The Book of the Month

The 2018 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) 

The 2018 Australian Book Industry Awards celebrate the diversity and exceptional quality of Australian writing, publishing and bookselling. The awards are voted for by the ABIA Academy: a group of publishers, booksellers, agents, media and industry representatives.

 Winner: Gold ABIA Book of the Year

**Winner of the ABA Booksellers Choice Award 2018**

**Winner of Gold ABIA Book of the Year 2018**

**Winner : Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year 2018**

**Winner of Book of the Year for Younger Children 2018**

A breathtaking, enchanting new series by debut Australian author Jessica Townsend, about a cursed girl who escapes death and finds herself in a magical world but is then tested beyond her wildest imagination.

Morrigan Crow is cursed. Born on an unlucky day, she is blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks - and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on Eventide.

But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.

It's there that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city's most prestigious organisation: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart. Except for Morrigan, who doesn't seem to have any special talent at all.

To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests - or she'll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.

Winner, Book of the Year 2018 at the Indie Book Awards.
Winner, Children's Book Category at the Indie Book Awards.
Winner, Best Children's Fiction at the Aurealis Awards.
Winner, Younger Fiction at the Waterstones Children's Book Prize (UK).

'Unexpected, exciting and funny. Like Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and Doctor Who swirled up together. I loved Morrigan Crow, and I want to check in at the Hotel Deucalion.' - Judith Rossell, ABIA Award-winning author of Withering-by-Sea

'Jessica Townsend's Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow is more than just a spectacular debut. Exciting, charming, and wonderfully imagined, it's the sort of delightful, grand adventure destined to be many a reader's favourite book.' - Trenton Lee Stewart, New York Times bestselling author of The Mysterious Benedict Society series and The Secret Keepers

Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
10/10/2017
RRP  $18.99
$17.25

 Winner: Biography of the Year

Biography of the Year : Shortlist

 Winner: General Fiction Book of the Year

**Winner of ABIA General Fiction of the Year 2018**

The life she wanted wasn't hers . . .

The compelling new psychological thriller that will break your heart into tiny pieces, from world-renowned author MICHAEL ROBOTHAM Everyone has an idea of what their perfect life is. For Agatha, it's Meghan Shaughnessy's. These two women from vastly different backgrounds have one thing in common - a dangerous secret that could destroy everything they hold dear.

Both will risk everything to hide the truth, but their worlds are about to collide in a shocking act that cannot be undone.

THE SECRETS SHE KEEPS is a compelling psychological thriller that delves deeply into the psyche of the human mind, by internationally bestselling author Michael Robotham.

Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
11/07/2017
 
$32.99

General Fiction Book of the Year : Shortlist

 Winner: General Non-Fiction Book of the Year

**Winner of the ABIA General Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2018**

**Winner of the 2018 Dobbie Literary Award**

This book features in our Read the Rainbow Guide

Winner of the 2018 Victorian Premier's Award for Non-Fiction

A poignant and powerful celebration of one remarkable woman’s unrelenting drive to make order from chaos.

Before she was a trauma cleaner, Sandra Pankhurst was many things: husband and father, drag queen, gender reassignment patient, sex worker, small businesswoman, trophy wife…

But as a little boy, raised in violence and excluded from the family home, she just wanted to belong. Now she believes her clients deserve no less.

A woman who sleeps among garbage she has not put out for forty years. A man who bled quietly to death in his loungeroom. A woman who lives with rats, random debris and terrified delusion. The still life of a home vacated by accidental overdose.

Sarah Krasnostein has watched the extraordinary Sandra Pankhurst bring order and care to these, the living and the dead and the book she has written is equally extraordinary. Not just the compelling story of a fascinating life among lives of desperation, but an affirmation that, as isolated as we may feel, we are all in this together.

Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
02/10/2017
 
$32.99

General Non-Fiction Book of the Year : Shortlist

 Winner: Illustrated Book of the Year

Illustrated Book of the Year : Shortlist

 Winner: International Book of the Year

**Winner of the ABIA International Book of the Year 2018**

100 tales of extraordinary women the most highly supported original book ever in the history of crowdfunding.

What if the princess didn't marry Prince Charming but instead went on to be an astronaut? What if the jealous step sisters were supportive and kind? And what if the queen was the one really in charge of the kingdom?

Illustrated by sixty female artists from every corner of the globe, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls introduces us to one hundred remarkable women and their extraordinary lives, from Ada Lovelace to Malala, Elizabeth I to Serena Williams.

Empowering, moving and inspirational, these are true fairy tales for heroines who definitely don't need rescuing. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls reinvents fairy tales, inspiring children with the stories of 100 heroic women from Elizabeth I to Serena Williams

'The feminist bedtime story book you'll wish you had growing up' Stylist

Format:
Hardback
 

International Book of the Year : Shortlist

 Winner: Literary Fiction Book of the Year

**Winner of the ABIA Literary Fiction of the Year 2018**

**Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2018**

A deeply atmospheric novel by a startling new Aussie talent; an incredibly unique look inside the mind of Lizzie Borden, famously accused of murdering her father and stepmother in 1892.

'He was still bleeding. I yelled, "Someone's killed Father." I breathed in kerosene air, licked the thickness from my teeth. The clock on the mantel ticked ticked. I looked at Father, the way hands clutched to thighs, the way the little gold ring on his pinky finger sat like a sun. I gave him that ring for his birthday when I no longer wanted it. "Daddy," I had said. "I'm giving this to you because I love you." He had smiled and kissed my forehead. A long time ago now.'

On 4 August 1892 Andrew and Abby Borden were murdered in their home in Fall River, Massachusetts. During the inquest into the deaths, Lizzie Borden was arrested and charged with the murder of her father and her stepmother.

Through the eyes of Lizzie's sister Emma, the housemaid Bridget, the enigmatic stranger Benjamin and the beguiling Lizzie herself, we return to what happened that day in Fall River.

Lizzie Borden took an axe. Or did she?

Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
31/10/2017
RRP  $22.99
$22.25

Literary Fiction of the Year : Shortlist

 Winner: Small Publishers' Adult Book of the Year

**Winner of the ABIA Small Publishers' Adult Book of the Year 2018**

Australia’s avifauna is large, diverse, and spectacular, reflecting the continent’s impressive range of habitats and evolutionary history.

With specially commissioned paintings of over 900 species, The Australian Bird Guide is the most comprehensive field guide to Australian birds ever seen.

The guide features close to 250 stunning colour plates, with particular emphasis on providing the fine detail required to identify difficult groups and distinctive plumages. Comprehensive species accounts have been written by a dedicated team of ornithologists to ensure identification details, distribution, and status are current and accurate.

The Australian Bird Guide sets a new standard in field guides, providing an indispensable reference for all birders and naturalists looking to explore Australia’s magnificent and unique birdlife.

Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
02/05/2017
 
$49.95

Small Publishers' Adult Book of the Year : Shortlist

 Winner: Small Publishers' Childrens Book of the Year

Following from the success of his groundbreaking kids book Being You is Enough which one reviewer called “one of the best self esteem books for kids”, Langley now uses his original style to get kids to make friends with their feelings and emotions.

Everyone has feelings… sometimes we just don’t know what to do with them! Happy, sad, lonely, angry, anxious, proud, scared – they’re all feelings and emotions and they’re all OK! Yes – every single one of them! In this bright and heartening book, Josh Langley helps kids get to know and make friends with their feelings.

Bursting with simple and effective ways that kids can notice and handle difficult emotions like anger, anxiety, and loss and also rejoice in the positive feelings such as joy, empathy and happiness, this is a little book with a big message. It’s Ok to Feel the Way You Do empowers kids to understand and share their feelings so they can enjoy life a whole lot more.

Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
20/09/2017
RRP  $14.99
$14.25

Small Publishers' Childrens Book of the Year : Shortlist

 Winner: Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year

**Winner of the ABA Booksellers Choice Award 2018**

**Winner of Gold ABIA Book of the Year 2018**

**Winner : Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year 2018**

**Winner of Book of the Year for Younger Children 2018**

A breathtaking, enchanting new series by debut Australian author Jessica Townsend, about a cursed girl who escapes death and finds herself in a magical world but is then tested beyond her wildest imagination.

Morrigan Crow is cursed. Born on an unlucky day, she is blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks - and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on Eventide.

But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.

It's there that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city's most prestigious organisation: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart. Except for Morrigan, who doesn't seem to have any special talent at all.

To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests - or she'll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.

Winner, Book of the Year 2018 at the Indie Book Awards.
Winner, Children's Book Category at the Indie Book Awards.
Winner, Best Children's Fiction at the Aurealis Awards.
Winner, Younger Fiction at the Waterstones Children's Book Prize (UK).

'Unexpected, exciting and funny. Like Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and Doctor Who swirled up together. I loved Morrigan Crow, and I want to check in at the Hotel Deucalion.' - Judith Rossell, ABIA Award-winning author of Withering-by-Sea

'Jessica Townsend's Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow is more than just a spectacular debut. Exciting, charming, and wonderfully imagined, it's the sort of delightful, grand adventure destined to be many a reader's favourite book.' - Trenton Lee Stewart, New York Times bestselling author of The Mysterious Benedict Society series and The Secret Keepers

Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
10/10/2017
RRP  $18.99
$17.25

Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year : Shortlist

 Winner: Book of the Year for Older Children 

**Winner of the ABIA Book of the Year for Older Readers 2018**

Bestsellers. Award-winners. Superstars.

This anthology has them all.

With brilliantly entertaining short stories from beloved young adult authors Amie Kaufman, Melissa Keil, Will Kostakis, Ellie Marney, Jaclyn Moriarty, Michael Pryor, Alice Pung, Gabrielle Tozer, Lili Wilkinson and Danielle Binks, this all-new collection will show the world exactly how much there is to love about Aussie YA.

Ages 14+

Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
24/04/2017
 
$24.99

Book of the Year for Older Children : Shortlist

 Winner: Book of the Year for Younger Children (Ages 7 - 12)

**Winner of the ABA Booksellers Choice Award 2018**

**Winner of Gold ABIA Book of the Year 2018**

**Winner : Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year 2018**

**Winner of Book of the Year for Younger Children 2018**

A breathtaking, enchanting new series by debut Australian author Jessica Townsend, about a cursed girl who escapes death and finds herself in a magical world but is then tested beyond her wildest imagination.

Morrigan Crow is cursed. Born on an unlucky day, she is blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks - and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on Eventide.

But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.

It's there that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city's most prestigious organisation: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart. Except for Morrigan, who doesn't seem to have any special talent at all.

To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests - or she'll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.

Winner, Book of the Year 2018 at the Indie Book Awards.
Winner, Children's Book Category at the Indie Book Awards.
Winner, Best Children's Fiction at the Aurealis Awards.
Winner, Younger Fiction at the Waterstones Children's Book Prize (UK).

'Unexpected, exciting and funny. Like Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and Doctor Who swirled up together. I loved Morrigan Crow, and I want to check in at the Hotel Deucalion.' - Judith Rossell, ABIA Award-winning author of Withering-by-Sea

'Jessica Townsend's Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow is more than just a spectacular debut. Exciting, charming, and wonderfully imagined, it's the sort of delightful, grand adventure destined to be many a reader's favourite book.' - Trenton Lee Stewart, New York Times bestselling author of The Mysterious Benedict Society series and The Secret Keepers

Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
10/10/2017
RRP  $18.99
$17.25

Book of the Year for Younger Children (Ages 7 - 12) : Shortlist

 Winner: Children's Picture Book of the Year (Ages 0 - 6)

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

**Winner of the 2018 ABIA Children's Picture Book of the Year **

A sweet, funny story about accepting yourself and finding a friend who loves you just the way you are. Mostly, though, it’s about a fart. And fart jokes. Loooots of fart jokes.

Fart is excited! He’s desperate to make friends and have fun. But no one likes a fart. Not even a fart with a heart. Too smelly. Too embarrassing. Too gross.

Zoë has written lots of grown-up books, none of which mention a single fart. She is the mother of two little people and a cat with a permanently cranky face. She wants it known that despite writing this book, she still doesn’t like farts, even if her husband Tooty McFluffson refuses to acknowledge this.

'Who would have thought a story about farts and burps could be so heartwarming?' Sunday Telegraph

'A beautifully written book that will have you in hysterics.' James Wright, Impulse Garner

'Young children just beginning to read will love this book - especially if that means grabbing any opprtunity they can to say the word "fart"!' Daisy Chein, Melbourne's Child

Also available from Zoë Foster Blake:

  • No One Likes a Fart 
  • Fart and Burp are Superstinkers 
  • Back to Sleep 
  • Scaredy Bath 
  • Battle Mum
Format:
Hardback
Publication Date:
15/11/2017
11%
OFF
RRP  $19.99
$17.95

Children's Picture Book of the Year (Ages 0 - 6) : Shortlist