Australian Books I'm Excited to Read in 2025
I made this image earlier in 2025, when I was writing on my Instagram account about the importance of pre-ordering books. The list of books that I am excited about is an ever-growing, living document, and I am always on the lookout for things to add to it. You'll notice something about the authors included in this image too: they are all Australian writers, and a lot of them are from Western Australia, where I live.
One thing I was taught when I did my professional writing and publishing graduate diploma that will always stick with me is that the Australian book market is vastly oversupplied. Meaning, that there are somehow lots more Australians out there writing and wanting to publish books than there are buying Australian books to read. How can this be possible, you might be wondering? Well, it's not as simple as there being lots of aspiring writers out there who don't read books (good luck to them, I say), but rather that when faced with a choice of which books you want to part with your hard earned cash for, there are lots of books by writers from all over the world to choose from. Just take a look at the Top 10 Fiction Bestsellers for this week just gone:
1. Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben [American]
2. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros [American]
3. 2 Sisters Murder Investigations by James Patterson and Candice Fox [American + Australian cowriting team]
4. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden [American]
5. Strangers in Time by David Baldacci [American]
6. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros [American, on this list twice]
7. Quicksilver by Callie Hart [British expat, now living in America]
8. The Mademoiselle Alliance by Natasha Lester [Australian!]
9. Far from Home by Danielle Steel [American]
10. Slaying the Vampire Conqueror by Carissa Broadbent [American]
(Source- Nielsen figures for week ending 29/03/25 via Better Reading)
I've highlighted the one Australian author who made the list - Natasha Lester.
(Candice Fox is on there too, which is awesome, but it's one of the books she co-wrote with James Patterson so it's not exactly the same thing.) What we can see is that American writers are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to book sales. It's hard out there at the moment. I haven't spoken to a single Australian author lately who hasn't said so, even the ones who seem to be doing quite well.
What do I take from this? Well, that if I want to see a healthy and thriving Australian publishing industry in years to come, I need to continue to buy, read, and tell my friends about Australian books! That's why this year I am prioritising Australian authors in the reviews that I write for The AU Review, and why I am making a point of pre-ordering books from my favourite local indie bookshops. It might not be much, but it's something.
What books am I looking forward to for the rest of 2025?
OUT NOW:
- When She Was Gone- Sara Foster
- The Mademoiselle Alliance - Natasha Lester
- The Montegiallo School of Swearing by Andrew HC McDonald
- By Her Hand- Marion Taffe
- Losing the Plot - Elizabeth Coleman
- Consider Yourself Kissed - Jessica Stanley
- Geraldine - Andrea Thompson
- The Whisperer's War - Jackie French
- Red Dust Running - Anita Heiss
- The Surgeon of Royaumont -Susan Neuhaus
- The Wolf Tree- Laura McCluskey
- Blood and Gold - Michael Trant
- Miss Caroline Bingley Investigates - Kelly Gardiner and Sharmini Kumar
COMING SOON
- The Unquiet Grave- Dervla McTiernan
- Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow - Jessica Townsend
- Daughters of Batavia- Stefanie Koens
- When Sleeping Women Wake - Emma Pei Yin
- Until the Red Leaves Fall - Alli Parker
- Letters to Our Robot Son - Cadance Bell
- Nightingale - Laura Elvery
- Boom Town Snap - Jay Martin
- The Secret Year of Zara Holt - Kimberley Freeman
- Made of Steam and Stardust - Bianca Breen
- Three Juliets - Minnie Darke
- King of Dirt - Holden Sheppard
- An Academic Affair - Jodi McAlister
- The Patterson Girls (10th Anniversary Edition) - Rachael Johns
- The Butterfly Women - Madeleine Cleary
- Painting Portraits of Everyone I've Ever Dated - Joseph Earp
I'm sure there are heaps more and I would go and look through all the notes I have left for myself to find them except that then I might be tempted to go book shopping and I need to read a few of the books I've bought lately, and make some room in my office, before I do that again...
It's something to consider next time you go to the bookstore, or buy a book for a friend. Rebecca Yarros is clearly doing very well with her books, and she probably doesn't need your pre-order (though I'm sure she appreciates it) but it will really mean the world to an Australian author at the moment. And if you're not able to afford purchasing a book, remember that there are other ways to support Australian authors too, such as requesting the book at your local library (if they don't have it on their catalogue, you can make a purchase suggestion), recommending it for your next book club pick, sharing a review online, or posting about how much you liked it on your social media accounts.
And while this was in no way the point of this post, if you felt like ordering a copy of my new book, The Distance Between Dreams, you can find a copy in stock at your local bookshop here and order it online from Fremantle Press here. To anyone who does that, know that I am incredibly grateful to you and I really hope you enjoy your trip back in time to 1940s Fremantle.
