Sydneys Story

One day Sydney was just another misunderstood bad girl, the next she was the newest sensation of the modeling world. But there’s a good reason that this party girl refuses to give up her nights...

A romp through historical 18th century England and France during the formative years of Sydney Carton, adult hero of the Dickens' classic, "A Tale of Two Cities." How did this brilliant, compassionate man become a dissolute drunk, willing to die for love?

The malfunction of Sydney's mechanical star leads her to an unexpected happy ending.

Lewis, a hedgehog, and his friend Clark, a skunk, set out from their comfortable burrow under Miss Nancy's potting shed on an expedition to see more of the "Whole Wide World."

The extraordinary story of the 20th century's most recognisable building, with new insights into the people involved and the controversy that surrounded its construction. Winner of the 2018 Walkley Book Award The best-loved building in Australia nearly didn't get off the drawing board. When it did, the lives of everyone involved in its construction were utterly changed: some for the better, many for the worse. Helen Pitt tells the stories of the people behind the magnificent white sails of the Sydney Opera House. From the famous conductor and state premier who conceived the project; to the two architects whose lives were so tragically intertwined; to the workers and engineers; to the people of Sydney, who were alternately beguiled and horrified as the drama unfolded over two decades. With access to diaries, letters, and classified records, as well as her own interviews with people involved in the project, Helen Pitt reveals the intimate back story of the building that turned Sydney into an international city. It is a tale worthy of Shakespeare himself. 'A drama-filled page turner' - Ita Buttrose AO OBE 'Helen Pitt tells us so much about the building of the Sydney Opera House we've never heard before' - Bob Carr, former Premier of NSW 'Australia in the seventies: mullets, platform shoes and, miraculously, the Opera House. At least we got one of them right. A great read.' - Amanda Keller, WSFM breakfast presenter

The untold life story of All-of-a-Kind Family author Sydney Taylor, highlighting her dramatic influence on American children’s literature This is the first and only biography of Sydney Taylor (1904–1978), author of the award-winning All-of-a-Kind Family series of books, the first juvenile novels published by a mainstream publisher to feature Jewish children characters. The family—based on Taylor’s own as a child—includes five sisters, each two years apart, dressed alike by their fastidious immigrant mother so they all look the same: all-of-a-kind. The four other sisters’ names were the same in the books as in their real lives; only the real-life Sarah changed hers to the boyish Sydney while she was in high school. Cummins elucidates the deep connections between the progressive Taylor’s books and American Jewish experiences, arguing that Taylor was deeply influential in the development of national Jewish identity. This biography conveys the vital importance of children’s books in the transmission of Jewish culture and the preservation of ethnic heritage.

In collaboration with SWEATSHOP: Western Sydney Literacy Movement, Seizure is proud to publish Stories of Sydney. Stories of Sydney celebrates the diversity that exists in this city. A place that is simultaneously welcoming and prejudiced, kind and cruel, aspirational and eccentric in its mundanity. The stories range from family drama to modern noir, from cultural clashes to the burden of memory. These are stories from lives you don’t often get to see, from authors as varied as the city itself. Featuring Sunil Badami, Samantha Hogg, Benny Davis, PM Newton, Luke Carman, Tamar Chnorhokian, Peter Polites, George Toseski, Stephen Pham, Amanda Yeo, Susie Ahmad, Sanaz Fotouhi, Maryam Azam, Nick Marland and Sophia Barnes.

Following the success of 'Across Great Divides: True Stories of Life at Sydney Cove' this new edition, ‘Stories of Life at Sydney Cove’, is for readers aged 10+. When thirteen year old convicts, John Hudson and Elizabeth Hayward, are sent to a mysterious land at the end of the world, they have no idea what life holds for them. At Sydney Cove there are no roads, no fences, no buildings…just wilderness. Later when Indigenous children Nanberry and Boorong come to live with the white strangers, they see life through different eyes. The mystery of a new world had begun and the lives of all involved would never be the same again. 'Stories of life at Sydney Cove' is a gripping narrative that weaves together the everyday experiences of convicts, soldiers and Aboriginal people with the events of history. These true stories are told through the words of those who really lived at Sydney Cove in 1788, and are so intriguing they read like fiction.

Winner of CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal Winner of the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award A young boy wakes up to the sound of the sea, visits his grandfather’s grave after lunch and comes home to a simple family dinner with his family, but all the while his mind strays to his father digging for coal deep down under the sea. Stunning illustrations by Sydney Smith, the award-winning illustrator of Sidewalk Flowers, show the striking contrast between a sparkling seaside day and the darkness underground where the miners dig. With curriculum connections to communities and the history of mining, this beautifully understated and haunting story brings a piece of Canadian history to life. The ever-present ocean and inevitable pattern of life in a Cape Breton mining town will enthrall children and move adult readers.

Seven starred reviews! “A riveting, meticulously plotted mystery with plenty of drama.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) A teen girl’s summer with her famous mother turns sinister in this gripping thriller inspired by a real-life Hollywood murder from Printz Honor–winning and National Book Award finalist author Deb Caletti—perfect for fans of Courtney Summers’s Sadie. Sydney Reilly has a bad feeling about going home to San Francisco before she even gets on the plane. How could she not? Her mother is Lila Shore—the Lila Shore—a film star who prizes her beauty and male attention above all else…certainly above her daughter. But Sydney’s worries multiply when she discovers that Lila is involved with the dangerous Jake, an art dealer with shady connections. Jake loves all beautiful objects, and Sydney can feel his eyes on her whenever he’s around. And he’s not the only one. Sydney is starting to attract attention—good and bad—wherever she goes: from sweet, handsome Nicco Ricci, from the unsettling construction worker next door, and even from Lila. Behaviors that once seemed like misunderstandings begin to feel like threats as the summer grows longer and hotter. But real danger, crimes of passion, the kind of stuff where someone gets killed—it only mostly happens in the movies, Sydney is sure. Until the night something life-changing happens on the stairs that lead to the beach. A thrilling night that goes suddenly very wrong. When loyalties are called into question. And when Sydney learns a terrible truth: beautiful objects can break.