‘Walker is a teacher herself and, boy, does this novel ring true.’ —The Sydney Morning Herald

Sometimes the most important lessons are learnt at lunchtime

Parks State High is a melting pot of misfits. There is Oliver Fish, the teen philosopher hiding a secret relationship; Dev Desai, hopelessly in love with the brilliant Maryam Fadel; and a staffroom thick with gossip, camaraderie and burnt-out teachers. At the centre of it all is well-loved teacher Paul Bush. But when a disgruntled student makes a devastating move – one lunchtime is all it takes for Bushie’s life to change forever.

With a cast of unforgettable characters, In a Common Hour is a smart, funny and wise novel that shows us all the ways we are connected.

PRAISE FOR IN A COMMON HOUR

‘Sita Walker's 20 years as a high school literature teacher flavours every page of her terrific new book, In a Common Hour.’ —The Herald Sun

‘In a Common Hour is a hope-filled masterpiece about contemporary high school classrooms and the people that inhabit them.’ —Gabbie Stroud, author of Teacher and The Things that Matter Most

‘I read this in a gulp. In a Common Hour marks the arrival of a major new talent. Sita Walker makes me fall in love with reading all over again.’ —Nikki Gemmell, author of Wing

‘Walker’s novel is unputdownable. I was charmed, moved, and so sorry to close the covers.’ —Sharlene Allsopp, author of The Great Undoing

‘The full emotional force of Walker’s well-plotted tale arrives in the final chapter, offering an ending that is empathetic to both students and teachers, and ultimately optimistic.’ —Books+Publishing

 

Details

ISBN13: 9781761153471
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 304
Edition:
Publication Date: 28 Jan 2026
Publisher: Ultimo Press
Publication City, Country: Australia
Dimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)404
Weight (gm): 404

Author Biography

Sita Walker is a high school literature teacher, freelance writer and award-winning author whose first book, The God of No Good (Ultimo Press, 2023), won The Courier-­Mail People’s Choice Award at the Queensland Literary Awards and the University of Sydney People’s Choice Award at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.

Reviews

Sita Walker's 20 years as a high school literature teacher flavours every page of her terrific new book, In a Common Hour. I was a fan of Walker's first book The God of No Good, and now I'm even more impressed by this Brisbane author's fluid, natural writing. It's a clever premise too, set in a high school over the course of one lunch hour. We meet much loved teacher Paul "Bushie" Bush (every school has one) and a cast of students who are complex, loveable, infuriating and hilarious - as all teenagers should be. Walker nails both the classroom and staffroom dynamics, and pulls off that most tricky of things - giving the young characters in her book voices that read completely authentically.

Walker took her title from a quote by American poet and philosopher Henry David Thoreau. It’s a hopeful one, and for all its excursions into grim corners and observations of frailties and vulnerabilities, the novel is suffused with a spirituality that lightens the darkness and reminds us of a greater realm than the minutiae of the human condition.