A Year of Fresh Voices: 6 Compelling Debut Novels

We’re all about hearing exciting new stories from fresh voices, and we know the Better Reading community does, too. We love introducing readers to new favourite works from up-and-coming authors who will shape literature in Australia and beyond over the next few years.

With so many debut authors offering up their individual writing styles, plotlines and insight in 2023, we can’t help but shine a spotlight on some fresh voices. Here are six compelling debut novels that we’ve loved so far this year…

The Matchmaker by Saman Shad

Can a matchmaker recognise a perfect match? Saima’s about to pack it all up and move back in with her Ammy when an eligible bachelor’s wealthy parents show up at her door. They’re offering the biggest payday she’s had in years, but there’s a catch: she has to convince their son to accept her services without letting on that it’s his parents pulling the strings. Sparks fly in this glittering romantic comedy about love, marriage and mistaking your own identity.

Buy a copy of The Matchmaker here.

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne

Lenny Marks is good at not remembering. Recently though, if only to appease her beloved foster mum, Lenny has set herself the goal of ‘getting a life’.
Then, out of the blue, a letter arrives from the Adult Parole Board. And when her desperate attempts to ignore it fail, Lenny starts to unravel. Worse, she starts to remember… Kerryn Mayne’s stunning debut is an irresistible novel that’s both chilling and charming, suspenseful and uplifting. And, of course, simply unforgettable.

Buy a copy of Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder here.

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

In her work as a ‘death doula’, Clover Brooks ushers people peacefully through their last days, collecting their final words into three notebooks: ADVICE, CONFESSIONS and REGRETS. But Clover spends so much time with the dying that she’s forgotten how to live. This is a big-hearted and life-affirming novel that turns the normally taboo subject of death into a reason to celebrate life!

Buy a copy of The Collected Regrets of Clover here.

Anam by André Dao

A must-read for literary fiction fans. Anam blends fiction and essay, theory and everyday life to imagine that which has been repressed, left out, and forgotten. The grandson mines his family and personal stories to turn over ideas that resonate with all of us around place and home, legacy and expectation, ambition and sacrifice. As he sifts through letters, photographs, government documents and memories, he has his own family to think about: a partner and an infant daughter. Is there a way to remember the past that creates a future for them? Or does coming home always involve a certain amount of forgetting?

Buy a copy of Anam here.

The Fall Between by Darcy Tindale

Detective Rebecca Giles has just finished interviewing aging petty crim Sticky Pete over a spate of break-and-enters when a disturbing new report comes in. Twelve-year-old Kayleen Ellis has vanished from her home in Muswellbrook in the Upper Hunter Valley. From an exciting new voice in Australian crime fiction, a captivating and atmospheric rural thriller introducing Detective Rebecca Giles.

Buy a copy of The Fall Between here.

Go as a River by Shelley Read

On a cool autumn day in 1948, Victoria Nash delivers late-season peaches from her family’s farm set amid the wild beauty of Colorado. As she heads into her village, a dishevelled stranger stops to ask her the way. How she chooses to answer will unknowingly alter the course of both their young lives. Perfect for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing, this is a lush, immersive, soaring tale of a young woman’s journey to becoming, of love and loss, home and resilience, and finding those where least expected, and a breathtaking exploration of our connection to nature

Buy a copy of Go as a River here.