What do you think?
Rate this book
Department of the Vanishing
Before the Anthropocene, the air pulsed with birdsong. Now, a silence is falling.
Ava spends her days at The Department, rebuilding lost species from the remaining fragments of art and scientific data. Her dying mother thinks she should quit. So does her lover, and the sex workers who loiter outside her apartment. But when a ghost from her past shows up, Ava is compelled to follow its broken song deep into the archives––uncovering a secret that could reverse the age of silence.
Set in a time of mass extinction, Department of the Vanishing blends documentary poetry, archival image, and narrative verse to explore the vital questions: Can we live in a world without birdsong and is it possible to create a new opus with the fragments left over?
‘Rare and resplendent. A full-bodied roar at the crimes of extinction and a psalm for the wonder of the living world.’ Jennifer Mills
‘A sexy, compelling and beautifully crafted elegy not only to birds but to feeling itself. The denouement is spectacular; I cheered and wept.’ Angela O’Keeffe
‘Simultaneously fragile and furious, intimate and immense, Department of the Vanishing is a remarkable achievement.’ James Bradley
Ava spends her days at The Department, rebuilding lost species from the remaining fragments of art and scientific data. Her dying mother thinks she should quit. So does her lover, and the sex workers who loiter outside her apartment. But when a ghost from her past shows up, Ava is compelled to follow its broken song deep into the archives––uncovering a secret that could reverse the age of silence.
Set in a time of mass extinction, Department of the Vanishing blends documentary poetry, archival image, and narrative verse to explore the vital questions: Can we live in a world without birdsong and is it possible to create a new opus with the fragments left over?
‘Rare and resplendent. A full-bodied roar at the crimes of extinction and a psalm for the wonder of the living world.’ Jennifer Mills
‘A sexy, compelling and beautifully crafted elegy not only to birds but to feeling itself. The denouement is spectacular; I cheered and wept.’ Angela O’Keeffe
‘Simultaneously fragile and furious, intimate and immense, Department of the Vanishing is a remarkable achievement.’ James Bradley
- GenresFiction
311 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 6, 2026
Johanna Bell's new book is set in 2028 in Sydney, where Ava Wilde works as an archivist at the Department of the Vanishing. There, 6 floors underground, she catalogues all the records and memorabilia about species as they become extinct, with a special focus on birds. Her father, an ornithologist, disappeared while doing field work when she was 6, and she is haunted by all the unanswered questions and her dying mother's oblique messages.
In her private life, Ava seems lost, adrift, as the world crumbles around her. She hooks up with men and moves on, until Luke, who makes her feel. Their slightly kinky sex life is underscored by the first thefts: he encourages Ava to steal bird recordings from the Department (duplicated saved onto USBs) which he uses to mix songs. I think. It's a little vague at times. When Ava's private life implodes, she takes things even further, desperate to fill the silence of her world.
I loved the mix of storytelling styles in this book, free verse combined with emails, factoids, newspaper clippings and photos. There's a long list of references at the back to go with them. It's like an art installation or a collage in book form. I'm not the biggest fan of free verse. There's a lot of internal here, but I still had trouble fully understanding Ava. I couldn't picture her very well - which might be an interesting device, the sense that she is just like all the documents and things she catalogues: a slice, a sliver, of a much greater whole. But I don't think that's the intention.
I learned a lot of interesting things about birds, the lyrebird in particular, and this was done really well. The mass extinctions and silencing of birds felt scarily realistic, and a vision of our future. It creates a bleak, desperate atmosphere that works well with Ava's bitter bleakness. I loved the prostitutes on the stairs, they were sketches that were brought to life through their banter.
There's a lot to discuss - this would make a great bookclub book. It made an impression on me and won't be forgotten.
In her private life, Ava seems lost, adrift, as the world crumbles around her. She hooks up with men and moves on, until Luke, who makes her feel. Their slightly kinky sex life is underscored by the first thefts: he encourages Ava to steal bird recordings from the Department (duplicated saved onto USBs) which he uses to mix songs. I think. It's a little vague at times. When Ava's private life implodes, she takes things even further, desperate to fill the silence of her world.
I loved the mix of storytelling styles in this book, free verse combined with emails, factoids, newspaper clippings and photos. There's a long list of references at the back to go with them. It's like an art installation or a collage in book form. I'm not the biggest fan of free verse. There's a lot of internal here, but I still had trouble fully understanding Ava. I couldn't picture her very well - which might be an interesting device, the sense that she is just like all the documents and things she catalogues: a slice, a sliver, of a much greater whole. But I don't think that's the intention.
I learned a lot of interesting things about birds, the lyrebird in particular, and this was done really well. The mass extinctions and silencing of birds felt scarily realistic, and a vision of our future. It creates a bleak, desperate atmosphere that works well with Ava's bitter bleakness. I loved the prostitutes on the stairs, they were sketches that were brought to life through their banter.
There's a lot to discuss - this would make a great bookclub book. It made an impression on me and won't be forgotten.
April 10, 2026
Johanna Bell tries to push the boundaries of what constitutes a book, and how to push a narrative. In the afterword, she describes it as a verse novel, and flicking through the pages gives the impression more of a scrapbook than a story.
However, through this format of newspaper clippings, police interviews and diagrams, Bell does successfully drag forth a strange grief and love for the natural world.
The scrapbook nature of the book makes it a quick and fun read. The cultural impact of different birds is played across the pages in newspaper cut-outs, along with fun and interesting facts like the indigenous names of lyrebirds (bulin-bulin or golgol) or that they move more earth than any other terrestrial vertebrate! Many species are included, but the centrepiece of the story are lyrebirds, which gives it bonus points for me.
Bell blurs the line between fiction, and reality, prediction, and destiny, past and future. At certain points I was unsure whether I had missed some terrifying news about species close to my heart. This effect was heightened by the fact I learnt fairy wrens will be extinct in my lifetime while reading. It is easy to sink into the despair the book brings out. The protagonist works as an archivist responsible for preserving the historical record of species as they disappear. This tragedy is slightly lessened by some choices that are too unlikely to be believed in passing. Sea gulls disappearing before red tailed black cockatoos is not a believable tragedy. I think it was genius to set the tragedy in the present, not some far off future. It made the tally of lost species that we know and love so well so palpable.
The strangest element of the book was the sexually explicit relationship that dominated much of the narrative. This alone is not a critique I have for the book, but the relationship, and the drawn link between her archival work and the sexual domination she is subject to is hard to connect to the primary themes of disappearance and loss.
However, through this format of newspaper clippings, police interviews and diagrams, Bell does successfully drag forth a strange grief and love for the natural world.
The scrapbook nature of the book makes it a quick and fun read. The cultural impact of different birds is played across the pages in newspaper cut-outs, along with fun and interesting facts like the indigenous names of lyrebirds (bulin-bulin or golgol) or that they move more earth than any other terrestrial vertebrate! Many species are included, but the centrepiece of the story are lyrebirds, which gives it bonus points for me.
Bell blurs the line between fiction, and reality, prediction, and destiny, past and future. At certain points I was unsure whether I had missed some terrifying news about species close to my heart. This effect was heightened by the fact I learnt fairy wrens will be extinct in my lifetime while reading. It is easy to sink into the despair the book brings out. The protagonist works as an archivist responsible for preserving the historical record of species as they disappear. This tragedy is slightly lessened by some choices that are too unlikely to be believed in passing. Sea gulls disappearing before red tailed black cockatoos is not a believable tragedy. I think it was genius to set the tragedy in the present, not some far off future. It made the tally of lost species that we know and love so well so palpable.
The strangest element of the book was the sexually explicit relationship that dominated much of the narrative. This alone is not a critique I have for the book, but the relationship, and the drawn link between her archival work and the sexual domination she is subject to is hard to connect to the primary themes of disappearance and loss.
May 20, 2026
Written in epistolary form with a mix of verse narrative, archive documents, interviews, evidence, photography and more.
Department of the Vanishing was the winner of the 2025 Tasmanian Literary Awards and it isn't hard to see why.
Johanna Bell has created a combination of fact and fiction that i was both engrossed in and at times made me uncomfortable.
Set in a near future where mass extinction of species have occured, this is like a love letter to birds, ornithology and nature, in particular the lyrebird (which is incredible by the way), as well as a story of grief and desire.
At times the personal relationship and explicit sexual nature of that storyline caught me off guard and felt a bit jarring. But as the story moved back into the other elements i was thoroughly invested. I can never complain when i am learning along the way.
This won't appeal to everyone but I am so glad I picked it up.
Department of the Vanishing was the winner of the 2025 Tasmanian Literary Awards and it isn't hard to see why.
Johanna Bell has created a combination of fact and fiction that i was both engrossed in and at times made me uncomfortable.
Set in a near future where mass extinction of species have occured, this is like a love letter to birds, ornithology and nature, in particular the lyrebird (which is incredible by the way), as well as a story of grief and desire.
At times the personal relationship and explicit sexual nature of that storyline caught me off guard and felt a bit jarring. But as the story moved back into the other elements i was thoroughly invested. I can never complain when i am learning along the way.
This won't appeal to everyone but I am so glad I picked it up.
Read
March 14, 2026My review of this astonishing novel that you should definitely go out and buy as soon as you can is in the May 2026 edition of Locus.
March 23, 2026
In this stunning debut novel, Department of the Vanishing, blurs fact and fiction into a chilling and all too real reality. Johanna Bell roars from the highest pinnacle using the iconic Lyrebird to illustrate the tragedy that is environmental destitution.
The Department of the Vanishing is a most intimate book ranging through the many nuances of the emotional experience of Ava Wilde, a young woman filled with hope and idealism. In her desire to make an impact, Ava accepts a governmental role as an Archivist in the Department of the Vanishing, the department responsible for archiving the disappearing flora and fauna in this fictional world.
As the years progress, she begins to realise that she is cataloguing nothing more than the end of everything; reasoning that no matter what she does it will not matter. Ava will not change the course of climate change that is destroying the planet, and specifically her beloved Lyrebird, with its soulful songs that Ava has a special affinity for. The Lyrebird, with its distinctive song, ability to mimic, survival instincts and mating habits is used to illustrate the sadness, the ultimate tragedy should the final song be sung. Ava comes to realize through her work that perhaps the slow destruction of the earth is an analogy of the way her life has been moving forward.
Through the introspection initiated by her work, the burning of the planet is much like the growing pressures of unresolved pain in her mind. Her father, a well-known naturalist, went missing more than 30 years ago; her mother holds secrets but is slowly slipping into dementia; her many lists, papers and cuttings that fill up her small home have become her obsession. Ava Wilde seeks normality and catharsis though sex; raw, brutal, and coarse. She discovers that it is not; it is nothing more than another maladaptive coping mechanism in a life that is already in chaos.
As the story progresses Ava presents as quiet and hesitant. She has moved past the point of caring, accepting her fate, refusing to admit that her actions were anything more than a woman mired in grief for her life, and the environment.
The Department of the Vanishing is not your usual read. The book has been created with great thought: the words, poetry, illustrations, photos, Police Statements, lists, and quotes are reflective of the general chaos of her life.
Fascinating, original, complex and yet beautiful, Department of the Vanishing created by Johanna Bell is already an award winner. The book artfully articulates a clear environmental message. A list of References she has used are there should you choose to delve further into the many threads of the story. Eco literature at its finest.
The Department of the Vanishing is a most intimate book ranging through the many nuances of the emotional experience of Ava Wilde, a young woman filled with hope and idealism. In her desire to make an impact, Ava accepts a governmental role as an Archivist in the Department of the Vanishing, the department responsible for archiving the disappearing flora and fauna in this fictional world.
As the years progress, she begins to realise that she is cataloguing nothing more than the end of everything; reasoning that no matter what she does it will not matter. Ava will not change the course of climate change that is destroying the planet, and specifically her beloved Lyrebird, with its soulful songs that Ava has a special affinity for. The Lyrebird, with its distinctive song, ability to mimic, survival instincts and mating habits is used to illustrate the sadness, the ultimate tragedy should the final song be sung. Ava comes to realize through her work that perhaps the slow destruction of the earth is an analogy of the way her life has been moving forward.
Through the introspection initiated by her work, the burning of the planet is much like the growing pressures of unresolved pain in her mind. Her father, a well-known naturalist, went missing more than 30 years ago; her mother holds secrets but is slowly slipping into dementia; her many lists, papers and cuttings that fill up her small home have become her obsession. Ava Wilde seeks normality and catharsis though sex; raw, brutal, and coarse. She discovers that it is not; it is nothing more than another maladaptive coping mechanism in a life that is already in chaos.
As the story progresses Ava presents as quiet and hesitant. She has moved past the point of caring, accepting her fate, refusing to admit that her actions were anything more than a woman mired in grief for her life, and the environment.
The Department of the Vanishing is not your usual read. The book has been created with great thought: the words, poetry, illustrations, photos, Police Statements, lists, and quotes are reflective of the general chaos of her life.
Fascinating, original, complex and yet beautiful, Department of the Vanishing created by Johanna Bell is already an award winner. The book artfully articulates a clear environmental message. A list of References she has used are there should you choose to delve further into the many threads of the story. Eco literature at its finest.
March 2, 2026
DEPARTMENT OF THE VANISHING (Transit Lounge 2026) won the Tasmanian Literary Award for author Johanna Bell. This book is an eclectic mix of form, content and issues; an unusual prose poem punctuated with photographs, redacted police interviews, scientific data, newspaper cutouts, lists, letters and handwritten notes. In her exciting and experimental style, Bell navigates species decline, climate change, bureaucracy and secret conspiracies. She explores the personal effect of someone long missing, the decline of dementia, the relationships between mothers and daughters, and between fathers and daughters. She is fascinated by bird species, particularly the Australian lyrebird. The book is an elegy to futility but also to quiet persistence.
Ava lives in a time in the near future when birdsong no longer graces our world. The silence is deafening. Her job at The Department involves rebuilding lost species and cataloguing fragments of scientific data, art, birdsong recordings and journal entries about the earth’s birdlife that, once plentiful, has gradually vanished.
This is a book with lots of white space interspersed with dense documentation and photographic evidence, all marked by date, time and place (and sometimes ‘private’, ‘discarded’ or ‘received’). The structure and form are ingeniously crafted. The prose poetry reads like a fast-moving novel, and Ava’s backstory is skilfully intertwined with the current narrative.
The story is also sensual, sexual, coarse, urgent, tender, passionate and full of lust and desire.
The lyrebird is a continual motif: its song, mimicry, plumage, habitat, mating rituals, parenting and historical significance.
For lovers of the work of James Bradley, Jane Rawson, Kris Kneen and Amanda Niehaus, this exceptionally beautiful, brilliant and bold novel asks the reader to think about birdsong, mass extinction, humanity’s mark on the planet, the value of archival material, and whether it is possible to come back from the brink.
Ava lives in a time in the near future when birdsong no longer graces our world. The silence is deafening. Her job at The Department involves rebuilding lost species and cataloguing fragments of scientific data, art, birdsong recordings and journal entries about the earth’s birdlife that, once plentiful, has gradually vanished.
This is a book with lots of white space interspersed with dense documentation and photographic evidence, all marked by date, time and place (and sometimes ‘private’, ‘discarded’ or ‘received’). The structure and form are ingeniously crafted. The prose poetry reads like a fast-moving novel, and Ava’s backstory is skilfully intertwined with the current narrative.
The story is also sensual, sexual, coarse, urgent, tender, passionate and full of lust and desire.
The lyrebird is a continual motif: its song, mimicry, plumage, habitat, mating rituals, parenting and historical significance.
For lovers of the work of James Bradley, Jane Rawson, Kris Kneen and Amanda Niehaus, this exceptionally beautiful, brilliant and bold novel asks the reader to think about birdsong, mass extinction, humanity’s mark on the planet, the value of archival material, and whether it is possible to come back from the brink.
April 8, 2026
Winner of the University of Tasmania's Best New Unpublished Work prize in the 2025 Tasmanian Premier's Literary Awards, Joanna Bell's Department of the Vanishing is a spellbinding, innovative work of eco-fiction with a message about species extinction that can't be ignored.
Hobart-based author, poet and Churchill Fellow, Johanna Bell has published award-winning children's books and founded a storytelling studio to elevate voices from regional Australia. Department of the Vanishing is her first book for adults.
The novel is a pastiche and credit must go to Jo Hunt who did the complex internal design. The book consists mainly of pages which purport to be archival materials including photos; records of police interviews (with some redactions); newspaper headlines; emails; and lists of facts. Documents are 'stamped' with 'File Copy', 'Restricted', and the minutiae of archival practice: Accession numbers, Received dates, Date stamps, Not for Loan etc. These are supplemented by narratives of free verse and a typed record of a confused mother's ramblings and the daughter's frustrated response in handwriting. This extraordinary collage comes together to tell the story of mass bird extinctions in the very near future and an archivist's struggle to protect the documentary record. In a silent environment where birdsong has vanished, Ava Wilde is also seeking an explanation for her ornithologist father's disappearance some years ago, and negotiating her own relationship with a man called Luke.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2026/04/08/d...
Hobart-based author, poet and Churchill Fellow, Johanna Bell has published award-winning children's books and founded a storytelling studio to elevate voices from regional Australia. Department of the Vanishing is her first book for adults.
The novel is a pastiche and credit must go to Jo Hunt who did the complex internal design. The book consists mainly of pages which purport to be archival materials including photos; records of police interviews (with some redactions); newspaper headlines; emails; and lists of facts. Documents are 'stamped' with 'File Copy', 'Restricted', and the minutiae of archival practice: Accession numbers, Received dates, Date stamps, Not for Loan etc. These are supplemented by narratives of free verse and a typed record of a confused mother's ramblings and the daughter's frustrated response in handwriting. This extraordinary collage comes together to tell the story of mass bird extinctions in the very near future and an archivist's struggle to protect the documentary record. In a silent environment where birdsong has vanished, Ava Wilde is also seeking an explanation for her ornithologist father's disappearance some years ago, and negotiating her own relationship with a man called Luke.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2026/04/08/d...
May 3, 2026
I found the format of this Australian novel so fascinating and innovative. I would describe it as a literary collage, an intersection of art and science. Set in a near future, where extinctions are escalating, through poetry and quotes and lists and fragments of text and pictures — photographs, illustrations, early taxidermy — and scraps of textures evocative of archival material, it brings an emotive quality to tackling the topic of climate crisis, and climate grief. Facts and statistics couched in rhythmic and artfully arranged lines, it considers how little people seem to care about wildlife, and the amount of loss that occurs without fanfare, as though nobody notices the world being poorer for the absence of so many species, sort of describing a pervasive and generalised environmental fatigue. It also touches on how First Nations language and naming of species has historically been omitted from our archives, becoming lost and forgotten, while all of our so-called ‘discovery’ that came after is extensively documented. The focal bird of this book is the Lyrebird, and I feel like I learned some really interesting things that I did not know. It also delves quite astutely into the human condition of living and finding meaning in our lives at this catastrophic point in time. The title of the book not only refers to vanishing species, but also the vanishing of people — in this story our archivist is drifting in a somewhat bleak state, exploring BDSM to feel alive, and grappling with a mother she’s losing to dementia, and the loss of her father to a mysterious disappearance on a field trip when she was only a child. Interspersed between the information on birds are descriptions of our character’s personal life, police reports and interviews, and moments spent by her mother’s bedside.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2026
Deserving of it's win in the Tassy Literature awards, Department of the Vanishing is a uniquely presented story of the Anthropocene told through the voice of Ava Wilde who is tasked with cataloguing the details of extinct species. Ava is a great character.
From Johanna's site: " I’m most interested in projects that encourage experimentation, elevate new voices and challenge the established rules of storytelling. Over the last decade, I’ve worked with writers and artists in all kinds of places - prisons, playgrounds, museums, libraries and remote Aboriginal communities - and in all these places I’ve seen the ways stories can connect and expand us."
Wonderful book, congratulations Johanna, thank you and Australian Book Lovers.
From Johanna's site: " I’m most interested in projects that encourage experimentation, elevate new voices and challenge the established rules of storytelling. Over the last decade, I’ve worked with writers and artists in all kinds of places - prisons, playgrounds, museums, libraries and remote Aboriginal communities - and in all these places I’ve seen the ways stories can connect and expand us."
Wonderful book, congratulations Johanna, thank you and Australian Book Lovers.
April 2, 2026
I am so mad I finished this!!! I went into based on the cover and the title and was surprised by the format, but fell in love so quickly. A beautiful look at grief and loss and the battle we have with trying to preserve something that is gone while also searching for meaning in the loss. There was beauty, there were bird facts, a 10/10.
Want to Read
March 16, 2026Heard about it here --> https://whisperinggums.com/2026/03/15... and, note to self, I will probably want a hardcover because of the design and layout.
May 5, 2026
An extraordinary form of writing. Verse. Dystopian future not that far away. Almost manga.
Birdsong was a powerful vehicle to focus on the loss of species and the reason.
Imagine a world without birdsong.
Birdsong was a powerful vehicle to focus on the loss of species and the reason.
Imagine a world without birdsong.
May 16, 2026
I did not do my research before starting this book and went in expecting a novel. Instead what I got was mix media production with some lovely poetry and too much graphic sexual reference for my taste. Very interesting read but quite disjointed
March 24, 2026
Great concept, interestingly executed. Set in a time of mass extinction, blending poetry, narrative verse and images. Very different.
April 19, 2026
I really enjoyed reading this book and stretching my boundaries of how to read literature.
Did Not Finish
May 1, 2026Interesting mixed media format but too confusing for me, couldn’t get into it
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews