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Fungi, snakes and Virginia Woolf: 10 new books

Our reviewers cast their eyes over new fiction and non-fiction releases.

  • Cameron Woodhead and Fiona Capp

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Steve Carell plays a successful author and professor in this new comedy.

If you miss The Office, Steve Carell’s new show is a must-watch

The Office star’s new comedy sits between the wholesome comedy of Ted Lasso and the slightly darker-but-still-kind tone of Shrinking.

  • Kylie Northover
Noah Wyle in The Pitt which is considered an example of “competency porn”.

I watch people bake and save lives. Am I addicted to competency porn?

As the world slips its moorings, shows like The Pitt celebrate the steady course.

  • Brodie Lancaster
Actors Daniela Farinacci and Steve Bastoni capture the horror of the bridge collapse in West Gate.

‘You felt it’: How the West Gate collapse haunted a boy from Newport

Dennis McIntosh was 11 when Australia’s worst industrial accident killed 35 men. More than 50 years later, his play honours the families left behind.

  • Paul Kalina
Gisèle Pelicot says she wanted people to understand who she was, beyond the headlines.

‘I want to look him straight in the eye’: Gisèle Pelicot’s quest for truth

After a decade of unimaginable betrayal, the woman who changed French law wants a confrontation in prison with her former husband to demand answers about his crimes.

  • Philippa Hawker
Luna Park features 17 rides, carnival games, the state heritage-listed Coney Island funfair, the Big Top and Crystal Palace.

Conmen, crims and crooked cops: a rollercoaster ride through Luna Park’s history

Helen Pitt unearths wonderful anecdotes and tantalising trivia in her history of the famous amusement park.

  • Pat Sheil
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Hilary McPhee says there is a lot of cautiousness in Australian publishing, thanks to the country’s defamation laws.

How two women changed the patriarchal world of Australian publishing

Hilary McPhee’s memoir is the story of how she and Diana Gribble discovered a new wave of local voices, such as Helen Garner and Tim Winton.

  • Helen Elliott
Author Louise Milligan.

Louise Milligan’s follow-up to Pheasants Nest is vivid and haunting

The award-winning journalist continues the story of her protagonist Kate Delaney in her second novel.

  • Sue Turnbull
 Leonardo Sciasci

How a novelist took on the Sicilian Mafia – and lived to tell the tale

Sicilian novelist and critic Leonard Sciascia fearlessly exposed the Mafia’s intersection with politics and business.

  • Gregory Day
Alex Sarkis’ new novel is a coming-of-age story set in Sydney’s west.

A vibrant western Sydney setting gives this love story an edge

Author Alex Sarkis’ coming-of-age story is like catching up with an old cousin.

  • Sarah Ayoub