The Knight and the Moth is the first installment of a new romantasy series by Rachel Gillig and when this book initially came out I could not stop hearing about how amazing it was.

Honeyeater, the 2025 urban gothic novel from Brisbane writer Kathleen Jennings, takes this muddy, eddying menace and infuses it with a heady, floral dizziness. It is an exploration of familial obligations, tangled memories and ghosts that won’t stay dead.

Monthly Recap and Reminders Welcome to the April 2026 issue of Purple Prose—Jacaranda Journal’s monthly online newsletter. Purple Prose creates a regular platform for our readers, where we discuss all things writing and arts, give recommendations, feature local creatives, and provide a glimpse behind the scenes to see what the Jacaranda team are up to. This issue includes a new essay in our column The Writer’s Rant, which reflects on procrastination, writing routines, and the

Charlie Maycraft lovingly captures all of Magandjin’s eccentricities in Hot Tarmac, their first-ever solo art show at The Burrow. I chatted with them after the launch night to get more insight into their work.

When I was twenty-four, my body started to eat itself alive.

The worst date I have ever been on was with a man named Riley.

A community, united. One that grows. One that nurtures. That’s what I saw when I stepped into Bianca Tainsh’s Terra Culture.

Tucked away in the heart of West End, artist Bianca Tainsh’s exhibit Terra Culture is a thriving haven containing entire worlds.

‘Have you ever seen a dead body before?’ Dad won’t give me a straight answer, just said that’s how they do funerals in Ireland.

When I was a kid, I went on an excursion to a cemetery. I’m not sure why our school decided to send a group of children to a field of dead strangers.

I’m from Colombia—or Columbia. Either way, it’s fine. Not a huge difference, really.

On the edge of campus, scrawled across the brickwork, is an instruction: ‘Drop out of uni: there is no future’.

'Droplets of cold sweat used my spine like a rollercoaster. My hoodie was too loose and my track pants too tight...'

A review of Richard Flanagan's Question 7.

'When I think of Latinidad, I see colour and flavour. I feel it in making empanadas. Dicing onions while my eyes burn...'

'I grew up in a wilderness commune on Vancouver Island, so there was never any escaping bodies of water.'

'Melons are like that; they want to grow.'

'When I saw you at that book launch after all these years, I wanted to know if it was okay to still say hi.'

'I desire the freedom to dress, think and act as I please without the shackles of rules, guilt and punishment weighing me down.'