Echo Publishing Australia

Echo Publishing Australia Stories that resonate from voices that matter

Echo Publishing are delighted to have two authors at Byron Writers Festival this year: PA Thomas and Dr Debra Dank.Check...
11/06/2025

Echo Publishing are delighted to have two authors at Byron Writers Festival this year: PA Thomas and Dr Debra Dank.

Check out the program and book your tickets via the link:

Discover full session details for Byron Writers Festival '25

‘An Invisible Tattoo is a powerful story of female friendship, long held secrets and the ongoing battle for equality for...
11/06/2025

‘An Invisible Tattoo is a powerful story of female friendship, long held secrets and the ongoing battle for equality for women’

Thanks Veronica at The Burgeoning Bookshelf for this review of AN INVISIBLE TATTOO by Suellen Dainty.

11/06/2025

What a surprising treasure to discover Bernice Barry’s novel SARAH EVANS (Echo Publishing 2024). While I found the cover (and title) disappointingly banal, once I opened the pages I was immediately entranced by the beautiful literary prose, the complex characters and the compelling narrative, which pulled forward at a strapping pace until the tense and unsettling ending.


In this historical novel, Barry explores the life of Sarah Evans, a real person found only in snippets of prison records, signing her name with an X as she was illiterate. The story begins in 1798 when the destitute 18-year-old, struggling daily to find sustenance, shelter and a means to earn money, is caught stealing in the company of one of her best childhood friends. While she is sentenced to transportation to the colonies, she is instead transferred (in secret) into the hands of Thomas Aris, the cruel, arrogant and narcissistic governor of the notorious prison, Coldbath Fields, in London.

Throughout her life, what she thinks might be a small freedom soon obviously becomes a major detriment or punishment or trauma or torture. As a poor and uneducated woman, Sarah has very little agency in her life but is tossed from one situation to another as she tries to assert her innocence and gain her freedom.

This is a novel about corruption at the highest levels of government and bureaucracy, the tenuous and slippery rights of the poor and disenfranchised, the onerous burden on women to ‘shut up and take it’, the sacrifices a mother will make for her children, the chilling ways men sometimes choose to manipulate and abuse women for their own pleasure or profit, the strength of women’s friendships and how – over the years – they can find impossible ways to support and care for each other, and how one woman dreams of ‘liberty of mind’ in the fragile belief that it may be just as much a woman’s right as a man’s privilege.

With themes of justice, revenge, loyalty, sacrifice, family and domestic abuse, institutional abuse, friendship, guilt, forgiveness, hope, ambition, determination and passion, SARAH EVANS is an unforgettable historical tale that seems as real as if it happened yesterday. Barry is a beautiful writer and some of the phrases and language sing off the pages.

At its heart, this is a story about a mother and her children (and the strength and perseverance she will show in protecting them); a woman with a curious mind who, despite her impoverished and diminished circumstances, continues to pose questions of justice, freedom, chance, power, exploitation and optimism. The actual court transcripts included towards the end of the book are spare and telling and give even more weight to Sarah’s story (which Barry has researched and used as inspiration, while fictionalising much of her life). I was in a constant state of anxiety as Sarah forges bravely through the messiness of her life, courageously attempting to stand up for herself and her children and those she cares for, while being beset at every turn by the betrayal and abuse of the powerful.

Despite taking place over 200 years ago, this story felt as real and authentic to me as a modern tale, and Sarah’s trials and tribulations will stay with me, as the fates of her children will haunt me.

Catch the fabulous Nilima Rao, Writer at the Sisters in Crime Australia literary dinner in Brisbane on 30th July.
10/06/2025

Catch the fabulous Nilima Rao, Writer at the Sisters in Crime Australia literary dinner in Brisbane on 30th July.

Join us for a thrilling evening of mystery and intrigue with the Sisters in Crime Brisbane Literary Dinner!

Join Jeff Apter in conversation with Richard Glover on Tue, 5 Aug, 2pm at Goulburn Mulwaree LibraryJeff's latest book LE...
10/06/2025

Join Jeff Apter in conversation with Richard Glover on Tue, 5 Aug, 2pm at Goulburn Mulwaree Library

Jeff's latest book LEE GORDON PRESENTS reveals the story of 1950s trailblazer, Lee Gordon. During his time, Gordon was the first to bring international stars to Australia to perform in his Big Shows, mostly staged at the Sydney Stadium. Among the 500 artists Lee worked with were Frank Sinatra, Bill Haley, Aboott and Costello, and Sammy Davis Jr.

Information via the link:

Check availability on Humanitix - Jeff Apter in conversation with Richard Glover. Goulburn Mulwaree Library, 184/194 Bourke St, Goulburn NSW 2580, Australia. Tuesday 5th August 2025. Find event information.

10/06/2025

Thanks for this glowing mention of TERRAGLOSSIA by Dr Debra Dank by Fiona at Avid Reader Bookshop

Don't miss this fabulous opportunity to win BEST LEFT BURIED by Neil A White via Australian Writers' Centre
10/06/2025

Don't miss this fabulous opportunity to win BEST LEFT BURIED by Neil A White via Australian Writers' Centre

WIN THIS BOOK – This week, we’re giving away three copies of 'Best Left Buried' by Neil A White. In 'Best Left Buried', Australian spy-journalist Matt Latham takes on a ghostwriting gig in Texas—only to uncover a trail of CIA secrets, Cold War crimes, and a desperate search for identity stretching from Nicaragua to Havana. As buried truths resurface, Latham is pulled into a dangerous game of espionage, deception, and reckoning. A taut political thriller with ghosts that won’t stay dead. Here’s the blurb:

Matt Latham. Foreign correspondent and part-time spy for Australia’s Secret Intelligence Service. A flawed anti-hero with a heart of gold, plagued by a self-destructive impulse to expose lies and corruption—at any cost.

1986: In the jungles of Nicaragua, a tiny village is the target of a deadly attack by US-backed Contra forces.

2022: Matt Latham flies to Dallas to ghostwrite the memoir of his friend, former ambassador Bryant Callahan – on track to become Texas' next US Senator. But he soon begins to mistrust the man he once revered. Latham's research uncovers long-hidden connections between Callahan and the CIA; and, just as worryingly, the dysfunctional relationship between the powerful diplomat and his wife Aleja, a former Miss Cuba, 23 years his junior, is impossible to ignore.

An orphan, adopted as a child, Aleja consoles herself with dreams of finding her birth family. Now, she makes a desperate plea for Latham's help in tracing her origins. He agrees to travel to Havana on her behalf, unaware that his search for answers will unlock a Pandora's box of politically sensitive secrets – and raise a ghost from his own past. Before long, Latham is on the run for his life.

Meanwhile, in Mexico City, Luis Escobedo prepares to travel to America. A name in the news has triggered a memory – and with it a thirst for revenge.

What did Latham discover at the Cuban orphanage? Why is a foreign intelligence service intent on keeping it a secret? Who is Luis Escobedo? And is any of this related to events in Nicaragua decades ago?

In this edge-of-your-seat political thriller, Matt Latham finds himself navigating a labyrinth of tragic events. Ultimately, he must confront the morality of his own choices and ask himself the question: are some secrets best left buried?

To win, enter here: writerscentre.com.au/win

'a beautifully written story'Thanks Robyn Pryor for this review of AN INVISIBLE TATTOO by Suellen Dainty on Sisters in C...
10/06/2025

'a beautifully written story'

Thanks Robyn Pryor for this review of AN INVISIBLE TATTOO by Suellen Dainty on Sisters in Crime Australia.

Out now!

this compelling and beautifully written novel is about secrets and confessions, about vulnerability and hidden strength, about the cruelty of betrayal and, most of all, about the inextinguishable power and joy of friendship.

06/06/2025

I am delighted to be able to share the Australian and New Zealand cover for my new novel THE WISH.

A little about why I chose to tell this story…

Jesse, the teenage girl in The Wish, and Alex, the young man she befriends, are based on people I met during the twenty years I spent in the social work department of a busy hospital. They’re not a depiction of actual people or events, but they’re close to many I knew.

I witnessed children and young people going through severe illness and seeing how they and their families faced an uncertain future with determination and courage, taught me so much about finding joy in the midst of tragedy.

I've so enjoyed creating Jesse and Alex, bringing to life these wonderful people as a tribute to many I was inspired by during my time at the hospital. And I’m looking forward to sharing them with you this September.

Pre-order your copy here: https://heathermorrisauthor.com/the-wish/order-the-wish/

06/06/2025

One chaotic hip-hop dancer with no direction in life. One outrageously handsome scientist who is determined to go back to the Antarctic. Over a shared interest in beekeeping, things start to heat up. Can the path to true love ever flow as smoothly? Read on BorrowBox now!

Anna Maynard Author
Echo Publishing Australia

Download BorrowBox for free and start listening/reading today!
iOS: https://shorturl.at/PP7Vh
Android: https://shorturl.at/THD75

'A taut and rather well-paced thriller, dreamt up from the shadows of real historical events'Thanks The Sydney Morning H...
06/06/2025

'A taut and rather well-paced thriller, dreamt up from the shadows of real historical events'

Thanks The Sydney Morning Herald/ The Age for this review of BEST LEFT BURIED by Neil A White

Out now!

Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction releases.

Address

69 Carlton Crescent
Haymarket, NSW
2130

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+61283237114

Website

https://linktr.ee/echopublishing, https://www.echopublishing.com.au/events

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Echo Publishing Australia posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Echo Publishing Australia:

Share

Category