Reviews Editor @artshub. Critic, editor & poet. Poetry:Turbulence (2020) and Decadence (2022) @uwapublishing.
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Best new non-fiction books October 2025
Have we missed some best new non-fiction? Publishers, please send your advance book lists to our editor inbox and we’ll include you next time! Best new non-fiction: quick links Average At Best is a memoir about embracing mediocrity if you want to get anything done.
Best new fiction books October 2025
Have we missed some best new fiction? Publishers, please send your advance book lists to our editor inbox and and we’ll include you next time! Best new fiction: quick links Biologist Mitchell is committed to the environment and the growing global antinatalist movement. For one month each year he lives with his colleague Frances in a utopia of radical equality and scientific dedication in Antarctica. They are concluding the Anarctos Project: a seed vault in an isolated, secret location.
Best new books published October 2025
Plan your reading in advance with our guide to new books published in October 2025. Have we missed some best books? Publishers, please send your advance book lists, in any genre, to our editor inbox and we’ll include you next time! Best new books: quick links Biologist Mitchell is committed to the environment and the growing global antinatalist movement. For one month each year he lives with his colleague Frances in a utopia of radical equality and scientific dedication in Antarctica.
Concert pianist - so you want my arts job?
Concert pianist: quicks links Internationally acclaimed concert pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk is celebrated for his performances, with The Times hailing his BBC Proms performance of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 as ‘revelatory.’ Artist-in-Residence at Wigmore Hall in 2023/24, he has appeared with leading orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Sydney Symphony, and São Paulo Symphony.
A new chapter for The Little Bookroom in Melbourne
The Little Bookroom: quick links The Little Bookroom, a cornerstone of Melbourne’s literary scene for over six decades, has recently reached its initial fundraising efforts to support what they’re calling ‘a new chapter’. The funds will allow the store to re-open in a new location – East Brunswick Village – within months.
Best new non-fiction books September 2025
Have we missed some best new non-fiction? Publishers, please send your advance book lists to our editor inbox and we’ll include you next time! Best new non-fiction: quick links For beginner and expert DIYers alike, this extensive guide covers everything from painting and timber restoration to tiling and upholstery. Stuart Coupe shows how showbusiness and the underworld are intrinsically linked: nightclubs, corrupt cops, drugs, vice, rock’n’roll promoters, dodgy accountants and gangland shootings.
Best new fiction books September 2025
Have we missed some best new fiction? Publishers, please send your advance book lists to our editor inbox and we’ll include you next time! Best new fiction: quick links A novel about coming of age in 1970s Australia: Andie Tanner’s world is small; her mum is complicated, but she adores her dad and the kennel of racing greyhounds that live under their house.
CEO Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) - so you want my arts job?
CEO of Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO): quick links Michael Sterzinger grew up in a small Bavarian village where music was part of everyday life and from a young age he knew he wanted to be a musician. ‘I started on German Tenor Horn at eight, moved to tuba at 15 and spent many of my school holidays at youth orchestra camps. Some summers I would do four back-to-back weeks of the six-week break spent entirely playing music.
Best new books published September 2025 in Australia
Plan your reading in advance with our guide to new books published in Australia in September 2025. Have we missed some best books? Publishers, please send your advance book lists, in any genre, to our editor inbox and to our reviews inbox and we’ll include you next time! A novel about coming of age in 1970s Australia: Andie Tanner’s world is small; her mum is complicated, but she adores her dad and the kennel of racing greyhounds that live under their house.
5 questions for Writing Australia's new director
Creative Australia has recently announced the appointment of Wenona Byrneto lead Writing Australia, which started this year and is responsible for supporting and promoting the literature sector as well as the development of markets and audiences for Australian literature. Byrne has served as Head of Literature at Creative Australia since 2017; prior to that she’s worked in publishing for 11 years. She’s also worked as a writer/director in film and television as well as a freelance feature writer.
Daylesford's Word in Winter Festival lifts poetry off the page
Reading books, and in particularly poetry, can be a solitary experience, and sometimes you need a concentrated silence to be able to parse the words on a line-by-line basis, particularly if the work is dense and laden with layered symbolism. Yet poetry can also benefit from a communal experience. Taking the poems off the page to see how they fly in the public arena can bring a new audience, those who wouldn’t normally pick up a collection of poetry in a bookshop or library.
2025 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards shortlist announced
The shortlist for the 2025 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards has just been announced. The richest literary prize in the nation celebrates the exceptional talents of emerging and established Australian writers, illustrators, poets and historians. This marks the third year Creative Australia has delivered the awards, following the release of the Australian Government’s 2023 National Cultural Policy, Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place.
Songs for a New World review: talent aplenty at Chapel off Chapel
Songs for a New World: quick links Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World is a difficult work to classify. It’s best described as a cycle consisting of a series of songs that lack an overarching narrative. To further complicate things, Soundworks’ production greatly expands the cast from four to 15 performers. This is an ambitious reimagining of the original show. Fortunately, the team is up to the challenge.
Miles Franklin winner 2025: Siang Lu, Ghost Cities
Siang Lu, a first-time shortlistee, has won the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award – the highest merit for an Australian author – for his novel Ghost Cities. On winning the award, Lu said: ‘I am honoured beyond belief and beyond words. I didn’t dare dream of this. It didn’t seem possible.
When book rejection leads to publishing success
The publishing world was agog to learn that this year’s Miles Franklin winner, Siang Lu, was rejected multiple times for his novel, Ghost Cities, before it was finally picked up. It took 10 years for Lu to have his manuscript published. Alongside other authors, he spoke to ArtsHub about his convoluted journey to publication. Publishing after book rejection: quick links ‘Yeah. I tried to do it the right way.
Best new books published August 2025 in Australia
Plan your reading in advance with our guide to new books published in Australia in August 2025. Have we missed some best books? Publishers, please send your advance book lists, in any genre, to our editor inbox and we’ll include you next time! When Honey’s twin sister dies, she’s determined to find out the cause of her death. This debut novel is set in a small fictional NSW coastal town and canvasses the trickiness of family dynamics and the interconnectedness of community. Macmillan.
Sydney Fringe Festival: bigger and bolder than ever in 2025
Sydney Fringe Festival has unveiled its most extensive program yet, with new leadership under CEO Patrick Kennedy that aims to take the festival towards global relevance while still nurturing homegrown talent. From Parramatta to Lane Cove, Sydney Fringe Festival will transform the city into a cultural playground in September, with 460 shows made by 3,000 artists across 89 venues.
Siang Lu, Lauren Foley, Alan Fyfe: when book rejection leads to publishing success
The publishing world was agog to learn that this year’s Miles Franklin winner, Siang Lu, was rejected multiple times for his novel, Ghost Cities, before it was finally picked up. It took 10 years for Lu to have his manuscript published. Alongside other authors, he spoke to ArtsHub about his convoluted journey to publication. Publishing after book rejection: quick links ‘Yeah. I tried to do it the right way.
Sydney Writers' Festival partners with State Library of NSW for new literary hub
The partnership between the Sydney Writers’ Festival and the State Library of NSW will deliver a year-round program of literary events in addition to its annual Festival, beginning this September 2025. The $1.5 million initiative is the first part of a sector-wide strategy to position writing and literature at the heart of NSW’s cultural, educational and economic life.
Miles Franklin winner 2025: Siang Lu, Ghost Cities
Siang Lu, a first-time shortlistee, has won the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award for his novel Ghost Cities. On winning the award, Lu said: ‘I am honoured beyond belief and beyond words. I didn’t dare dream of this. It didn’t seem possible. My most heartfelt thanks to Perpetual as trustee for the Miles Franklin Literary Award estate, the Copyright Agency, my publisher Aviva Tuffield and the wonderful team at UQP, and my agent Brendan Fredericks.’ Siang will receive $60,000 in prize money.
20 pub quiz literary questions - the children’s and young adults’ literature version
Following on from the previous 20 pub quiz literary questions that centred on OzLit, this time ArtsHub is concentrating on bookish questions that focus on younger readers. Often children’s and YA literature are sidelined, but there are many of us whose love of the written word began with picture books, early readers, middle-grade and YA fiction. Hence, here are 20 questions that’ll test your memory and knowledge of classics and contemporary titles 1.
20 pub quiz literary questions – the children's and young adults' literature version
Following on from the previous 20 pub quiz literary questions that centred on OzLit, this time ArtsHub is concentrating on bookish questions that focus on younger readers. Often children’s and YA literature are sidelined, but there are many of us whose love of the written word began with picture books, early readers, middle-grade and YA fiction. Hence, here are 20 questions that’ll test your memory and knowledge of classics and contemporary titles 1.
Melbourne premiere of American Psycho the Musical - prepare to be blood spattered!
This September will see the premiere of the musical of American Psycho in Melbourne’s Chapel off Chapel, in time for the 25th anniversary of the Mary Harron film starring Christian Bale. Both iterations are based on Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 novel about capitalism, consumerism, excess – and, of course, murder. It’s set in Manhattan in the late 80s and follows an investment banker who leads a double life as a serial killer.
Bakers Lane Books launches with $10,000 prize to support emerging women writers
There’s a new publishing house in Australia, with the launch of Bakers Lane Books, an independent outfit founded by long-time publishing veteran Ginny Grant. Bakers Lane Books’ remit is to release a select number of high-quality fiction and nonfiction titles each year, with a mission to support underrepresented and diverse Australian voices.
Poetry Month returns with nationwide coverage
Poetry Month is an initiative of Red Room Poetry, the only organisation in Australia that consistently commissions poets and produces live poetry events nationally. This year’s program includes both in-person and online events as well as workshops.
Book review: The Haunting of Mr & Mrs Stevenson, Belinda Lyons-Lee
Belinda Lyons-Lee has a taste for the macabre. Her previous book, Tussaud, was set in 1810 and focused on the titular, renowned Marie Tussaud – the creator of death masks and wax sculptures – and how she became involved in making a human-size girl automaton. It was a strange and eerie mishmash of fact and fiction. Lyon’s-Lee latest book, The Haunting of Mr & Mrs Stevenson is once again an historical work that blends the real and the fantastic.
Mushroom Murder Trial: the TV series, documentary, panel discussion and book
As reported in our sister publication, ScreenHub, Erin Patterson’s mushroom murder trial is currently being adapted for the screen in a new ABC series to be called Toxic. As ScreenHub‘s writer Silvi Vann-Wall says, the collaboration between screenwriter Elise McCredi and creator Tony Ayres “promises to ‘go beyond’ the tabloid headlines on the Mushroom Murder Trial“. “True stories ask storytellers to probe the complexities of human behaviour,” says Ayres.
So you want my arts job: Museum Curator
Correne Wilkie is an experienced music industry professional with over 20 years in artist management, and was the first recipient of the Australian Association of Artist Managers (AAM) Legacy Award in 2022. She took Melbourne band The Cat Empire to the worldwide stage, has been the coach and strategist behind many other prominent music managers and artists, and is a dedicated champion of creative culture in the Australian music and entertainment scene.
Book review: Autocorrect, Etgar Keret
Etgar Keret is a renowned Israeli writer who favours the short-story form and Autocorrect is his latest collection. For those yet to encounter him, Keret’s work is surreal and quirky; he upends expectations so you never quite know how his tales will end. The opening salvo, ‘A World without Selfie Sticks’, is a prime example of his craft. It’s a tale about alternate universes in which a man discovers a woman who looks identical to – but isn’t actually – his wife.
The book that changed your life
Bookworms, by definition, read a lot of books, but there is usually one that truly lodges in their heart and head for a variety of reasons. ArtsHub asked several readers (including our editorial staffers) which book changed their lives and why. Some of the nominations are accepted masterpieces; others are surprises. The book that most impacted children and adult author Hazel Edward’s early life was Enid Blyton’s The Land of Far Beyond.
Theatre review: Mother Play, Southbank Theatre, The Sumner
Mother Play – a play in five evictions is the Melbourne Theatre Company’s (MTC) premiere of a show by Pulitzer-winning playwright Paula Vogel that opened on Broadway last year. The semi-autobiographical work rides from the 60s through to the 21st century, capturing decades of cultural change through the domestic minutiae of a single family in Washington DC.
The book that changed your life
Bookworms, by definition, read a lot of books, but there is usually one that truly lodges in their heart and head for a variety of reasons. ArtsHub asked several readers (including our editorial staffers) which book changed their lives and why. Some of the nominations are accepted masterpieces; others are surprises. The book that most impacted children and adult author Hazel Edward’s early life was Enid Blyton’s The Land of Far Beyond.
Book review: Autocorrect, Etgar Keret
Etgar Keret is a renowned Israeli writer who favours the short-story form and Autocorrect is his latest collection. For those yet to encounter him, Keret’s work is surreal and quirky; he upends expectations so you never quite know how his tales will end. The opening salvo, ‘A World without Selfie Sticks’, is a prime example of his craft. It’s a tale about alternate universes in which a man discovers a woman who looks identical to – but isn’t actually – his wife.
20 pub quiz literary questions - the Aussie version
So, a few weeks ago we bamboozled a fair few bookworms with 20 pub quiz literary questions; this time ArtsHub is narrowing its focus to presenting literary questions specifically about OzLit, so let’s see how you go this time round! 1. Which book is not a winner of the Stella Prize? a) The Erratics b) Mateship with Birds c) See What You Made Me Do? d) Every Version of You 2. Which novel began with these words?
2025 Miles Franklin shortlist
The 2025 Miles Franklin shortlist was announced today (Wednesday 25 June), by Perpetual as Trustee, alongside Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund This year’s shortlist is: Chinese Postman by Brian Castro (Giramondo Publishing) Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser (Text Publishing) Dirt Poor Islanders by Winnie Dunn (Hachette Australia) Compassion by Julie Janson (Magabala Books) Ghost Cities by Siang Lu (University of Queensland Press) Highway 13 by Fiona McFarlane (Allen & Unwin) According...
So you want my arts job: MusicNSW CEO
Joe Muller is the Managing Director of MusicNSW, the state’s peak body for contemporary music. Additionally, he currently serves as a Board Member of Green Music Australia and sits on the NSW Government’s Sound NSW Advisory Board and 24-Hour Economy Advisory Council.
Open call for artist contributions at Waterfront Brisbane
Expressions of Interest are now open for artists to contribute to an interactive, sculptural installation series titled The Lawn forming part of the Waterfront Brisbane precinct’s permanent public art collection. This is one of three major public art commissions being delivered as part of the $2.5 billion Waterfront Brisbane development, a city-shaping transformation by Dexus that will redefine the CBD’s riverside location.
10 pet peeves about books
Writing and Publishing Photo: Đồng Phục Hải Triều, Unsplash. We all know a good whinge is balm for the soul, so ArtsHub reached out to the local community to see what our collective annoyances are when it comes to books. These are minor peeves yet irritating all the same – paper-cuts may be shallow, but they are nonetheless still painful! These complaints have been restricted to the initial reactions – before you even get into the work itself.
New exhibition celebrating World Crocodile Day
The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) has just announced a jaw-snapping exhibition in recogition of World Crocodile Day, which was observed globally on 17 June to raise awareness of conservation concerns regarding these endangered species. Croc! Lost Giants to Living Legends will make its world premiere at Queensland Museum Kurilpa in Brisbane later this year.
Lenny Kravitz is gonna go that way ... to Mildura
Rock star Lenny Kravitz will take to the stage at a headline concert in Mildura later this year. The Victorian Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos has announced that, in a huge coup for the region, the musician who has sold 40 million albums worldwide will play at the Mildura Sporting Precinct on 28 November 2025.
Dance review: The Chronicles, RISING, Playhouse Arts Centre Melbourne
The last time we saw Stephanie Lake’s troupe was at RISING in 2022, when nine dancers collaborated with nine drummers in the heart-thumping choreographic and musical feat that was Manifesto. This time round, Lake has up the ante. Although it only goes for a little over an hour, the production feels epic in its ambitious reach.
Australian literary festivals in 2025
Start planning and bookmarking your 2025 calendar with these literary festivals nationwide. Please note this list will be updated throughout the year as more festivals finalise their dates and program schedules. Barwon Heads Indie Author Fair (Vic) 12 January This is the second author fair on the coastal town, with all events free for visitors.
Melbourne Rare Book Week returns
Melbourne Rare Book Week (MRBW) will return from 24 July – 2 August with a program of events, exhibitions and lectures that celebrate the world of rare and collectible books. Established in 2012 as the world’s first rare book week, MRBW has become an annual festival. The 2025 program features 43 free events, delivered across Melbourne in collaboration with Victoria’s leading cultural institutions.
An art prize that encourages conversations about life and death
The Live Well, Die Well Art Prize is a national initiative of Palliative Care Australia. “The idea came from our desire to explore the role of the arts in prompting deeper conversations about end-of-life care. This is our fifth year running the prize, following a hugely powerful response in previous years” says Camilla Rowland, CEO of Palliative Care Australia. “We know that death is one of the few certainties in life, and yet as a society, we often struggle to talk about it.
20 pub quiz literary questions
So, a few weeks ago, ArtsHub brought you 20 famous opening lines in books and 20 famous closing lines in books, here now are 20 pub quiz questions that roam across time and genres for the bookworms. Go play with your fellow readers – or book group members – and see if you can beat them. 1. What is the birth name of George Eliot? 2. What is the complete title of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein? 3. Who wrote Black Beauty? 4. What is the name of the cat referred to in Macbeth? 5.
So you want my arts job: Festival Director of the Darwin Street Art Festival
David Collins is the Founder and Festival Director of the Darwin Street Art Festival (DSAF), in the tropical Top End of Australia. An artist himself and former youth worker, Collins often pinches himself at the thought that 10 years ago, a younger version of him was probably graffitiing in a drain in Darwin’s northern suburbs, and had no idea that he’d one day spearhead the most awarded street art festival in the country.
Income averaging: everything you wanted to know but were too afraid to ask
It’s tax time again: time for creative workers to balance earnings and outgoings, sort out receipts and shore up the next year’s financial planning. Part of this preparation may involve income averaging. But what exactly is income averaging for tax purposes? It’s basically a method that allows you to spread your income over several years to determine your average income – this in turn can lead to lower tax liabilities.
Thinking about entering an art prize? Just go for it!
Dave Snook is a 32-year-old artist based in the western suburbs of Sydney. He’s been creating art for as long as he can remember, he tells ArtsHub. “I have always found solace in drawing, but didn’t pick up a brush until about 2015, and I haven’t been able to put it down since.
Famous closing lines in books
Recently, ArtsHub presented 20 famous opening lines in books, so it makes sense to offer the corollary: 20 famous closing lines! Final words can have a lasting impression on readers but some are more prosaic than poetic. Once again, it’s a mix of classic and modern titles, so let’s see how much of a bookworm you really are… 1. ‘Yet what is any ocean but a multitude of drops?’ 2.
Performance review: Vandemonian Lags, Melbourne Recital Centre
Vandemonian Lags: New Songs Of Transportation From The Prison Without Walls is musical theatre that highlights the plight of Tasmania’s convict past through spoken word and songs and is driven by Mick Thomas (the former frontman of Melbourne folk-rock band Weddings Parties Anything), who conceptualised the show with his brother, Steve.
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