Showing titles in Australia, New Zealand & Oceania

Have you ever wondered about the origin of the terrifying Wendigo? How about the Philippine shape-shifting vampire? What about the Māori forest spirits? Join award winning podcaster and researcher Kamuela Kaneshiro as he takes you on a thrilling trip through Asia, the Americas, and other fascinating cultures touching the Pacific Ocean. And as you marvel at this captivating assortment of deities, monsters, and historical backdrops, you’re sure to have your imagination sparked by the wonders of the world.

Capturing everyday lives and exceptional dreams, Australian novels have held up a mirror to the nation, reflecting the good and the bad. Touching on colonial invasion, the bush myth, world wars, mass migration, the recognition of Indigenous sovereignty and the emergence of a modern global, multicultural nation, Carl examines how these pivotal events and persuasive ideas have shaped some of Australia's most influential novels and how these books, in turn, made us.

Bruce Pascoe has been described as a ‘living national treasure’ and his work as ‘revelatory’. This volume of his best and most celebrated stories and essays, collected here for the first time, ranges across his long career, and explores his enduring fascination with Australia’s landscape, culture, land management and history. Featuring new and previously unpublished fiction alongside his most revered and thought-provoking nonfiction - including extracts from his modern classic Dark Emu - this collection is perfect for Pascoe fans and new listeners alike.

The nineteenth book in the dramatic and intriguing story about the colonisation of Australia: a country made of blood, passion, and dreams. Jon Fisher and Harry Ryan take part in a bloody war between the British and the Zulu in South Africa. Jon Fisher faces war in South Africa. The Zulus have proven themselves a surprisingly powerful enemy to the British Army. After losing his men during battle, Jon Fisher decides to go home to Australia. Harry Ryan has arranged passage for them on a merchant ship. And there starts their travels across the ocean to get back home.

In the deepest, most enchanting part of the forest, a creature hands you a seed. Within the seed is your soul, ready to be grown again. From internationally bestselling author Courtney Peppernell comes her new book of poetry and prose, Watering the Soul. In true Peppernell style, the book is divided into sections, this time following a step-by-step recipe, to heal your soul.

The twenty-third book in the dramatic and intriguing story about the colonisation of Australia: a country made of blood, passion, and dreams. A new century has dawned as Australia forms their country. New hopes characterise the lives of the young Australians. Some had to the Outback in search of gold and glory. Others find their fulfilment in politics and seize power in the newly-formed country. Some are even moving north to conquer new lands.

Peppernell understands that healing is a process, and Pillow Thoughts II eloquently captures the time and experience that one goes through on their journey to peace through restoration. A collection of inspirational and comforting poems for anyone who is mending from a broken heart, read by the author herself.

The storyteller who gave us the extraordinary best seller The Book Thief, which spent more than a decade on The New York Times best seller list, talks with MJ Franklin (MashReads) about his long-awaited new novel - an unforgettable and sweeping family saga. Featuring a reading from the novel by Brian Wiles (Billions). Only New York City appearance!

Ramona Koval has been praised as a master of the interview genre, renowned for engaging writers in conversations that are incisive, provocative, and often funny.In this new collection, Speaking Volumes: Conversations with Remarkable Writers, she shares the most fascinating interviews from her 2005 book Tasting Life Twice, along with brand-new ones with some of the most important writers of our times.

Christos Tsiolkas spent a year of 'discovery and rediscovery' reading Patrick White. In this passionate and original book, he shows how the Nobel Prize winner's work still speaks to us. In the Writers on Writers series, leading writers reflect on another Australian writer who has inspired and fascinated them. Provocative and crisp, these books start a fresh conversation between past and present, shed new light on the craft of writing, and introduce some intriguing and talented authors and their work.

Esson’s first collection of poems, Bells and Bees, was published in 1910; a second collection, Red Gums and Other Verses, in 1912. Although Esson published no further poetry collections, his verse continued to appear in magazines such as The Bulletin until the late 1920s.

Australia in the 1830s was a wild place. Reuben Whitney, escaping an inaccurate perception of him in England, enjoys an adventurous passage aboard the Paramatta, and sails "down under." Joining the police force, he makes his mark in conflicts with the Aborigines and Bushrangers. Finally, he saves the life of a squire's daughter who has emigrated to Australia following her father's financial ruin. This story is filled with adventure, close calls, and historical information about the early days of Australia!

This is the story of a dark night of the soul, of traversing the depths of despair, and of rebirth. It shows the reality of hitting rock bottom. Not by a self-reported narrative written after the fact, but through unfiltered poetic expression written in real time during breakdown and recovery. The poems within this collection were written over a 24-month period and are presented in chronological order. They show the inner tumult and turmoil of a man desperately trying, and failing, to hold together the crumbling status quo of his prior existence.

Sybylla Melvin is a misfit. She barely endures the dreary life of dairy farming in a family that can hardly make ends meet. Out of the blue, she is invited to move back to the family property, Caddagat, to live with Grannie, Aunt Helen, and Uncle Jay Jay. With a cast of interesting neighbors and friends, Sybylla finally seems to discover hope in the world. She is nourished by thoughtful conversation, books, and music. Harold Beecham's love, however, throws her into indecision and painful tension.

The fifteenth book in the dramatic and intriguing story about the colonisation of Australia: a country made of blood, passion, and dreams. After being accused of high treason, Michael Wexford seeks revenge upon those who took everything from him. It is 19th century Australia: Irishman Michael Wexford is unravelling his existence in the penal colonies after defying the justice system. Considered a criminal beyond reform or redemption, Michael plots his revenge. Meanwhile, siblings Kitty and Patrick Cadogan venture out to the Norfolk Island in search of their brother, praying that he is not the miscreant everyone makes him out to be.

When food blogger Anna Matthews takes a vitamin supplement that thrusts her back in time to 1996—and into her 16-year-old body—she is naturally a little shocked. But after a hasty re-assimilation, she decides to take advantage of this amazing second chance to view her teenage years from a more mature perspective.

Michael Faudet's latest book takes the listener on an emotionally charged journey, exploring the joys of falling madly in love and the melancholy world of the brokenhearted. Beautifully captured in poetry, prose, and short stories, Faudet's whimsical and sometimes erotic writing has captured the hearts and minds of thousands from around the world.

From the acclaimed author of the Miles Franklin long-listed Madukka: The River Serpent (UWA) and the Barbara Jefferis Award shortlisted Benevolence, Compassion continues Julie Janson's emotional and intense literary exploration of the complex and dangerous lives of Aboriginal women during the 1800s in colonial New South Wales, which she began in Benevolence as a counter narrative to colonial history in Australian literature.

Published to commemorate the author’s 100th birthday, this wide-ranging and thoughtful collection reflects on history, colonisation, family, childhood, Aboriginal Dreaming, traditions and storytelling, working lives and people. Sometimes wistful, melancholic, poignant, at times the author’s wry sense of fun and humour shines through. When he arrived in Sydney in the 1960s, Bigambul man, Uncle Wes, was not allowed to tell his stories at schools.

1782 – the final year of the Bonner family’s good fortune. Eva, the eldest child of a respectable London watchmaker becomes guardian to her sister, Keziah, and brother, Henry. Barely more than a child herself, she tries to steer a course through a darker side of London she hadn’t known existed. But her attempts are not enough to keep the family together and she is wrongfully accused of a crime she didn’t commit and transported to the penal colony of Sydney, New South Wales on the Lady Amelia.