David Baldacci is the bestselling writer of heroes like Mickey Gibson and Aloysius Archer. He's written 50 books for adults as well as novels for younger readers. Some of his stories have been made into blockbuster movies or TV series. His latest, To Die For, features undercover agent Travis Devine as he faces his biggest challenge yet, protecting a 12 year old girl.

At just over 75 pages, Sara Haddad's The Sunbird, a parable about a Palestinian woman in her 80s haunted by an attack on her hometown is concise and passionate. So much so that a group of prominent Australian writers sent the novella as part of suggested educational reading about conflict in the Middle East to every MP in the country.