Denotes website entries with audio interviews
Oceans of Energy, Australia 2026
Cover design Barbie Robinson, Writing with Light
Cover image Valerie Albrecht
Disclosure: Writing with Light undertook the layout and design of this book as well as contributing to the editing, proofing and publication process. Barbie was also the creator of some of the photographs and the editor of Valerie’s photographs for publication. This article is more by way of a report than a review for that reason.
HarperCollinsPublishers, Australia 2026
Cover design Maya Abraham
Cover images Jimena Roquero/stocksy.com /5852005; ohlamourstudio/stocksy.com/4516591; shutterstock.com
In She Lied First point of view is not merely the dominant story telling technique – it is indeed a large part of what the book is about. Dinuka McKenzie has deftly controlled her readers’ understanding of events in this thrilling psychological work by carefully filtering what we learn from the first to the last page.
15 to 18 October 2026
Various venues
With a theme of For the Love of Books, this year’s festival features 113 events including panels, talks and entertainments covering social, political, environmental and economic issues as well as delving into the enjoyment of literary and popular fiction and poetry.
Penguin Books, Australia, 2026
Cover design Nikki Townsend Design
Cover photographs Shutterstock; Theeradech Sanin Erikson Stock
We know there’ll be a love story (maybe more than one), and we know there’ll be a baby. After all, these are Fiona McArthur’s calling cards.
Strathnairn Arts
90 Stockdill Drive Holt ACT
Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 4pm
23 September to 18 October 2026
Trails is a two part exhibition. In the main gallery the artist presents landscapes of the Murrumbidgee and Ginninderry Conservation Corridor. The works are layered watercolour monotypes and paintings depicting the beauty, colour and texture of this much beloved landscape.
Penguin Books, Australia 2026
Cover design Debra Billson
Cover illustrations Marta Lebek/Stocksy and Shutterstock
With her characteristic compassion and humour, in this second novel, Anna Johnston takes us once again into the world of aged care.
The Gallery Next Door
Duffy Place, Duffy ACT
Until 27 September 2026
Jenny Blake’s paintings of the lake and Lee-Anne Cooper’s ceramics form an elegant partnership, each body of work deeply connected to the landscape and pulsing with the passion of the artists.
Hall Pavillion: Opposite 21 Gladstone Street, Hall, ACT
Sunday 27th September 2026
11am & 2.30pm
Badimara Scout Hall: 198 Badimara Street, Fisher, ACT
Sunday 4th October 2026
11am & 2.30pm
Ten years after its debut, Vivienne reprises and remakes The Whole Cake a changed body and an expanded creative landscape.
Greenhouse Asylum (formerly StudioStudio)
5/57 Dacre Street Mitchell ACT
6 to 23 September 2026
A showcase of new and recent work by members of Canberra Printmakers.
Palace Electric Canberra
16 September to 14 October 2026
Also in Sydney, Melbourne, Ballarat, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Byron Bay and Ballina
This year’s festival opens with Holy Cannoli, an Italian, box office hit which uses comedy to expose the contradictions of contemporary Italian life seen through the eyes of a soul-searching, sweet-toothed sceptic.
Rusten House, 87 Collett Street, Queanbeyan NSW
29 August – 19 September 2026
8Studios is a group of artists connected through friendship, shared creative interests, and a belief in the value of artistic community.
Penguin, Australia 2026
Cover design George Saad
Cover image ‘Aloe Opuntia Polyanthos’ from Histoire des Plantes Grasses (1799) by Pierre-Joseph Redouté courtesy Creative Commons
What a gloriously happiness-inducing book this is! It is the story of Leslie and her rediscovery of a younger self who had become diminished by life.
Hachette, Australia, 2026
Cover design Christabella Designs
Cover images Shutterstock
Sophie Green understands the interior lives of women. Her books deal with their challenges and triumphs on their diverse paths to empowerment.
Continue Reading“Sophie Green – The Frock Shop“
Tyger Gallery
84 Comur Street, Yass NSW
From 12 September 2026
These two artists received the 2025 Tyger New Ground Award, selected from the ANU School of Art & Design graduate exhibition.
Allen & Unwin, Australia 2026
Cover design Deborah Parry Graphics
Cover photographs: Deagreez/Shutterstock; fotokostic/iStock; Tara Malhotra/iStock; Gillian Van Stocksy; Paul Shuang/Shutterstock
Maya Linnell has mastered the art of sugar frosting the dark real-world issues she tackles in her fiction with rural romances we can all get behind.
