Book news

Announcing the joint acquisition of a fantastic Ursula Dubosarsky collection!

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Eagle Books (an imprint of Christmas Press) and Roffo Court Press (UK) are proud to announce that we have jointly acquired world rights in Life and Breath, a brilliant collection of short stories for upper middle-grade/YA readers by multi-award-winning author Ursula Dubosarsky. In a unique event, Life and Breath will be simultaneously published, in separate editions, in Australia and the UK in March 2026.

Discoveries from the past, hopes for the future – and the decisions we make on a knife edge that clarify our own sense of self. These elements inform Ursula Dubosarsky’s multi-award-winning novels and are in sharp, bright evidence in these thirteen beautifully crafted short stories, by turns poignant, funny, reflective and joyful – nearly always mercurial – previously published in anthologies and magazines but collected together for the very first time. Ursula Dubosarsky has written brand-new notes on the origins of each story.

Christmas Press publishing director Sophie Masson said, ‘This is such a special book, in so many ways—not only is it Ursula’s first collection of short stories and her first book for older readers in a while, but its publication is also the fruit of a decades-long friendship between Ursula, Jon Appleton of Roffo Court Press, and myself. At Christmas Press, we’ve previously published two of Ursula’s other books, Two Tales of Twins from Ancient Greece and Rome (illustrated by David Allan, 2014) and The Boy who Could Fly and other Magical Plays for Children (illustrated by Amy Golbach, 2019) and we are absolutely delighted to be collaborating with Ursula and Jon at Roffo Court Press on this wonderful book.’

Jon Appleton, publisher at Roffo Court Press, said, ‘A highlight of working in publishing is producing books you most want to read. I knew Ursula Dubosarsky’s short stories would be mini gems, as indeed her novels are, and so deserving to be united between covers in a brand-new publication, full of vitality and originality. It’s been exciting and rewarding working with Ursula and Sophie to bring this glorious book into being.’

Ursula Dubosarsky reflects on the book’s genesis: ‘It’s an uncanny feeling to look back over your writing life over a period of nearly 40 years. All these stories were written at very different times, for me, for publishing, for Australia and for the world. And yet, there it is, through them all, that continuous thread of something unmistakably me that’s been in my writing since childhood. I can hardly define what that something is – the writing “me”, I suppose it must be. Gathering the stories together has been like collating photographs together in an album, with all the mystery of your past, present and even future selves between the covers. I’m completely thrilled by this project – Jon, Sophie and I have known each other through all those years, warmly bonded by sincere friendship and a commitment to writing, especially writing for children and adolescents. I remember once my mother saying to me, “Ursula, someone should collect your short stories together in a book.” Well, now someone has, and I couldn’t be more grateful or honoured.’

A news article about it appeared in Books+Publishing yesterday.

Publication day for The Lastling

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Today is the publication day for our latest Eagle Books title, Victor Kelleher’s marvellous new science fiction adventure novel, The Lastling!

It’s the third Victor Kelleher title which we’ve had the pleasure and privilege of publishing, and like its predecessors, Wanderer (2023) and The Cave (2024) it’s absolutely brilliant–exciting, moving and thought-provoking, and we are thrilled to be publishing it. It’s a gorgeous production too, with striking cover and internal illustrations by Lorena Carrington, and elegant design by Authors’ Elves.

With its Android and human protagonists, The Lastling is both an extraordinary adventure set in a disturbing future, and also a timely and thought-provoking exploration of what it really means to be human.

Here’s Victor on what inspired the novel: Artificial intelligence, robotics, and the whole notion of the android have been much in the news recently, and rightly so, in light of current technology. Yet underlying this interest is a much longer-standing issue: will AI be friendly to us, or will it threaten our human world? Many novels and films have offered an answer to this question. Some, like the film Terminator, give us two possible answers – AI as both friend and mortal enemy.  So what does The Lastling add to this debate? At one level, like Terminator, it gives two answers, in the forbidding person of Brother John and the gentle figure of Guido. However, it also poses deeper questions. How does an android as gentle as Guido survive in the face of both AI and human aggression? How does he interact with someone as deeply human as Verne? And how does he out-think his own programming? Is such independence on his part even possible? And if so, is he, in some profound sense, also human? Now there’s a scary thought! And it’s that scary thought, more than any other, that inspired me to write this novel.

Congratulations to Victor on a wonderful novel which we are sure is just going to fly into the hands of eager readers!

Cover reveal for The Lastling!

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We are delighted to reveal the fabulous cover for our forthcoming (May) title, The Lastling, Victor Kelleher’s amazing new science fiction novel for upper middle-grade readers. Isn’t it gorgeous! The cover illustration and design is by the wonderful Lorena Carrington, who has illustrated all the covers of the Victor Kelleher titles which we have had the privilege of publishing (the others being Wanderer and The Cave).

Here’s a bit about the book:

It’s a day like any other for Guido, performing his usual duties as a Droid guide in the Wilderness Park, until he receives a shocking warning: human Enforcers are about to eliminate him and all his fellow Droids, on the orders of the supreme leader, Brother John. Desperate to escape, he does a forbidden thing and disobeys a direct order. And that sets in train a chain of consequences that will reach over the years to a human girl named Verne, who’s been hired to break into the home of an old Enforcer and retrieve a mysterious weapon…

What happens next will set both Verne and Guido on the path to discovering the dangerous truth about the world they thought they knew–and forge unexpected bonds between them.

An extraordinary, gripping adventure set in a disturbing future, The Lastling is also a thoughtful, timely exploration of what it means to be human.

Publication day for The Cave!

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Today is publication day for The Cave, Victor Kelleher’s fabulous new novel. Set in a richly-recreated Paleolithic past, The Cave is both an extraordinary adventure and a moving exploration of loss, survival and courage. This is the second fantastic new Victor Kelleher novel that we have published, after Wanderer (2022) which was shortlisted for the 2023 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. We are thrilled to be bringing it to readers, and warmly congratulate Victor on another brilliant book!

Cover and internal illustrations by Lorena Carrington.

You can watch a trailer for The Cave here.

We have acquired another wonderful Victor Kelleher novel!

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Christmas Press is delighted to announce that we have acquired world rights in The Lastling, a brilliant new science fiction novel for upper middle-grade readers by multi-award-winning author Victor Kelleher. The novel will be published in April 2025 under the Eagle Books imprint and was acquired via Margaret Connolly of Margaret Connolly and Associates. It follows the author’s Wanderer (2022) which was shortlisted for the 2023 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, and The Cave (April 2024).

Christmas Press publishing director Sophie Masson said, ‘This is the third novel by Victor that we’ve had the pleasure of acquiring, and we are thrilled to be able to publish his extraordinary new book. With its Android and human protagonists, The Lastling is both an extraordinary adventure set in a disturbing future, and also a timely and thought-provoking exploration of what it really means to be human.’

Guido is an Android whose job it is to guide humans through the Wilderness Park, last remaining tract of unspoiled country, while Verne, a human girl, is a thief, working in the city. When Enforcers are dispatched to eliminate all the Androids, Guido, desperate to survive, does the forbidden thing and disobeys a direct order, triggering dire consequences. Years later, Verne, who knows nothing of Guido, is hired to break into the home of an old Enforcer and retrieve a mysterious weapon. It is then that her and Guido’s stories intersect. What happens next is as compelling as it is unexpected, setting both Verne and Guido on a path that reveals dangerous truths about the world they thought they knew, as well as forging a bond of trust between them, despite their differences.

As to what inspired the novel, Victor Kelleher said: ‘Artificial intelligence, robotics, and the whole notion of the android have been much in the news recently, and rightly so, in light of current technology. Yet underlying this interest is a much longer-standing issue: will AI be friendly to us, or will it threaten our human world? Many novels and films have offered an answer to this question. Some, like the film Terminator, give us two possible answers – AI as both friend and mortal enemy.  So what does The Lastling add to this debate? At one level, like Terminator, it gives two answers, in the forbidding person of Brother John and the gentle figure of Guido. However, it also poses deeper questions. How does an android as gentle as Guido survive in the face of both AI and human aggression? How does he interact with someone as deeply human as Verne? And how does he out-think his own programming? Is such independence on his part even possible? And if so, is he, in some profound sense, also human? Now there’s a scary thought! And it’s that scary thought, more than any other, that inspired me to write this novel.’

Victor Kelleher(right) and Sophie Masson at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards announcement event, 2023

Great advance review for The Cave!

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We are delighted that our forthcoming title, Victor Kelleher’s superb upper-middle-grade novel, The Cave (out in April 2024), has received a great review in the very widely-read Books+Publishing newsletter.

The full review, by Anica Boulanger-Mashberg, is only available to B+P subscribers, but here’s a short extract:

Kelleher laces the fairly straightforward text with hints of more complex philosophical tension—Ulana’s utilitarian idealism favours sharing resources and knowledge, while Trug relies on more defensive trade tactics, with Irian suspended between them, fighting his own demons and slowly fostering a sense of purpose in the aftermath of losing his known world. Kelleher sets out to humanise the cave-dwelling people, whose language and inner worlds are not far from ours, emphasising their surroundings and discoveries. Readers of Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet may appreciate the elemental struggles, while others will enjoy the novelty of the setting.

We can’t wait for the book’s release–we know readers are absolutely going to love it!

Book cover illustration and design by Lorena Carrington.

Fabulous review for The Key to Rome

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There’s a new, fabulous review for The Key to Rome on the popular Read Plus blog. Here’s a short extract:

Highly recommended. Sophie Masson is a master at weaving historical facts into captivating stories, and this book is no exception….The exciting plot moves along well, and readers are drawn into the dangerous game Livia is playing when she tries to figure out what the key means and why her uncle and his enemies will do anything to get or destroy it.  But will they uncover the truth in time to stay alive?  Detailed background notes and a glossary at the back of the book are very helpful additions for young readers.

You can read the whole review here.

Cover reveal: The Cave, by Victor Kelleher

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We are delighted to reveal the striking, powerful cover of The Cave, Victor Kelleher’s forthcoming new middle-grade novel, which we will be publishing in April 2024. The cover is the work of the wonderful illustrator Lorena Carrington, who has also created several other beautiful covers for us, including Victor’s 2022 book, Wanderer, which was shortlisted for the 2023 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.

Isn’t the cover gorgeous!

An exciting story set in a richly-recreated Paleolithic past, The Cave is both an extraordinary adventure and a moving exploration of loss, survival and courage. You can read more about the story here.

Here’s what Victor had to say about the genesis of the novel: ‘For almost as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated by pre-history. In particular by the question of how our early ancestors, starting out as helpless wanderers on the plains of Africa, went on to become secure cave dwellers and greatly feared hunters. How did this great change come about? Clearly, the discovery of fire must have played a part. And so, too, the creation of better weapons and tools. But how did the change actually occur? That’s precisely the story I’ve tried to tell in The Cave. In order to do so, I’ve crammed many years of struggle and defeat into the short lives of one old woman and two young teenagers; and followed them through the seasons as they fight, not just to survive, but to turn the tables on the savage creatures that saw them only as prey. For me, there was something especially poignant about telling their story at this point in time, when we run the risk of destroying the very world they strove so hard to win.’