Winner of the 2015 Seizure Viva La Novella Prize ‘Original, intelligent and compelling – a rare combination. Formaldehyde pulls off a complex narrative with frequent time and point-of-view shifts without ever losing the reader. For a novella that borders on the Kafkaesque, it has a good deal of heart. The interconnecting stories are handled adroitly – the clever structure never gets in the way of the writing, which is sharply observed, assured and witty. Smart but never showy. The most original novel I’ve read for some time.’ – Graeme Simsion ‘Immerse yourself in Jane Rawson’s Formaldehyde if you like the seriously weird or the creepily wonderful. This story has small but persistent claws; under cover of its smooth, conversational narration you will be clasped and dragged into some tough, strange places. Let it take you there. Let it blow your tiny mind.’ – Margo Lanagan ‘Skipping across different times and genres, Formaldehyde is a wonderfully strange and inventive story of love, loss and severed limbs.’ – Ryan O’Neill

It is 1997 in San Francisco and Simon and Sarah have been sent on a quest to see America: they must stand at least once in every 25-foot square of the country. Decades later, in an Australian city that has fallen on hard times, Caddy is camped by the Maribyrnong River, living on small change from odd jobs, ersatz vodka and memories. She's sick of being hot, dirty, broke and alone. Caddy's future changes shape when her friend, Ray, stumbles across some well-worn maps, including one of San Francisco, and their lives connect with those of teenagers Simon and Sarah in ways that are unexpected and profound. A meditation on happiness – where and in what place and with who we can find our centre, a perceptive vision of where our world is headed, and a testament to the power of memory and imagination, this is the best of novels: both highly original and eminently readable.

‘This strange story of love and loneliness, which explores how we all long to belong, is simply wonderful.’ Daily Mail When, in 1859, George Hills is pulled from the wreck of the steamship Admella, he carries with him the uneasy memory of a fellow survivor. Someone else – or something else – kept him warm as he lay dying, half-submerged in the freezing Southern Ocean, kept him bound to life. As George adapts to his life back on land, he can’t quite escape the feeling that he wasn’t alone when he emerged from the ocean that day, that a familiar presence has been watching him ever since. What the creature might want from him – his life? His first-born? Simply to return to its home? – will pursue him, and call him back to the water, where it all began. ‘[A] singular novel . . . [From the Wreck] movingly explores themes of loss, loneliness and guilt.’ Guardian ‘An absorbing, disturbing read, full of deep currents and lurking fears.’ Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author of The Children of Time

Climate change has arrived, and it's not going away. In the absence of effective world action, global warming is certain to continue. The Handbook is not another book about climate change science or politics. Rather it is an intelligent guide, and a potential ground breaker, for all of us who feel helpless in the face of government disagreement, and want to know in a practical way what we can do now. Not only will The Handbook help you prepare for increased droughts, floods, fires and heatwaves, it will provide you with stories and advice from individuals who are already quietly doing amazing things. Jane Rawson and James Whitmore, previously Environment editors for The Conversation, look at how to establish your risk and face your fears; where to live and with whom; and how to survive heat, fire and flood. They investigate ways to provide your own food, power and water, make sure you can still get around, and get rid of your waste and sewage. They talk about new ways to think about home and possessions, the sadness of living through climate change, and how, for both individual and common good, we might positively change the way we live. The Handbook is both practical and philosophical. It can be read cover-to-cover, or dipped into when you need specific advice. It can help you plan and execute a strategy to deal with the effects of climate change. It might change your life. But it should also make you ask, does it really have to be this way?

Sample the beers, taste the high life, feast on the architecture - and when you've had your fill, chill out in the spa towns, discover the fairy-tale castles and breathe deep in Slovakia's glorious mountain scenery. Whether you want to party in Prague or hike in the High Tatras, you can connect with the heart of Europe through this inspiring guide.

In 1930s Adelaide, four women turn to witchcraft to undermine a new authoritarian government determined to enforce their marriage and virtual enslavement. In the 1930s in Adelaide, sisters Margaret and Esther Beasley and their friend Phyllis O’Donnell are learning to be witches. Their guide is Audrey Macquarie, a glamorous, Communist schoolmate who was taught the art of changing dreams by her suffragette great-aunt, Delia Maddingley. This subtle magic, known only to spinsters, has been passed from aunt to niece for generations. Now this group of young women are using it to power their own small revolution, undermining a system that wants them married, uneducated and at home.

A lyrical work of creative nonfiction, Human/Nature is an exploration of how and why we think about the natural world the way we do.Everything we think about nature is deeply cultural. And much of what we imagine is based on outdated, irrelevant, or out-of-place beliefs. How are these ideas affecting the way we live in the world, and do we have any hope of changing them? If you' ve ever asked yourself whether humans are ruining nature, whether there' s a better way for us to belong, or whether it' s possible to love both the environment and your cat, you' re not alone. This exquisite, contemplative book is for anyone who has ever wondered where they fit in the natural world.