How to choose your WellRead subscription

Start with who it's for

Choose a subscription for yourself or someone else. If you're sending a gift, you can select a gift subscription during purchase.

Choose your subscription type

Select an ongoing subscription if you'd like books to continue each month. You can manage, skip, or cancel at any time through your account.
Choose a prepaid gift subscription (3, 6, or 12 months) if you're gifting for a set period.

How many should I order?

Most readers only need one subscription per person.
If you're purchasing for multiple people, we recommend placing separate orders, with a different email address, so each subscription can be managed individually.
Choosing a quantity of 2 or more on this page sends that many copies of the same month's book – it doesn't send different titles.

Confirm your details

Add your delivery information, include an optional message if gifting, and complete checkout.

From there, each book is thoughtfully selected and prepared for the next available delivery.

The First Inventors by Billy Griffiths

What’s included each month?

Each delivery includes one carefully selected book, along with reading notes and a letter explaining why it was chosen.

Every title is thoughtfully curated from new literary releases—both local and international—with a focus on quality, discovery, and lasting reading experiences.

The reading notes are designed to deepen the experience, whether enjoyed personally or shared in a book club setting.

How does delivery work?

Books are carefully packaged and sent at the start of each month, with most deliveries arriving within the first week.

When you subscribe, your first book will be prepared for the next available delivery—often the upcoming monthly selection.

If a selected title is tied to a future release date, delivery may follow shortly after publication.

Shipping is calculated at checkout and starts from $5.

Billing & subscriptions

Subscriptions are charged on the 20th of each month.

You can choose a monthly or every-other-month delivery. With an ongoing subscription, you can skip a month, adjust your delivery frequency, or cancel at any time through your account.

If you need any help managing your subscription, feel free to contact us—we’re always happy to assist.

Can I gift this subscription?

Yes — we offer prepaid gift subscriptions designed specifically for gifting.

You can explore our gift options here: Gift Subscriptions

When purchasing a gift, you’ll be able to include a personal message and choose when the gift is sent.

Gift subscriptions are prepaid for a set period, creating a thoughtful experience that begins when the recipient redeems their gift.

What if I’ve already read the selected book?

We carefully select new and notable releases to minimise the chance of this happening.

If you’ve already read the book, many customers choose to pass it on—sharing the experience with a friend, family member, or fellow reader.

As each selection is curated in advance, we don’t typically offer exchanges. If something doesn’t feel quite right, please contact us and we’ll do our best to assist.

Pre-sale. Order now and it will be shipped in our normal shipping cycle.

This is what a history of Australia looks like when it has Indigenous perspectives at its heart.

For over 65,000 years, people have made this continent their own through language, song, water and fire. The First Inventors tells their story. It is a history of innovation, diplomacy and design, and a celebration of the survival and resilience of cultural knowledge. It explores how people managed and engineered entire landscapes, and how they orchestrated seascapes according to the stars, tides and relationships with animal kin.

The First Inventors is grounded in the idea of Country: a transformative way of seeing, and relating to, the world. It honours old ways of knowing and relates fresh insights from cutting-edge collaborative research: from astronomy, navigation and ancient memory systems to archaeology, pottery and international trade.

Based on the stunning SBS and Channel 10 TV series, The First Inventors is a story of hope, wonder and possibility.

'A dazzling history that is anchored in the knowledges and practices of the Ancestors. With vivid prose and a wonderful sense of story, The First Inventors offers a different way of relating to the history and future of the continent.' Rachel Perkins

'Celebrates how our people shaped the landscape through curiosity, care and invention.' Professor Wesley Enoch AM

'An instant classic' Robyn Williams AO

'A big story in every sense of the word' Professor Lynette Russell AM

'To read this exciting, paradigm-shifting work is to see the history of our continent anew.' Sydney Morning Herald

Readers & Their WellRead Moments