Friday essay: Don Watson’s book on Paul Keating ended their friendship – is it our best ever political memoir?Joshua Black, University of Canberra
Australian children’s classics: Seven Little Australians is our own Little Women – but naughty, not earnestJudith Ridge, University of Newcastle; University of Tasmania
Dolly Parton’s philanthropic Imagination Library had a proven effect in Australia, and around the worldClaire Galea, Western Sydney University
Australian children’s classics: Shaun Tan’s essential migrant story still mesmerises, 20 years onPenni Russon, Monash University
American revolution 2.0: how Trump has changed the US, and why it was powerless to stop himHugh White, Australian National University
Australian children’s classics: Playing Beatie Bow is a time-slip novel that makes Sydney strangeMonique Rooney, Australian National University
Australian children’s classics: Storm Boy’s tough, tender ode to wild childhood will make you cryMargot Hillel, Australian Catholic University
How to Sell a Genocide has been removed from a library near Bondi – but libraries represent freedom of thoughtHeather L. Robinson, Flinders University
Can you teach yourself to detect AI writing? MaybeCeleste Rodriguez Louro, The University of Western Australia
These 5 Australian novels will get your book club talking – and enjoying a good disagreementMaggie Nolan, The University of Queensland and Robert Clarke, University of Tasmania
Valerie Brown met the queen, was arrested – and led Greenpeace AustraliaMarty Branagan, University of New England
Paul Kelly’s exceptional history charts the decline and fall of the Coalition – but leaves questions unansweredJoshua Black, University of Canberra
Omar Musa’s Miles Franklin win rewards epic, ambitious Australian writing with a global scopeAlexander Howard, University of Sydney
Luke Bateman says boys need books ‘written for boys’ to become readers. But it’s not that simpleSarah McDonald, Adelaide University ; Samantha Schulz, Adelaide University , and Stephanie Wescott, Monash University
What the panic over Gen Z’s reading habits gets wrongKathi Inman Berens, Portland State University and Rachel Noorda, Portland State University
Australian poetry classics: Francis Webb, the 20th century’s ‘most unjustly neglected poet’, is our best kept literary secretToby Davidson, Macquarie University
Australian poetry classics: John Forbes’ On the Beach exposes the nation’s myths of convenienceAidan Coleman, Southern Cross University
Australian poetry classics: Kenneth Slessor’s Five Bells gives Sydney Harbour back its darknessBronwyn Lea, The University of Queensland
Australian poetry classics: Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s A Song of Hope created a legacy to build onTess Ryan, Australian Catholic University and Kelly Humphrey, Australian Catholic University
Friday essay: How to Sell a Genocide exposes the double standards of reporting on GazaJeff Sparrow, The University of Melbourne
Friday essay: we’re all ‘political’ now – but can that lead to real change?Intifar Chowdhury, Flinders University
Friday essay: is there a great Australian graphic novel?Ronnie Scott, RMIT University; Elizabeth MacFarlane, The University of Melbourne; Gabriel Clark, University of Technology Sydney, and Pat Grant, University of Technology Sydney
Friday essay: can rewilding offer us a brighter, greener future?Katherine Johnson, University of Tasmania
Friday essay: ‘cultural Marxism’ is a conspiracy theory for our timeAlexander Howard, University of Sydney
Pauline Hanson calls Australia ‘Judeo-Christian’. But the term is a meaningless modern inventionPhilip C. Almond, The University of Queensland
Regime Change might be 2026’s nonfiction bestseller. Here’s why it’s essential, chilling readingMatthew Ricketson, Deakin University
Them at 25: Jon Ronson’s adventures with extremists made him famous – and Alex Jones, tooAlexander Howard, University of Sydney
Lucianne Tonti’s deeply personal history of witch hunts overstates the role of misogynyNicole Kimball, University of Newcastle
The biggest atomic blast in Australia happened 70 years ago – mysteries about its impact lingerElizabeth Tynan, James Cook University
In Homer’s epic, a bold princess helps Odysseus home – but not in Nolan’s film. Who is Nausicaa?K.O. Chong-Gossard, The University of Melbourne
Friday essay: I’ve been reading The Odyssey my whole life. Nolan’s film version is exhilarating – but not perfectAnthony Macris, University of Technology Sydney
The Founding Father of American literature, Charles Brockden Brown saw his nation’s dark sideHannah Lauren Murray, La Trobe University
Before Greek myths reached the multiplex, they were weapons of political satireCallum Smith, Aberystwyth University
Why Christopher Nolan turned Circe into a vindictive witchBailey Sincox, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Guide to the classics: John Steinbeck’s East of Eden has always been controversialPaul Giles, Australian Catholic University
An alternative health treatment killed Hannah’s cousin. Now she’s on a mission to warn othersEdith Jennifer Hill, Flinders University
Geetanjali Shree’s radical fiction, written in Hindi, is finding a global audienceMridula Nath Chakraborty, Monash University
What does life after AI look like? Cory Doctorow’s guide is an outdated map, lacking answersMichael Noetel, The University of Queensland
This compelling novel follows five lives changed forever by Iran’s Islamic revolutionHossein Asgari, Adelaide University
An insider once in charge of failing banks lifts the lid on bankingKevin Davis, The University of Melbourne
How do you satirise a self-satirising society? Jordan Prosser gives it a goLuke Johnson, University of Wollongong
Meg Mason’s novel about a sad, divorcing festival worker asks: can books save your life?Amber Gwynne, The University of Queensland
This strange novel riffs on The Tempest, swapping its teen girl for a menopausal marine biologistJen Webb, University of Canberra
You won’t sleep until you finish reading this rare, exotic blend of crime and poetryKevin John Brophy, The University of Melbourne
Wild souls and irreverent humour enliven these timely award-winning booksEmma Kohen, Western Sydney University
Maria Takolander’s futuristic novel of ‘everyday horrors’ follows a mother’s quest to save her sonJoanne Anderton, The University of Queensland
Some speed-reading apps make big claims. But how fast can we actually read?Erik D. Reichle, Macquarie University
Do we absorb information better on paper, rather than screens? It depends on the screenErik D. Reichle, Macquarie University and Lili Yu, Macquarie University
How to read the classics in an age of distraction – and 3 short books to get you goingJohanna Harris, Australian Catholic University
More than 1 in 3 Australian adults are functionally illiterate. How can we fix this?Genevieve McArthur, Australian Catholic University
Does your child only read graphic novels? That’s OK – it’s helping them build literacy skillsJudith Ridge, University of Tasmania and Robyn Cox, University of Tasmania
Hugh Jackman plays Robin Hood as wicked – it’s a badly timed take on the hero of the poorWilliam Hoff, The University of Melbourne
What are your favourite books that deserve to be better known? 7 literary experts share theirsJames Ley, The Conversation
Female cannibals: what’s behind the emerging horror fiction trend?Charlotte Elliott, Flinders University
Fast Food Nation predicted today’s chronic illness epidemic, 25 years agoNatasha Yates, Bond University
20 best New Zealand books of the 21st century: as chosen by expertsFinlay Macdonald, The Conversation; Jo Case, The Conversation; Matt Garrow, The Conversation, and Suzy Freeman-Greene, The Conversation