A Year of Fresh Voices
Meet some of our hottest debut authors!
In 2023, we’re all about hearing exciting new stories from fresh voices. With a focus on new authors, we’re celebrating 'A Year of Fresh Voices' to platform some of the biggest up-and-coming names in literature.
Though Penguin Random House has always aimed to publish unique stories from new perspectives, it is a central focus of our publishing program in 2023.
With so many debut authors offering up their individual writing styles, plotlines and insight this year, we couldn’t help but celebrate their amazing work.
By spotlighting these fresh voices, we hope to introduce readers to new favourite works from the authors who will shape literature in Australia and beyond over the next few years.
Check out the featured authors on the slider above and find related articles below, including Q&As, exclusive interviews, preview extracts, fun activities and more!
A deeply moving novel to read with your book club.
An exploration of mental health and family to read with your book club.
Brooke Robinson shares how one article inspired her debut novel.
A story of motherhood, daughterhood, trauma, race, privilege, music and queerness to discuss with your book club.
Find out why it’s so important to support authors upon the publication of their first book and meet a few of our 2023 debut authors.
Learn more about death doulas and discover the debut novel that shines a new light on what it means to live and die.
‘Chain-Gang All-Stars’ is shaping up to be one of the buzziest debuts of 2023. Learn more about it and see some of the rave reviews for Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s first novel.
A life-affirming novel to read with your book club.
Melissa Jacks, a metadata optimisation executive at Penguin Random House AU, shares the supernatural story she’s loving lately.
Learn about ‘Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder’ and check out rave reviews from readers.
An unforgettable story to read with your book club featuring themes of obsession, friendship and the love of music.
Find out how Shelley Read wrote 'Go as a River', what the publishing process was like, and what she hopes readers will take away from the book.
A soaring coming-of-age novel to read with your book club.
A sparkling (and heart-breaking) Australian romantic comedy to read with your book club.
A fierce, funny and utterly captivating book to read with your book club.
We caught up with Jessica Yu to learn more about her writing routine and the shortlist award that helped launch her career.
Debut author Jessica Seaborn shares a few things that helped her get her debut novel, Perfect-ish, published.
Plus, find out what inspired Claire's first novel and how her previous work experience helped her write The Secrets of the Huon Wren.
We chatted with sydney khoo about writing routines, fanfic, and how the Write It fellowship lead to their first book deal and debut novel, The Spider and Her Demons.
The 2022 Penguin Literary Prize winner shares her unique method of writing On a Bright Hillside in Paradise.
‘I did any job that enabled me to be paid to write.’
Find out how she was inspired by her experience as a makeup artist and woman living in modern Trinidad.
We caught up with Katie Bishop to learn more about her debut novel, The Girls of Summer. Find out how #MeToo inspired the novel and what it was like writing during Covid lockdowns.
Plus find out how they turned a university project into a debut novel.
Plus find out why he loves David Sedaris and what inspired him to become a writer.
Plus find out how her sister inspired Ink Blood Sister Scribe and what she’s looking forward to most about being published in 2023.
Darcy Tindale shares how submitting her writing to awards helped get her debut novel published.
We asked debut author Kate Dramis about the publication of her first novel, The Curse of Saints. Read about her ‘fairy-tale’ submission experience, how she came up with the idea for the book and more.
The debut author talks about his writing process and how reading inspired him to become a writer.
Find out what books inspired this debut novelist, how she came up with the idea for ‘Clytemnestra’ and the number one thing she wishes she could go back and tell her younger self.
We asked Jenny Jackson about her debut novel, her crazy writing routine, and the real-life circumstances that inspired ‘Pineapple Street’.
We caught up with Saman Shad to learn about her past projects, idea behind ‘The Matchmaker’ and fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming an author.
Mikki Brammer shares details about ‘The Collected Regrets of Clover’ including where she got the idea and why chose to write about death.
Kerryn Mayne, author of ‘Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder’ shares details about her novel, the writing process, and the fact that her four-year-old believes her protagonist is a real person.
Debut author Emma Grey shares the advice she’d give her past self, how she met her agent through a random email and the way that her own grief helped inspired her novel, 'The Last Love Note'.
We talked to Kate Scott, author of Compulsion, to learn about her writing routine (or lack thereof), advice she’d give her past self and the source of her inspiration.
We chatted to debut author, Luke Rutledge to learn more about his new book, A Man and His Pride. Luke explained the publishing process and why he chose to write about what happens after the ‘coming-out’ moment.
Fran Littlewood, author of ‘Amazing Grace Adams’ shares how Covid chaos propelled the writing and publication of her debut novel.