September 2026 reading list: Big Little Lies sequel and Keating reassessment lead Australian releases

Guardian Australia has released its monthly selection of notable Australian book releases for September 2026, offering readers a curated guide to the month’s most anticipated titles. The list spans a wide spectrum of genres, from literary fiction and political analysis to graphic novels and cookery, reflecting the current appetite for both escapism and cultural critique.

Headlining the fiction releases is Liane Moriarty’s first-ever sequel to her runaway success, Big Little Lies. The novel returns to the original Sydney setting, where the characters are now high school students. The idyllic backdrop is quickly shattered when the school principal receives a severed human finger in the mail, raising the stakes as the characters’ long-buried secrets begin to resurface.

In the non-fiction sphere, George Megalogenis offers a weighty political analysis arguing that recent federal election results served as overdue "wake-up calls" for the nation. Megalogenis identifies three shocks that have reshaped Australia’s national identity: migrants and their children now comprising the majority of the population, professional women becoming the largest segment of the workforce, and key international allies becoming increasingly unreliable.

A significant historical reassessment is also featured, with history professor James Curran examining the legacy of former Prime Minister Paul Keating. Curran frames Keating’s loss of the prime ministership to John Howard as a "sliding doors moment" for Australian history, presenting a broadly sympathetic portrait of a leader who prioritised national independence and a closer embrace of Asia.

The selection also includes Malcolm Knox’s The Second Child, a follow-up to his 2024 novel that continues his exploration of toxic power structures through a darkly comic lens. In the culinary world, Meg Tanaka of Melbourne cafe Cibi has released her second cookbook, focusing on the concept of wored osozai, or Japanese home cooking, with recipes that range from tonkatsu to yuzu-bright coleslaw.

Rounding out the diverse list are titles addressing contemporary anxieties and speculative futures. Dr Norman Swan’s The Brain Cliff explores cognitive decline and the research behind "cognitive superagers," while Waleed Aly’s Quarterly Essay interrogates the stability of liberal democracy in a time of constant crisis. Additionally, Badiucao and Melissa Chan have released a graphic novel set in 2035, depicting a war between an authoritarian China and a proto-fascist United States.