Allen Unwin imprint: 1774 books

Marcus is a maths whiz who is not good at sport. His dad is a self-help author who thinks Marcus can achieve anything he sets his mind to, with hilarious results. In illustrated diary format, Marcus's gentle, satiric humour and comic drawings will have readers laughing out loud while learning a surprising amount about sport.

Susie K likes science instead of netball and has the class goldfish for a best friend. But Susie's mum finds it hard to believe that she's happy that way. She's constantly trying to push Susie (with the best of intentions, of course!) to be something she's not. And the last thing Susie wants is to...

Susie K likes science instead of netball and has the class goldfish for a best friend. But Susie's mum finds it hard to believe that she's happy that way. She's constantly trying to push Susie (with the best of intentions, of course!) to be something she's not. And the last thing Susie wants is to...

'The godfather of Australian crime fiction.' Divorce cases are part of a private investigator's bread and butter, and Cliff Hardy has had his share. This case, though, has a lot more than matrimonial squabbles - add in some perjury, fraud and murder to the mix. Crooked cops, lawyers and a call...

For high-school student Emilio Garcia Lopez, it's an ordinary school day. But that evening the knock on the door announcing the arrival of his police-officer cousin Juanita, flanked by a tall man in the uniform of the Federal Police, will turn his ordinary day into the beginning of a long nightmare....

Alan Marshall grew up observing and recording life in a Victorian country town, writing about it with humour and compassion. In this collection of short stories we watch the young Alan growing up in country Turalla. Crippled by polio at an early age, he has to use crutches, knowing that he'll...

'An epic of compassion.' The Sydney Morning Herald Uncertain of herself, vulnerable, Roslyn is a woman who needs people - and who needs to feel that people need her. But her husband Rod, an officer in the Australian Navy, is often away at sea, and her daughter, grown up and preoccupied with...

Bridie's world is torn apart when her parents and baby brother die in the Great Hunger. She leaves Ireland, and strikes out alone to claim a life for herself in Australia, on the other side of the ocean. Bridie's Fire is heart-warming story of courage and resilience. It affirms Kirsty Murray's...

A captivating novel full of strength, quiet courage and the struggle to overcome silence. Sam is a young boy recovering from an operation that has left him unable to speak ever again. He lives with his mother and sister Katie, all dutifully cared for by Aunt Dettie, their father's sister, who...

When the tourist ship Malekula arrives at a tropic island in the the Pacific the crushing heat and the looming hurricane intensify the hostilities and frustrations of the egocentric people on board. And when the hurricane bursts on the island the havoc it brings is less perhaps than the personal storms...

Start with one quiet, perfect life. Add: 1 step-dad, 2 pre-cooked siblings, 1 best friend, 1 sworn enemy and a long lost grandmother. Flavour with a dash of secrets, a pinch of jealousy and a good dollop of growing-up. Cook on high all summer long. Fresh and spicy and as irresistible...

'The godfather of Australian crime fiction.' Will one man's loss be Hardy's gain? 'I'd read about it in the papers, heard the radio reports and seen the TV coverage and then forgotten about it, the way you do with news stories.' A missing girl, drugs, yachts, the sex trade and...

'The godfather of Australian crime fiction.' Is Sydney gun city? It certainly seems so when Cliff Hardy is hired by entrepreneur and one-time pistol-shooting champion Timothy Greenhall to investigate the violent death of his troubled son. Soon Hardy is pitched into a world of crooked cops -...

'The godfather of Australian crime fiction.' Newcastle is a stretch for Cliff Hardy from Sydney's mean streets, and following up the mystery of Oscar Bach's death means he has to cover some unfamiliar and dangerous ground. Bach's death was classified as another tragic statistic from the Newcastle...