This month, we’re publishing four fascinating new books: The Shortest History of Reality by Geraint F. Lewis, an accessible journey through the history of the universe; The Shortest History of the United States of America by Don Watson, now available in paperback; Neighbours: Australia and the Pacific by Joanne Wallis and Jack Corbett, a timely look at Australia’s place in the region; and Don’t Forget to Smile by Ariane Beeston, a gripping YA novel exploring fame, power and consent in the elite ballet world.

From one of Australia’s most celebrated literary voices comes a luminous and deeply original novella. In Little World, Josephine Rowe weaves together lives across continents and decades in a haunting tale of faith, memory and the mysteries that shape us.

From Black Inc. in June 2026: Anna Goldsworthy’s brilliant new Quarterly Essay The God We Made; the twentieth-anniversary edition of Alice Pung’s beloved Unpolished Gem, alongside a beautiful new B-format edition of Alice's 2022 novel One Hundred Days; and Maria Golia’s The Shortest History of Egypt, a fresh perspective on one of humanity’s oldest and most enduring civilisations.

Egypt is historically the most photographed, studied, fictionalised and commoditised place on Earth...

A David-and-Goliath story set in the ancient landscape of the Pilbara

From clan castles and conflict to Hadrian's Wall and Brexit

'The Enigmatic Echidna asks us to look past the assumption that its subject is no more than an evolutionary curio to reveal an animal rich in cultural and scientific significance. Written with rigour and expansive curiosity, it contains multitudes.' —James Bradley

Four standout new books this May – from urgent reportage to gripping history and extraordinary nature writing: Sirens by Martin McKenzie-Murray, a moving glimpse into the lives of three first responders, the triumphant The Shortest History of Ireland by James Hawes, The Enigmatic Echidna from biologist and natural history author Danielle Clode and The Shortest History of Scotland by Murray Pittock – a dazzling account of Scotland’s defining past.

Out this month: A. D. Hope by Susan Lever, Ruin of Magic by Kate Holden and High Time by Desmond Manderson

Martin McKenzie-Murray – The Saturday Paper’s associate editor, two-time Walkley finalist and winner of the Melbourne Press Club’s Quill Award – chats with us about his forthcoming book, Sirens: Inside the Shadow World of First Responders, which publishes on 28 April.