Susan Francis

When Eleanor Freeman’s enigmatic stepmother, Ida, dies in a suspicious fire, a lifetime of secrets begins to unravel. Was Ida an Indonesian spy entangled in the murders of the Balibo Five and unspeakable war crimes?

Haunted by the past and pursued by those who would prefer the truth to remain buried, Eleanor flees to a crumbling lighthouse on the mid-north coast of NSW. There, amid salt-lashed cliffs and gathering shadows, she unearths a decades-old conspiracy of betrayal, silence and bloodshed – one that stretches from the halls of Canberra to the ravaged villages of Timor-Leste.

Revelation Beach dares to expose one of Australia’s most shameful cover-ups, where lives were sacrificed for oil, gas and political expediency. At once a literary page-turner and a powerful reckoning, this novel asks the question: How far would you go to uncover the truth?

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Susan Francis spent a year in Indonesia in 1980, where she experienced conversations shutting down when she walked into social settings and witnessed chunks of articles in the newspapers blacked out by the censor’s heavy hand as ongoing resistance by the Timorese filled the media. This led her to years of researching this bloody history. In Revelation Beach, Susan intricately weaves fact with fiction to highlight our crucial relationship with our northern neighbours and the devastation when we chose to look away from genocide. With the fiftieth anniversary of the journalists’ deaths in October 2025, Revelation Beach showcases one of the greatest government cover-ups in Australian history. 

Katia Ariel

Ferryman: The Life and Deathwork of Ephraim Finch is a profoundly moving exploration of life, loss, and legacy. Blending biography, memoir, and cultural history, Katia Ariel brings to life the remarkable story of Ephraim Finch OAM—a deathworker, community builder, and guardian of cultural memory.

Drawing from Finch’s handwritten journals and intimate interviews, Ariel masterfully explores themes of grief, memory, ritual, and the celebration of life, all with tenderness and wisdom. Finch’s extraordinary journey—from his working-class Sydney upbringing to his conversion to Orthodox Judaism, and later, his pivotal role as director of Melbourne’s Jewish Burial Society—offers a deeply human reflection on belonging, service, and the enduring power of stories.

For thirty years Finch provided unwavering support to bereaved families, including Holocaust survivors, while seamlessly navigating coroners, police, clergy, and medical professionals. A consummate connector, he preserved sacred Jewish traditions while fostering understanding across religious and secular communities, making death and its rituals less daunting and more accessible.

At a time of increasing cultural division and societal fractures, Ferryman is a vital and timely story—one that reminds us of the power of compassion, service, and the sacredness of life itself.

With a foreword by Arnold Zable and praise from literary luminaries such as Hannah Kent, Raimond Gaita, Chloe Hooper, and Kylie Moore-Gilbert, Ferryman is an essential addition to our literary and cultural landscape.