July Newsletter
Author Spotlight:
Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. The author of many books, Contrapposto (2026) being his latest novel in store now. Eggers is most known for his book The Circle which was adapted for the screen in 2017 starring Emma Watson & Tom Hanks. Eggers has written across many genres including Children’s Fiction and Journalistic Fiction.
He is the founder of McSweeney’s, a not-for-profit independent publishing company, and co-founder of 826 Valencia, a youth writing centre that has inspired over 70 similar organisations worldwide. Eggers is a winner of the American Book Award, the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Education, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the TED Prize, and has been a finalist for the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is the 2024 John Newbery Medalist, for the most distinguished contribution to children’s literature for The Eyes and the Impossible (2023) the first in the Adventures of Johannes series.
Eggers is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He also trained as a painter, Eggers’ artwork and book designs have been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, the Nevada Museum of Art, the Biennial of the Americas, the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum at the Smithsonian, and numerous other galleries and art spaces. In 2025, with JD Beltran, he co-founded Art + Water, a not-for-profit visual arts education and exhibition space on San Francisco’s waterfront.
Eggers’ work as a journalist has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Guardian, the Believer, and the New Statesman. He has covered Trump rallies, life in Gaza under occupation, Ukraine during wartime, and the fragile peace in South Sudan. Born in Boston and raised in Illinois, he has now lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for three decades. He is married to the novelist Vendela Vida, and they have two children.
In store or online now
Contrapposto by Dave Eggers
Cricket is just a shy kid who likes drawing when he first meets Olympia. She’s older, more confident; she bullies him into some light vandalism and instantly he’s in love. When they’re together, they talk about their futures, how they’re going to travel the world, the beauty and rapture of art.
Then those futures start to arrive in unexpected ways, the years and decades pile up between them, the art world seduces and disappoints and frustrates them. And they have to figure out, again and again, what it is to be an artist, and who and what to love.
This is a wild and beautiful novel about two friends who believe they can change the world, if only they can start their own movement, dodge charlatans, remain open-eyed and open-hearted, avoid going mad, avoid dying young of rare cancers, stay true to their ideals and never tire of beauty. Not easy, but not impossible, either.
Twenty years in the making, a novel about art, life and the complicated beauty of both.
Books of the Month
FICTION
Review by Tenniell
The Picasso Ransom is a charming and witty cosy crime novel that puts a fresh spin on a real Australian art mystery, with three delightfully unconventional retirees at the heart of the story. Its blend of humour, and light-hearted heist antics makes for an entertaining read that’s easy to get swept up in.
The Picasso Ransom by A. T. Prewett
Fact: In 1986, Picasso’s Weeping Woman was stolen from the National Gallery of Victoria. To this day, the culprits have never been identified.
Here’s what happened. Maybe.
Phoebe is about to turn 70, and has grown sick of retirement. She enrols in an evening art course, where she befriends fellow retirees Eva and Dave. They also happen to be studying across the road from a two-million-dollar Picasso. The trio make a promising start, only to find that the school is to be closed due to arts cuts implemented by a blundering government minister. The protests of a student activist group – under 30s only – fall on deaf ears. Enter Phoebe, Eva and Dave, who decide to take matters into their own hands …
‘Art is theft. All artists steal.’
NON FICTION
Reviewed by Suzie
Given the success of Mortals, I was very keen to read Being by Rachel E. Menzies. Rachel and Ross are very thorough and present their research and knowledge in an accessible way. Being offers thoughtful, practical insights that encourage readers to reflect on what it means to live a meaningful life while drawing on evidence-based psychological approaches. It is an engaging and compassionate read that I would recommend to anyone interested in wellbeing, resilience, and personal growth.
Being by Rachel E. Menzies
From early childhood, we start to become aware of the difficulties we must all inevitably face. We will battle an inner critic across the entirety of our life. We will never truly know those around us and time will destroy all we create. Death becomes a reality, and we cannot escape the knowledge that it is coming for us all. These are the problems of being; the existential truths that make it harder to be human than a hamster or a herring.
Many other problems emerge from the knowledge of our own mortality. How do we find meaning, choose a life path, form an identity, face uncertainty, cope with hardship and, ultimately, bear the loss of all we love? How do we make peace with the inner voice that won’t stop attacking the choices we’ve made and the opportunities we’ve missed? How do we deal with the uncertain and unpredictable nature of the world and our future?
In this book, daughter-father psychologists Rachel E. Menzies and Ross G. Menzies explore what it means to be human, and our shared need for love, meaning and self-understanding. They highlight the power of hope, the role of purpose in wellbeing, and how acceptance is key to a more authentic and joyful life. This is the beauty of being.
KIDS & YA
This was one of those middle-grade reads that hits hard, but in that beautiful, heartfelt way that appeals to adults as well as the kids. Young readers who know how it feels to miss out on something important to them will resonate with Harry and the choices he must make in his school basketball journey. An incredibly well-written dive into love, grief, belonging and navigating the uncomfortable path.
The Rebound by Fiona Harris
This is not the future either Harry or his dad imagined. Harry has to dig deep to work out what basketball means to him and, with the help of surprising new friendships, he rediscovers his love for the sport as the Redbacks start to play like a team. And then the school arranges a derby, the Redbacks against the Firsts, and Harry’s heart sinks – the Redbacks are bound to be destroyed. But is winning all that matters? Harry learns that sometimes the sweetest shot is the one you get on the rebound.
July New Release Highlights
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Kids & YA
Author Events:
Crime Panel – Thursday 23 July 6:00pm
The Studio @ PCT Mornington Community House, 91 Wilsons Road Mornington.
Book Club:
Kids’ Story Writing Competition: Entries Close Sunday 26 July
What our staff are reading this month:
Other Services:
