Australian Memoir

In January 1889, Louisa Collins, a 41-year-old mother of 10 children, became the first woman hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol and the last woman hanged in New South Wales. Both of Louisa's husbands had died suddenly and the Crown, convinced that Louisa poisoned them with arsenic, put her on trial an extraordinary four times in order to get a conviction, to the horror of many in the legal community. Louisa protested her innocence until the end.

Journalist Josh Dean tells the story of a lovable Australian Shepherd, Jack, on his novice tour through the exciting world of professional dog showing, following Jack from his first competitions in local school gymnasiums all the way to the great granddaddy of them all, the Westminster Dog Show. A veteran journalist, Dean shines a warm, steady light on the trials that Jack and his plucky, dedicated owners come to face, and uses their story to explore the larger histories of dog shows themselves and our complex, heartfelt relationships to the pets we grow to love.

Captured in the 1930s before the words psychopath and pedophile were part of common vernacular, notorious serial killer Arnold Sodeman murdered four young girls with little thought of remorse. Without guilt, the evil serial killer strangled them to death with their own clothing and left their small bodies alone in the Australian brush, earning himself a chilling position in the annals of Australian crime.

For 650 days Sean Turnell was held in Myanmar's terrifying Insein Prison on the trumped-up charge of being a spy. In An Unlikely Prisoner he recounts how an impossibly cheerful professor of economics, whose idea of an uncomfortable confrontation was having to tell a student that their essay was 'not really that good', ended up in one of the most notorious prisons in South-East Asia. And how he not only survived his lengthy incarceration, but left with his sense of humour intact, his spirit unbroken and love in his heart.

Tim Booth is shocked when his first emergency call-out for someone short of breath turns out to be an adult man with a blocked nose. Far from beginner's luck, this turns out to be an omen for the rest of his paramedic career. Between the obligatory stories of objects lodged in body cavities to grown men who can't look after themselves when their wives are away, Tim finds that the promised life-saving moments are far outweighed by the trivial, frustrating and bizarre ambulance callouts.

When Who the Hell is Hamish? hit podcast platforms in 2019, Tracy Hall quickly became known as the last victim of one of the world's most prolific con men, Hamish McLaren. At last, Tracy is sharing the full story of how she overcame financial and emotional betrayal in this fast-paced, witty and empowering true crime memoir.

Nick Kaldas is a cop's cop. From investigating war criminals to taking down global drug operations, Kaldas has seen the worst humanity can offer. But he's also seen which human qualities can lead to greatness. This is the compelling true story of an immigrant boy from Egypt who rose from beat cop to become one of the most senior police officers in Australia. During his time in the NSW police force, he was one of Australia's first Arab undercover cops, headed up both the Homicide and Gang Squad units, reformed the Counter Terrorism team and then became the Deputy Police Commissioner.

In this deeply personal and heartfelt memoir, Lauren Zonfrillo details her journey through grief after the sudden and public loss of her husband, Jock - chef, restaurateur and, of course, beloved MasterChef Australia judge. Thrust into the role of a solo parent, with the overwhelming task of guiding her young children through their grief while managing her own, Lauren has also had to navigate the weight of public expectations and intense media scrutiny.

Wayne Bennett is the greatest rugby league coach Australia has ever had. He has won seven premierships and is the greatest man manager the game has known. He is also a living contradiction: Other coaches decry his tactics then attempt to imitate them. Players are desperate to work with him but are left feeling deceived when he cuts them loose. The media disparages him then lavishes him with praise. So who is the real Wayne Bennett? So who is the real Wayne Bennett? Celebrated sports journalist Andrew Webster has been on a mission to find out.

Kate Langbroek’s deliciously funny, irreverent, and inspiring memoir about moving to Bologna with her family to seek la dolce vita is a glorious reminder of what we can learn from the Italians about living life to the fullest - and what really matters when the world goes to hell in a handbasket.

What happens when the Zusaks open their family home to three big, wild, pound-hardened dogs - Reuben, a wolf at your door with a hacksaw; Archer, blond, beautiful, deadly; and the rancorously smiling Frosty, who walks like a rolling thunderstorm? The answer can only be chaos: there are street fights, park fights, public shamings, property trashing, bodily injuries, stomach pumping, purest comedy, shocking tragedy, and carnage that needs to be seen to be believed ... not to mention the odd police visit at some ungodly hour of the morning.

As a journalist, Leigh Sales often encounters people experiencing the worst moments of their lives in the full glare of the media. But one particular string of bad news stories - and a terrifying brush with her own mortality - sent her looking for answers about how vulnerable each of us is to a life-changing event. What are our chances of actually experiencing one? What do we fear most and why? And when the worst does happen, what comes next?

The meteoric rise of motorsports phenom Oscar Piastri has been the stuff of legends - so far. Three years and a record-breaking three straight titles across Formula Renault, Formula 3 and Formula 2 set up one of the most anticipated F1 rookie seasons ever when the 21-year-old Melburnian joined the famous McLaren team. Being wooed over from Alpine to replace a struggling Daniel Ricciardo and help turn the team's fortunes around only added to the weight of expectation.

Jackie Henderson, known to most as 'Jackie O', has graced Australia's airwaves since 1993. Through hard work and openness with her listeners, she rose from minor on-air roles to form one half the country's biggest radio programs alongside controversial co-hosts Kyle Sandilands and 'Ugly Phil' O'Neil

When she was four years old, Shanelle Dawson's mother, Lynette, disappeared. On 8 January 1982, the woman who had been a loving, constant presence vanished without a trace. Four year old's might not be able to articulate questions or understand a lot, but the ache of absence is very real. Year after year that ache persisted. Shanelle's father, Chris Dawson, claimed that his wife just needed to get away. This is what he told Lyn's parents and siblings. This is what he told his daughters. But Lyn never returned home.

Toby Price has lived a truly remarkable life, filled with ups, downs and every bump in the road imaginable: a childhood racing prodigy from the tender age of two - there was hardly a paddock that could contain him. After tearing through the junior ranks, taking out titles in both dirt track and motocross, Toby was living the dream, turning pro at 16 and joining the formidable KTM Racing team. Soon he was turning heads internationally and tapped to take on the most forbidding enduro courses the sport could throw at him.

Average At Best is a powerful, funny, and deeply honest memoir about embracing mediocrity if you want to get anything done. As the creator of Pub Choir®–a global phenomenon that unites complete strangers to connect, laugh, and make beautiful music–Astrid takes you behind the curtain as she unflinchingly stares down her dizzying highs, her crushing lows, and everything in between.

Every now and then, when the planets align in just the right way, a book comes along that changes everything. An author sweats and toils to birth a tome with such colossal cultural impact, it has the power to retune the entire world to a whole new frequency. This is absolutely not one of those books. Not even close. And actually, that all sounds a bit much really, doesn't it? Rhys Nicholson is a multi-award winning comedian, writer and busy mum with an anxiety disorder, a complicated relationship with food and a book deal.

When Bridget Hustwaite blew out her thirtieth birthday candles, she had no idea of the profound changes that awaited her in this new decade. Instead of ticking off the traditional expectations (buy a house, get married, start a family), Bridget's list of early thirties life moments looked wildly different to what she anticipated. Her long-term relationship of five years had just ended, she said goodbye to her dream job, was diagnosed with ADHD and became a lockdown dog mum. And that was just the beginning . . .

On 20 May 1999, the South Australian Police were called to investigate a disused bank in the unassuming town of Snowtown, in connection to the disappearance of multiple missing people. The police were not prepared for the chilling scene that awaited them. The officers found six barrels within the abandoned bank vault, each filled with acid and the remains of eight individuals. The smell from inside the vault was so stifling that the police required breathing equipment.