Collection: Nonfiction

Amanda Goff was a successful journalist in London and Sydney before ditching her nine-to-five job at the age of 38 to become Samantha X, Australia's most famous escort. A bipolar diagnosis changed everything: she retired from sex work, walked away from Samantha X, and went in search of Amanda. Mi...

In 1973, Blue Poles, the iconic painting by America's great abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock, was acquired by the Australian government for A$1.4 million. This record-setting price for an artwork sparked a media sensation and controversy both in Australia and the United States. Blue Poles: ...

The incredible true story of how a street-fighting petty criminal, who was kicked out of school at fourteen, became one of Australia's most celebrated and successful portrait artists. Raised amid poverty and violence on the poor streets of Melbourne, Vincent Fantauzzo was just a boy when he accep...

If you are diagnosed with bipolar disorder, conventional medications aren't always effective - and they often have disturbing side-effects. What if there was a completely different treatment?

To mark The Australia Institute's 30 years of big ideas, we have asked some of our good friends and leading thinkers from Australia and around the world to share a big idea for a better Australia. The Australia Institute has spent the last 30 years producing research that matters, and this anthol...

Have you ever felt like you're hurtling through the daily grind of life, unable to slow down or take a breath? Things might look good from the outside, but inside, you're running on empty with no time to reflect on what it's all for. Greatness is the antidote to this helpless, discontented feelin...

An expansive anthology of creative non-fiction, memoir, graphic storytelling and more from a stellar line-up of Autistic gender-diverse and women writers. While the 'nerdy white man' stereotype of Autism dominates in media and popular culture, other Autistic people miss out on seeing themselves, ...

Christine thought a year in South Korea would hit the pause button on her messy life. Her dad's death had left her anxious and depressed, and her career in musical theatre had reached a new low of shopping-centre kids' shows. When she found herself pulled over by the side of the road, dressed as ...

She dazzled Australia with her rebellious novel My Brilliant Career, inspiring generations of young women chafing under conventional expectations. Only 21, Miles Franklin was lauded as the Bronte of the bush, and feted by the rich and influential. But fame can be deceptive. In reality, the book e...

What happens when you want to stop feeling like you're never enough? A Good Girl is acutely aware of everyone's emotional state. Except her own. She was praised for not being difficult like other girls. She must never get too big for her boots and must always be grateful. So damn grateful. She ma...