useful websites and books, and a comprehensive glossary. Wildlife of Australia reveals the fascinating worlds of the animals that live all around us on this ancient land but remain largely unnoticed.
'He was courageous. He was ambitious. He was skilled. He was visionary. He could be ruthless. He was someone born of a new nation. But he was of a time now long past. And yet in the language of a later generation it could be said he had the "right stuff" . . . Michael Molkentin captures [Ross Smith] brilliantly.' - Andy Thomas, NASA Astronaut (Retired) In the smouldering aftermath of the First World War a young Australian pilot and his crew prepare to attempt the inconceivable: a flight, halfway around the globe, from England to Australia. The 18,000 kilometre odyssey will take 28 days and test these men and their twin-engine biplane to the limit. It is a trans-continental feat that will cha...
In 2008 Clive Hamilton was at Parliament House in Canberra when the Beijing Olympic torch relay passed through. He watched in bewilderment as a small pro-Tibet protest was overrun by thousands of angry Chinese students. Where did they come from? Why were they so aggressive? And what gave them the right to shut down others exercising their democratic right to protest? The authorities did nothing about it, and what he saw stayed with him. In 2016 it was revealed that wealthy Chinese businessmen linked to the Chinese Communist Party had become the largest donors to both major political parties. Hamilton realised something big was happening, and decided to investigate the Chinese government’s ...
A completely practical workbook that offers down-to-earth ideas and suggestions for writers or aspiring writers to get you started and to keep you going.