To help you decide, we reached out to our members for reading inspiration. And it turns out that when not worrying about deadlines, clients and serial commas, many of you are working on your own writing and publishing projects.
If you love to escape to the mysterious, suspenseful and thrilling, you have no shortage of choices, with everything from humorous cosies to hard-bitten thrillers. But other suggested books cover a wide range of other genres, from whimsical fiction and picture books to self help and local history. There are also some options for your professional library, with reflections on editing, writing and publishing.
Prices were confirmed as of 2 December 2024. Note that Kindle ebooks are free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. Many of the authors offer a discount for fellow IPEd members. Postage fees might apply.
Fiction
Short stories and novellas
A place between waking and forgetting is Eugen Bacon’s newest collection of Afro-Irreal short stories that features the World Fantasy Award finalist story “The Devil Don’t Come With Horns”. It cases black people stories in bold and evocative text, at times deeply flawed but potentially redeemable protagonists in rich hues of blackness and light. Something beautiful, something dark in lyrical language packed with affection, dread, anguish and hope.
Raw Dog Screaming Press, 2024, paperback
ISBN: 9781947879782
Price: A$17.95
Further information and sales: https://rawdogscreaming.com/books/a-place-between-waking-and-forgetting/
Ravenous girls, by Rebecca Burton, is a quiet, nuanced study of sisterhood and a portrait of the long-term effects of anorexia on a family. It explores the chasms that lie between adolescence and adulthood, sickness and health, and intimacy and loneliness. Ravenous girls was joint winner of the 20/40 Publishing Prize 2023.
Finlay Lloyd Publications, 2023, paperback
ISBN: 9780645927009
Regular price: A$24
Further information and sales: https://finlaylloyd.com/product/ravenous-girls-rebecca-burton/
IPEd member discount: just under 15% – use code EDITORS5
Crime and prejudice, by Julia L Miller, is humorous cosy crime that images the beloved characters of Pride and Prejudice as lawbreakers. Its 12 stories offer a deliciously seamy underside to Jane Austen’s world. Discover why Mr Bennet became a pug owner and a poisoner; how Elizabeth Darcy started a riot while agitating for women’s enrolment at Cambridge; where Caroline Bingley found forbidden love; and, of course, when Mr Darcy actually came by his wet shirt.
Wild Card Books, 2024, paperback, ebook, audiobook and hardback
ISBN: paperback 9781763705128; ebook 9781763705111; audiobook 9781763705104; hardback 9781763705135
Regular price: paperback A$22.99; ebook on Kindle A$4.99; audiobook A$41.99; hardback A$43.99
Further information and sales: https://julialmiller.net/
IPEd member price for pick-up in Adelaide only: paperback A$19.99
Serengotti, by Eugen Bacon, is a literary mystery that is also an African Australian migrant’s story. This is a novel bathed in sensuous, original language, a love letter to the strong women who bind families together despite everything. It’s also a tender remembrance of the many who haven’t or couldn’t survive the dislocations and tragedies of their turbulent pasts.
Serengotti was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards.
Transit Lounge Publishing, 2023, paperback
ISBN: 9780645565362
Price: A$32.99
Further information and sales: https://transitlounge.com.au/shop/serengotti/
The godfather of dance (a Jade Riley mystery), by Andrea Barton, tackles the unsolved murder of a ballroom dancer, which sets rookie journalist Jade Riley on a hunt for the killer. Bella Ellwood-Clayton, author of the novel Weekend friends, praised its “unreliable narrators, multiple plot twists, and zingy pace”.
Wings ePress, 2024, ebook, hardback and paperback
ISBN: ebook 9781590880272; POD 9781590886427
Price: ebook on Kindle A$5.99 (other providers vary); POD paperback on Amazon A$28.34; paperback at bookshops A$34.99
Further information and sales: www.andreabartonauthor.com
A killer among friends (a Jade Riley mystery), by Andrea Barton, is the forthcoming follow-up to The godfather of dance. Soon after journalist Jade returns from abroad to her home town, Melbourne, her friend Nick is found dead in a dumpster. She turns to their tight-knit circle for answers, only to uncover a web of lies. As Jade closes in on the killer, she realises the suspects are all people she loves. Her life depends on knowing which of them to trust.
Wings ePress, 2024, ebook and paperback
ISBN: ebook 9798891970168; POD 9798891979826
Price: ebook on Kindle A$5.99 (other providers vary); POD paperback on Amazon A$28.34; paperback at bookshops A$34.99
Further information and sales: www.andreabartonauthor.com
The disappearing season, by Cienna Collins, is set in the dripping heat of a rainforest town in Far North Queensland. Georgia Wright has finally exhaled, her new life, nannying for a dysfunctional but endearing family, the perfect escape from her bleak past. Until the text messages start. Soon Georgia’s new-found family bonds are unravelling as she faces her vengeful ex and the fury of Cyclone Yasi.
AJC Publishing, 2024, paperback and ebook
ISBN: 9781763719002
Regular price: paperback A$35
Further information and sales: https://ciennacollins.com/books/
IPEd member discount: 10% – use code IPED
Wellworth, by Eila Jameson-Avey, is rural crime fiction driven by a searching question: what happens when your search for the identity of your parents leads you to the one place you fear? In her home town of Widyarra, Ally uncovers deadly secrets and her chance at finally having a family of her own is jeopardised. When Ally is pushed to the brink, one thing is certain, she will stop at nothing to protect her child.
Self-published, 2023, ebook and paperback
ISBN: 9780645714944
Regular price: A$32
Further information and sales: https://eilajamesonavey.com/payments-page/
IPED members pay $25. Pay directly to Eila Jameson-Avey (BSB 082-296 account number 43-115-4837) with your surname and IPED in the payment reference. Then email: eilajamesonavey@gmail.com with your address for postage, including the payment reference.
Three times buried, by Jane Smith, is a sinister tale of torn loyalties, secrets, superstition and murder, based on a sensational true crime. It’s Scotland, 1826, when Meggy McKessar comes to live and work at John Lovie’s Aberdeenshire farm. All John’s widowed mother wants is for the rumours about his sordid past to be forgotten forever. But with a sudden death, the life she has so desperately tried to preserve threatens to fall apart.
Self-published, 2024, paperback and ebook
ISBN: paperback 9780648650331
Price: paperback A$30; ebook A$7.99
Further information and sales: https://www.amazon.com.au/Three-Times-Buried-Jane-Smith/dp/0648650332 or https://www.janesmithauthor.com/books.html
The forest, by Miriam Verbeek, is the story of mountain bike enthusiast and computer geek Saskia van Essen. She finds herself unravelling corruption hiding beneath tradition, loyalties, wealth and charm at a family-owned timber mill. She must hold her wits together or the future of the timber mill, its owners and its employees will be lost.
Self-published, 2023, ebook and paperback (print on demand)
ISBN: 9780648885481
Regular price: ebook A$4.99
Further information: www.miriamverbeek.com
IPEd member price: ebook A$2.99 from https://payhip.com/b/Q5Wzw; paperback A$15 from miriam@miriamverbeek.com
Speculative fiction
Secondhand daylight is Eugen Bacon’s collaboration with UK slipstream author Andrew Hook. Something is happening to Green. He is an ordinary guy, time-jumping forward at a startling, uncontainable rate. He is grappling to understand his present; his relationship is wholly tattered; his ultimate destination is a colossal question mark. Zada is a scientist in the future. She is mindful of Green’s conundrum and seeks to unravel it by going backwards in time. Their point of intersection is fleeting but memorable, each one’s travel impacting the other’s past or future. And one of them doesn’t even know it yet.
Cosmic Egg Books, 2023, paperback and ebook
ISBN: 9781803413549
Price: paperback A$19.95; ebook A$9.99
For more information and sales: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/cosmicegg-books/our-books/secondhand-daylight-novel
Historical fiction
The missionary’s wife, by Claire McGregor, is a journey of love and loss, based on true events. Annetta Stewart boards a ship in Nova Scotia in 1871 for Vanuatu. With her new husband by her side, her faith and courage will be tested. As the dangers of the islands become all too real, Annetta must make a choice: stay and face the challenges, or flee and leave behind everything she holds dear.
Kookaburra Hill Publishing Services, 2024, paperback, hardback, large print and ebook
ISBN: paperback 9780648965909
Regular price (ex GST): A$24.99
Further information and sales: www.missionaryswife.com or https://clairemcgregor.com.au/product/the-missionarys-wife/
IPEd member discount: 10% – use code IPED10
Children’s and young adult fiction
A way home, by Emily Brewin, explores growing up with a struggling parent and is the winner of The Gab Williams Prize 2024. Its protagonist, 16-year-old Grace, lives under a bridge in Melbourne. When winter drives her to the City Library, she discovers a community piano that reminds her of her mum – a talented pianist whose mental illness makes life a rollercoaster. When Grace plans to find help for herself and Mum, life looks up. But things don’t work out as imagined …
MidnightSun Publishing, 2024, paperback
ISBN: 9781922858382
Price: A$19.99
For further information and sales: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781922858382/a-way-home–emily-brewin–2024–9781922858382 or emilybrewin.com
Keeper of the archives, by Lynne Stringer, is dystopian sci-fi for young adults. After their home in Sendirian City burns to cinders, Eden Fittell gets a job working in the government’s archives to try and support her family and keep her alcoholic father away. But the city is being stalked by crime boss Kore Luddan. Government employees are being snatched off the streets. Is Eden safe? What is Kore planning? And will it mean the end of Sendirian City?
Rhiza Edge, 2024, paperback, ebook and audiobook
ISBN: 9781761111563
Price: paperback A$22.99; ebook A$10.99; audiobook A$31.99
For further information and sales:
https://www.lynnestringer.com/keeper-of-the-archives/
The leftover lemon dilemma, by Dannielle Viera, illustrated by Paula Deuber, is a multicultural celebration of food and community. When Mandy finds herself with an abundance of sour lemons, she discovers a way to turn them into something sweet – with a little help from her neighbours. The diverse neighbourhood is brought together through the sustainable practice of crop-swapping. This picture book is ideal for kids aged 4 to 8.
Loose Parts Press, 2023, hardcover
ISBN: 9780645532548
Price: A$20 (currently on sale – RRP A$24)
Further information and sales: https://loosepartspress.square.site/s/shop
Humour and absurdism
Best of a bad lot, by Rebecca Fletcher, is a collection of mostly humourous or absurdist short stories from the writing life, inspired by advice to aim for 100 rejections in a year. This is a collection of the pieces that found homes and some reflections on the process. You don’t normally see failure, especially in writing. “This is because usually a writing failure means that no one will publish it. Thanks to self-publishing, I can now embarrass myself without needing to inconvenience a submissions editor. It’s a brave new world.”
Self-published, 2023, paperback (and ebook pending)
ISBN: 9780645979206
Regular price: paperback on Amazon A$28
For further information and sales: https://www.amazon.com.au/Best-Bad-Lot-anthology-rejections/dp/0645979201
IPEd member price: A$10 direct from author – email rebecca@wordsonwords.com.au
Counterculture blues: a fable, by Danielle de Valera, is a feel-good anthropomorphic novel set in 1986 in the mythical town of Tuckaburra, once a centre of the counterculture movement in Australia. A family of cats with radical leanings flee the city for the country, hoping for a better life. Witness their trials and tribulations and eventual triumph. Suitable for all ages.
Old Tiger Books, 2024, ebook and paperback
ISBN: ebook on Kindle 9780648609810; other ebooks 9780648609827; paperback 9780648609803
Price: ebook A$4.99, paperback on Amazon A$24.14, paperback in Brisbane bookstores (Avid Reader, West End, New Farm New Editions) A$27.50
For further information and sales: https://www.amazon.com.au/Counterculture-Blues-fable-Danielle-Valera-ebook/dp/B0DGPTH1FM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= or https://books2read.com/u/38lQvV
Anthology and poetry
Anthology
Languages of water by Eugen Bacon (editor), is a rare but intimate fusion of East, West and Africa, a stunning artefact of writerly immersion and cultural exchange. This child of digital collaboration brings together writers, illustrators and translators of poetry, fiction and essays, and refuses to be contained. A bold and exceptional offering edited by World Fantasy Award finalist and award-winning author Eugen Bacon – an Otherwise Fellowships honoree for “doing exciting work in gender and speculative fiction”.
MVmedia, 2023, paperback
ISBN: 9798985733662
Price: A$37.76
Further information and sales: https://www.mvmediaatl.com/product-page/languages-of-water
Poetry
For a poetry option, check out member Erena Shingade’s newly launched independent publisher, Spoorbooks (spoorbooks.org).
Spoor Books is a community-oriented platform, and a bookshop featuring radical publishers from India and elsewhere. Based in Titirangi, Aotearoa New Zealand, they aim to connect readers with left-field inquiries and non-Western imaginaries. Their first book, Slender volumes: poems by Richard Von Sturmer, is out now.
Memoir and history
Memoir
Becoming debt-free: a journey towards financial freedom, by Rian Grace, is part-memoir, part-how to, in which the author shares:
• how she eradicated consumer debts at 27 as an expatriate in the UAE
• how credit cards perpetuated her overspending and how she turned it around
• how mindset change became the foundation of her debt-free journey.
This book takes a light-hearted approach to personal finance, making it a fun and enjoyable read.
A Thousand Words a Day, 2024, ebook and paperback
ISBN: ebook 9781923262003; paperback 9781923262010
Price: ebook A$11.99; paperback A$34.09
Further information and sales: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0D46ZMH59
A gradual grace, by Christina Marigold Houen, is the third and final book in this memoir series. In the first, This place you know, Christina tells the story of her childhood on an outback sheep station, told in her mother’s voice and her own voice and published by Ginninderra Press in 2019. The second, A practice of loss, tells the story of the breakdown of her marriage and the abduction of her three young daughters by their father. A gradual grace completes the trilogy: “There is a heritage which I share with my children and this is what I seek to share, in part, with a wider audience who may find resonances with their own lives.”
Ginninderra Press, 2023, paperback and ebook
ISBN: 9781761095559
Regular price: paperback A$25; ebook on Kindle A$11.68
IPEd member price: paperback A$20 direct from author – email farthestnorth1@westnet.com.au
True crime
The killer’s game: murder, lies and stolen lives, by Jane Smith, uncovers the true story of the life and crimes of the 19th-century enigma known as Captain Starlight. When a respectable public servant dies suddenly under suspicious circumstances, the authorities are baffled. Who really was the dead man? Was he an Irish nobleman fallen on hard times – or a conman, a forger, a serial impostor, a killer? As investigations peel back the layers of deception, a bizarre chain of events is revealed.
Big Sky Publishing, 2024, paperback and ebook
ISBN: 9781923004740
Price: paperback A$32.99; ebook A$4.99
Further information and sales: https://www.amazon.com.au/Killers-Game-Murder-Stolen-Lives/dp/1923004743 or https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/books/the-killers-game
History
One free woman: the true story of convict Hannah Rigby, by Jane Smith, is the story of a poor Liverpool seamstress, a prisoner and a serial thief – and a single mother determined to keep her family together. Hannah Rigby was the only female convict to stay in Moreton Bay when the penal settlement closed – a woman who notoriously served three separate sentences of transportation. This book celebrates a remarkable woman who, despite a lifetime of suffering and loss, could still summon the joy to dance until she dropped.
Big Sky Publishing, forthcoming February 2025, paperback
ISBN: 9781923144712
Price: A$34.99
Further information and pre-orders: https://www.amazon.com.au/exec/obidos/ASIN/1923144715 or https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/books/one-free-woman/
Thomas Gilchrist and Sons Limited of the Māniototo: the story of New Zealand’s longest operating general store, by Paula Wagemaker, John Hellier and Judy Beck, is a unique social history. Still operating under the same name and serving the same communities it did in 1899, this general store is a living reminder of a once-ubiquitous form of shopping, where everything from bread to bedding, dusters to dynamite, was sold. Set against the backdrop of the social, economic and political forces that shaped Gilchrist’s fortunes, this book is as much about the communities the store continues to serve as about the store itself.
Quentin Wilson Publishing, 2023, paperback
ISBN: 9781991103011
Price: NZ$54.95
Further information and sales: https://quentinwilsonpublishing.com/product/thomas-gilchrist/
Nonfiction
Writing and editing
Afro-centered futurisms in our speculative fiction, edited by Eugen Bacon, is a vibrant and approachable book, in which award-winning writers of black speculative fiction bring together excerpts from their work and creative reflections on futurisms with original essays. It scrutinises the characteristics of “futurisms” from an African gaze. Distinct African authors inspect how they auto-ethnographically situate Africa in their writings, how – through storytelling and narratology – they embrace or interrogate their cultural identities, mis/identities and multiplicities.
Bloomsbury Academic, 2024, paperback, hardback and ebook
ISBN: 9798765114674
Price: paperback A$40.49; hardback A$135; ebook (EPUB & Mobi) A$28.34; PDF A$28.34
Further information and sales: https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/afrocentered-futurisms-in-our-speculative-fiction-9798765114674/
Proofreading and editing in student and research publication contexts: international perspectives, edited by Nigel Harwood, is an academic text with contributions from two IPEd members, Charlotte Cottier AE and Rhonda Daniels AE.
“Please can you proofread my thesis?” explores initial student enquiries for thesis editing in Australia. “Providing guidance to professional editors on editing theses: the Australian experience” is focused particularly on editorial practice. The book offers vital discussions about the ethics and boundaries of proofreading and editing, with experts sharing their experiences and recommendations.
Routledge, 2024, hardback and ebook
ISBN: hardback 9781032369129; ebook 9781003334446
Price: hardback A$284; ebook A$66.59
Further information and sales: https://www.routledge.com/Proofreading-and-Editing-in-Student-and-Research-Publication-Contexts-International-Perspectives/Harwood/p/book/9781032369129
Cultivating a trauma-sensitive approach in your editing practice: the OTMAR Method, by Renée Otmar, is a guide developed by Renée Otmar PhD, an IPEd Distinguished Editor and Janet Mackenzie Medallist who has lived experience of trauma and decades of experience in the writing and editing of trauma narratives. The guide includes discussion of key concepts and explores risks and risk mitigation in editorial practice, including self-care and engaging professional support around occupational hazards such as vicarious trauma, re-traumatisation and burnout.
Renée Otmar Consultancy, 2024, paperback
ISBN: 9780648588658
Price: A$47.30
Further information and sales: https://reneeotmar.com.au/index.php/for-editors-cultivating-a-trauma-informed-approach-to-editing-practice/
IPEd member price (until 26 December 2024): A$29 – use code IPEd-xmas24
Personal finance
Mini-retirement: what career breaks and sabbaticals are for, by Rian Grace, is a bite-sized book about taking mini-retirements. It explores what we could do during career breaks and the things we need to prepare for to have a fruitful mini-retirement. Regardless of whether we are employed, self-employed or running our own business, why wait until old age to retire and do all the things we said we’d do once we don’t have to work anymore.
A Thousand Words a Day, 2024, ebook and paperback
ISBN: ebook 9781923262027; paperback 9781923262034
Price: ebook on Kindle $4.99; paperback $16.49
Further information and sales: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0D46L42CQ
Financial independence: keeping your options open, by Rian Grace, is a bite-sized book about financial independence and living within our means. It breaks down the by-products of financial independence pointing to various options in life. It addresses the things we need to prepare to work our way towards financial independence, and the things we must watch out for to ensure we can stay the course.
A Thousand Words a Day, 2024, ebook and paperback
ISBN: ebook 9781923262041; paperback 9781923262058
Price: ebook A$4.99; paperback A$16.49
Further information and sales: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0D49VJX57
Ideas
Modernity & mandarinism: inaugural lecture booklet, by Christopher Carlisle, contains the essential points and information from the inaugural New Mandarinate School (NMS) lecture in a readable and accessible form. The booklet gives readers a sense of what the NMS is all about and shows them the type of content that is contained in the 10-part “mandarinisation” course that we offer.
Mandarin studies, history & theory, by Christopher Carlisle, contains the essential points from the second lecture in the 10-part NMS lecture series. It expands on the inaugural NMS lecture and booklet, Modernity & mandarinism, and goes deeper into the theoretical underpinnings and practical implications of “democratological neo-mandarinisation”.
New Mandarinate School, 2024, digital PDF download
Regular price: A$24 per booklet
Further information and sales: https://www.cmc3industries.com/store
IPEd member price: A$18 (25% discount) – use code NMS2025
Self help and inspiration
Boots that fit, by Ruth Amos, is for those who feel tired of living a life that doesn’t fit. Without a clear sense of identity, we find ourselves squeezed into jobs and activities that are not right for us. Boots that fit supports you to use your unique gifts and callings in ways that suit your personality, your values and your life situation. It is filled with practical advice that will help you to organise your life and have the energy for pursuits that bring you joy. An accompanying workbook is available at https://ruthamos.com.au/product/boots-that-fit-a-companion-workbook/.
Self-published, 2024, ebook and paperback
ISBN: paperback 9780648291381
Regular price: paperback A$24.99
Further information and sales: https://ruthamos.com.au/product/boots-that-fit/, or https://mybook.to/bootsthatfit for ebook retailers
IPEd member discount: 15% – use code IPEd
Other
Elephants never forget, by DS Holden, is an alphabetical password logbook disguised as a paperback thriller. Keep your logins and passwords in easy reach “hidden” on your bookshelf. Perfect as a stocking filler or secret Santa gift, the logbook includes a comprehensive section with tips and advice for safely recording passwords and keeping them secure.
Boab Press, 2023, paperback
ISBN: 9780987129611
Price: A$14.29
Further information and sales: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/0987129619