There’s something about this time of year that naturally draws you indoors a bit earlier. The mornings are cooler, the evenings arrive a little earlier, and sitting down with a good book feels less like a luxury and more like a necessity. Right on time, May is delivering a strong line-up of new releases from both debut and our favourite Australian authors.
From bold character-driven fiction, to poetry and echidnas, this month’s releases showcase just how diverse and dynamic the Australian literary scene continues to be.
Whether you are checking out a new name, or settling in with a favourite, these new stories will keep your bookshelves full.
Table of Contents
Fiction
The Ruiners
A university drop-out with a dead-end job at a lobster shack in Melbourne, Pip is left an orphan when her absent father dies. WIth fifty-thousand dollars in her hand, and a life going nowhere, Pip isn’t sure what to do with her windfall until she meets Sasha.
Hatching a plan to buy a decrepit house on a Greek island where Sasha can write and Pip can sort out her life, the couple find themselves in the middle of an environmental struggle that brings their past mistakes back to life
The Ruiners, a debut novel from Ellena Savage, answers the age old question of, “is there any hope for us”.
Release date: 28 April 2026
Henry Goes Bush
It’s 1892 and Henry Lawson, New South Wales’ most promising writer, and least promising teetotaller, has been banished to Bourke to ‘find the real bush’. His goal is to sober up, gather fresh material and to stop being a disappointment.
But like many things in the bush, what he discovers is less glorious national frontier and more collective nervous breakdown. The trip that defined his career, it was recorded as a surrealist action movie where Lawson needs to outrun his own myth…and a gunslinger known as The Rider (aka. Banjo) – a poet who is significantly more a legend than Henry.
In Henry Goes Bush, Wayne Marshall confronts what lies behind our colonial dreaming, and creates a reality where The Bulletin’s famed poetry wars are a shootout on banks of the Darling River.
Release date: 28 April 2026
Phantom Days
From Sydney to London and return, the book Isabel bought on a whim ahead of an overseas trip is quietly observing. After the book is left in an airport taxi, and Isabel’s boyfriend takes it home, the book begins to learn about him, his family and his past. It isn’t long before it understands that Isabel isn’t safe.
That feeling Isabel had before she even cracked the book open, may be what protects her.
With Phantom Days, Angela O’Keeffe has written one of those ‘read in one sitting books’ that will leave you wanting more.
Release date: 28 April 2026
The Thornbacks
Friday night is date night, and two women are getting ready to head out for the night.
Gertie and Tabitha are morticians. By day, they prepare the bodies of the dead with formaldehyde, water, alcohol and raspberry-coloured dye. They prepare shades of light natural tan and warm rose bisque, sculpting, sewing, painting until a perfect face looks out an open casket.
On the side, they swipe their way through Luka, Zeka, Joshua and Angus, treating their targets with the same care they show their clients. But their careful routine is beginning to fray.
In her debut novel, Chloe Wilson is already receiving praise for The Thornbacks.
Release date: 5 May 2026
The Informant
In The Informant, Hopeville is thrown into chaos when the body of Silas Ziccone, president of the Outcasts bikie gang, is found on a dirt road. While evidence suggests he was not alone, there are no witnesses and no one is talking. Anton, Silas’s son, steps into the role to get revenge, sparking fears of a bikie war.
With journalist Lars Nilsson sent by his former editor to cover the story, he is warned to stay away but instead pursues a lead taking him right into the centre of gang rivalry.
Meanwhile there’s only one person who may be able to help Silas’s girlfriend Ashley, and her teenage son, escape to Western Australia but she doesn’t know who to trust.
The second novel from Melbourne author Christine Gregory, is a crime thriller giving readers a look into the outlaw motorcycle gangs and organised crime.
Release date: 26 May 2026
Chasing Odysseys (The Hero Trilogy, Books 1 – 3 reissue)
In this series for young adults, Sulari Gentill offers a retelling of Homer’s Greek classics, The Iliad and Troy. The Hero Trilogy starts with Chasing Odysseys, the classic story of the siege and fall of Troy.
The Hersmen of Ida hold a sacred trust – they’ve been feeding the citizens of Troy throughout the siege, via tunnels under the citadel walls. With Troy fallen, these same herdsmen are accused of betrayal.
Hero and her brothers chase Odysseus in search of the truth, but the path is plagued with misfortune and peril that they must travel to find what really happened.
Release date: 26 May 2026
Non-Fiction
The Deer Woman
Susan Fealy takes a deep dive into the boundaries between human and other, using the sculpture Born by Kiki Smith as a starting point. In the sculpture, a naked woman births from a small doe, and Fealy asks what a deer woman would say if she could speak.
The Deer Woman opens the conversation into these mysteries, looking at how urban life shapes her, and the earth under her feet.
This poetry collection features surrealist feminist reinventions and is structured in four parts, exploring blooded histories, perils, beauty and finitude.
Release date: 28 April 2026
Fitzroy North 3068
Poet Yvette Henry Holt brings together humour, honesty and reflection in a collection shaped by her travels around the world. Her work explores a variety of themes including childhood, identity, sexuality and everyday life, while moving between Central Australia, inner-city Melbourne and overseas. Throughout the book readers will experience an ongoing conversation between the poet and her therapist, attempting to capture the thoughts of a traveller making sense of where she’s been and where she’s headed.
The collection will feel like a journey in itself for readers, moving through memories, emotions and experiences. Whether she is wandering down Gertrude Street, sitting in a cafe, or heading overseas, Holt is searching for a sense of direction and belonging.
Release date: 28 April 2026
The Enigmatic Echidna: Secrets of the World’s Most Curious Creature
One of the most unusual, and fascinating Australian animals, there are plenty of things most of us don’t know about the echidna. This book from award-winning author and biologist, Danielle Clode, shares some of the most interesting facts of the echidna, including that they use their snout as a snorkel when swimming, their complex brains, their physical strength and their ability to survive fires.
The Enigmatic Echidna follows the echidna on its path through the Australian landscape and is equal parts surprising, amusing and educational.
Release date: 5 May 2026
Find More Aussie Authors You’ll Love
If you’ve enjoyed exploring these new releases, there’s plenty more to discover. Our site is home to a growing collection of Australian authors across every genre. Take a look around, find your next great read, and support our incredible writers.