Collections at your library!
Welcome to the latest edition of Library Collection News! 📚✨
Discover fresh titles, exciting resources, and the latest collection updates from Coffs Harbour Libraries.
In this edition:
- Our latest eResource - BorrowBox ePress 📰📱
- Miles Franklin Literary Award 2026 winner 📖🏆
- indyreads WinterReads ❄️📚
- Children's Book Week 📖✨
- Online author events ✍🏼💻
Settle in and explore our latest books, resources, and reading recommendations - there's something for every reader at Coffs Harbour Libraries.
eResource of the Month
BorrowBox ePress
Stay informed with BorrowBox ePress
Keep up to date with a curated collection of Australian newspapers and popular national and international magazines, all available through BorrowBox ePress.
You can even translate news articles into more than 40 languages, making it easier to stay connected with the stories that matter to you.
Featured magazines:
Better Homes & Gardens
Bluey Magazine
Hello!
Men’s Health
New Scientist
Rolling Stone Aus/NZ
The Australian Women’s Weekly
The Monthly
The Spectator Australia
Women’s Fitness Australia plus so much more!
Featured newspapers:
The Age
The Australian
The Daily Telegraph
The Saturday Paper
The Sun-Herald
Sunday Age
The Sydney Morning Herald
Log in with your library membership details and catch up on the latest news today.
eCollection Feature
indyreads WinterReads
As the winter chill sets in, it's the perfect time to cosy up with a great book. During the month of August, a selection of great reads will be available on indyreads with no waiting. With titles from a range of genres including crime, romance, classics and science fiction, there is something for everyone.
Indyreads is a free online digital platform provided by the State Library of New South Wales. Indyreads gives public library members across NSW access to a large statewide collection of independent Australian and international ebooks, audiobooks, self-published works, classic literature, and local studies materials.
Genre Highlight
Science Fiction
Discover the world of science fiction
Science fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction, an umbrella term encompassing stories that explore possibilities beyond the familiar laws of our reality. Alongside genres such as fantasy and superhero fiction, speculative fiction invites us to imagine worlds shaped by the extraordinary.
What sets science fiction apart is its foundation in scientific fact, theory, and possibility. From futuristic technology and distant planets to artificial intelligence and alternate realities, science fiction uses scientific ideas to shape its plots, characters, and worlds.
Within the genre, there’s something for every kind of reader. Explore apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic worlds, alternate histories, cyberpunk futures, epic space operas, time-travelling adventures, and more.
Discover your science fiction style with these recently published novels.
Family History Month
Image - Portrait of the Bray Family, 1912 from Coffs Collections
August is Family History Month, and whether you are just starting out or are an experienced family historian we hold many resources that will help you uncover your family’s past.
Did you know you the library offers free access to family history data bases Find My Past and Ancestry? These online resources can be accessed in any of our library branches, visit us today to start your family history journey.
Trending New Titles
Adult Fiction
Father material by
Alexis Hall
Luc and Oliver have survived fake dating, breakups, makeups, almost marriage, and finally domestic bliss. Now, as friends hit life milestones, they adopt a tiny, squirming dog named Spud and discover that opening their hearts to a pet might just make room for even more love and fatherhood.
First and forever by
Lynn Painter
A football star and a diehard fan entangled in a PR stunt--that only one side knows is fake--might be the right play in this new romantic comedy by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lynn Painter.
A killer in the family by Amin Ahmad
Naive Mumbai party boy Ali Azeem is drawn into the glamorous, dangerous world of the Khan family, New York's glittering property empire. As he uncovers secrets, corruption, and a link to a serial killer, Ali must navigate lies, wealth, and power to decide if the price of their world is worth paying.
Matcha on Monday by Michiko Aoyama
Tucked behind the trees in a quiet neighbourhood in Tokyo, the beloved Marble cafe offers a cup of warm, healing matcha to all who pass through its doors. Following the twelve calendar months, Matcha on Monday follows people from all walks of life: a woman who needs to change her attitude, a couple facing a crisis, an artist who has lost her purpose, and a young woman struggling to break free from family expectations. As each customer frequents Cafe Marble's cosy haven, they start their week with a warm sip of matcha and the joys of everyday human connection.
Room for rent by
Noelle W. Ihli
Nya can't remember the last time she felt safe. The rundown rental house didn't seem so bad at first. But now, someone is stealing her food. Rattling her bedroom doorknob. Digging through her belongings. Each night brings more disturbing incidents. And each night, Nya is more convinced that it's not an intruder. She suspects the culprit is hiding in plain sight: her peculiar roommate-of-necessity, Sidney.
The sisters of Serendib by Ayesha Inoon
Three sisters are separated as children. Decades later, with so much lost and changed, can they find their way back to each other?
Verity Guild by
Mai Corland
High Priestess Kerasea hides that she's the last heir of a magical bloodline, but a senator's murder and a temple blade put her in the spotlight. Praetorian Torren, sworn to expose her, must work with her to find the killer. As danger and attraction grow, trusting each other may be their only chance to survive.
Where truth ends by
Mark Smith
What if everything you believed in was a lie? When a peaceful climate protest at Flinders Street Station ends in a devastating city centre explosion, the event is immediately declared a terrorist attack. Activist Meg Maher thought she was doing the right thing, but now she is a prime suspect and on the run.
Miles Franklin Literary Award
2026 Winner
Omar Musa has won the 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award for his novel, Fierceland.
A trailblazing journey across the globe, Fierceland weaves the past and the present into an emotionally powerful family saga that plays out at a mythical scale.
Established through the will of author, Stella Miles Franklin, for the advancement, improvement and betterment of Australian literature, the Miles Franklin Literary Award recognises a novel of the highest literary merit that presents Australian life in any of its phases.
The award was announced at a ceremony in Sydney on 5 August 2026, with the winning author Omar Musa being awarded $60 000 in prize money.
Reading Radar
What our community are reading...
Face off by Chelsea Curto
Spicy, lighthearted fun. A quick read. A few issues with the storyline but fine.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
To the moon and back by Eliana Ramage
So enjoyed this book. Inciteful, probing and made me really ponder what this could teach me about people & life! Thoroughly recommend it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Our Community Reads Project
2026, All Year Program
What does home mean to you? Pick a book that speaks to this theme, whether it’s a place, a feeling, a memory, or a sense of belonging, and join the conversation through book clubs, events, and shared stories all year.
One of our volunteers, Dot,
recommends The Last Voyage of Mrs Henry Parker by Joanna Nell.
“This book is set aboard a ship, where Mrs Parker—experiencing the early stages of dementia—searches for her late husband, once the ship’s doctor. It thoughtfully explores the idea of “home” in two forms: the physical space of the ship and the emotional anchor of her husband—both places where her heart resides.”
One of our staff, Amanda, recommends Arundhati Roys' new autobiography, Mother Mary comes to Me.
“Home for her as a child is a deeply disturbing place, her inimitable and powerful mother being both 'storm and sanctuary'. As a student and woman, she lives in a rooftop shack with an old windscreen outside on cement blocks for her kitchen, and a bucket toilet, in tents in jungles as she reports on the politics of war, or with friends who share her creative integrity. Meanwhile, through strength of will, her mother funds, founds and builds an innovative, progressive school, followed by a landmark house adjoining it. The book closes with Arundhati - herself a qualified architect - re-building her mother’s house and giving herself at last her own shelter from the storms.”
Upcoming Events
The 2026 Children’s Book Week theme is ‘Symphony of Stories’.
The talented illustrator of this year's artwork is the fabulous Briony Stewart, award-winning author-illustrator of ‘Gymnastica Fantastica’ and other children’s books.
Please join us for a special Storytime at our three branches during Book Week. Wear your favourite costume and join in the fun.
When: Tuesday 25 August 10:30am
Where: Woolgoolga Library
When: Wednesday 26 August 10:30am
Where: Harry Bailey Memorial Library
When: Thursday 27 August 10:30am
Where: Toormina Library
Bookings for the public are not required. If any preschool groups would like to join the fun, please email coffs.library@chcc.nsw.gov.au
Online Author Event: An evening with Matt Haig
Monday 7 September, 7pm
Don’t miss the internationally bestselling author of The Midnight Library and Reasons to Stay Alive, as he talks books, ideas and his latest novel The Midnight Train, followed by a live audience Q&A. Hosted by BorrowBox.
Save the date!
The first‑ever Coffs Coast Local Authors’ Showcase lands on 28 November 2026 at Yarrila Place, bringing together local authors, fresh stories, and creative minds from across our region.
For one inspiring day, readers and writers are invited to explore a vibrant world of local stories, fresh ideas, and unexpected discoveries.
Meet authors from across the Coffs Coast and neighbouring communities, wander through colourful stalls, and browse new books hot off the local presses. Settle in for lightning talks that crackle with energy as writers share the sparks, surprises, and creative twists behind their work.
Whether you’re a devoted reader, a curious creative, or simply someone who loves supporting local talent, this showcase invites you to slow down, connect, and be inspired. It’s a chance to discover the stories being written right here in our community — and maybe stumble across something you didn’t expect.
Date: Saturday 28 November 2026
Location: River Oak Room, Level 3, Yarrila Place
Time: From 9am
Cost: Free Entry!
Registrations for authors will open soon!
Acknowledgement of Country
Coffs Harbour Libraries is on the land of the Gumbaynggirr people, who we recognise as the traditional custodians of the land and who have cared for the land since time immemorial. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging, and commit ourselves to a future with reconciliation and renewal at its heart.
Harry Bailey
Memorial Library
Yarrila Place
27 Gordon Street
Coffs Harbour
NSW 2452
Tel: (02) 6648 4900
Monday to Friday
10.00am to 6.00pm
Saturday & Sunday
10am to 2pm
Toormina Library
Minorie Drive
Toormina NSW 2452
Tel: (02) 6648 4925
Monday to Friday
10.00am to 5.00pm
Saturday
10am to 12noon
Woolgoolga Library
Ganderton Street
Woolgoolga NSW 2456
Tel: (02) 6648 4902
Monday to Friday
10.00am to 5.00pm
Saturday
10am to 12noon
