Noongar author Claire Coleman’s new novel forces us to question what we value and how we live by combining dystopia and utopia, in a near-future very like our own.
From mythical Moth people, who kidnapped children, to threatening desert fairies in loincloths, early Australian fairy tales helped sanitise white settlement, expressing colonial fears.
A new historical novel, redolent of the masterful writing of Henry James and Charlotte Brontë, explores the themes of loss, alienation and displacement.
Australian authors have formed a new group, Writers for Climate Action. Joelle Gergis explains how art, along with science, can help bring about the changes needed.
For the first time, only one novel has been shortlisted, amid works of poetry, essays and graphic fiction. They tackle big issues - racism, grief, sexual abuse - but are leavened by joy.
Part historical novel, part speculative fiction, A History of Dreams examines the themes of inequality and authoritarianism from the perspective of a coven of witchy young women.