Carmel Bird on writing ‘Hare’ I live in Castlemaine which is a small country town in the centre of Victoria. The earth in this part of the world is scarred by the workings and remains of old goldmines, and the streets of the town lead, not to more streets, but to the edge of the … Read More
The Great Unknown: Alex Cothren
The Great Unknown Q & A with Alex Cothren Our first interview with a contributor from The Great Unknown anthology is with Alex Cothren, whose story, ‘A Cure’, won The Carmel Bird Award 2013. See the judge’s comments on his winning story below. 1. What did you enjoy/find challenging about writing to this particular brief … Read More
The Great Unknown interviews
We are very excited to be publishing this collection of stories edited by Angela Meyer. Inspired by such TV shows as The Twilight Zone, Outer Limits and the X Files, these are stories set in Australia which explore the uncanny, spooky and downright weird. You can read more about how the book came about and … Read More
Amanda Lohrey Selects series: Interview with Amanda O’Callaghan
Amanda O’Callaghan author of The Memory Bones What inspired you to write this story? Small parts of it are autobiographical. I was an over-imaginative child, or a tragedy-centric child, so I was always conjuring up fears and disasters. The little girl who is afraid of snakes is me. I am still quite a cowardy custard, in … Read More
Amanda Lohrey Selects series: Interview with E. Ratnam Keese
E. Ratnam Keese, author of The Fence What inspired you to write this story? In writing ‘The Fence’, which is based on an actual event —conflict over the demolition and installation of a fence between two properties— what inspired me was the theme that finally emerged: that to love is to be supportive. This philosophy is … Read More
Amanda Lohrey Selects series: Interview with Sue Goldstiver
Sue Goldstiver, author of Empty Rooms What inspired you to write this story? I was staying in a deserted unit block on the Gold Coast and it began to feel increasingly isolated, and eerie. At night, I’d sit down to write with lightning flashing onto black water out to sea, and the story of a … Read More
Amanda Lohrey Selects series: Interview with Sue Booker
Sue Booker, author of Beware of the God What inspired you to write this story? ‘Beware of the God’ grew from an idea that formed years before I wrote a draft. The jumping-off point was ‘It could never have worked. But that doesn’t excuse what I did.’ All I knew was that a stranger would hassle … Read More
Amanda Lohrey Selects series: Interview with Marjorie Lewis-Jones
Marjorie Lewis-Jones, author of Shooting Star What inspired you to write this story? “Shooting Star” was inspired by a word and a pact. The word was Hilo. Hawaiians in the past named each of the thirty nights of a lunar month. The first night was called Hilo — to twist — because the moon was like … Read More
The Short Review on Damaged in Transit
We are very proud to see this review of Damaged in Transit by Mary Manning in the prestigious, international short story review site, The Short Review. Read it here. Paperback copies of Damaged In Transit are available from bookshops, our website. Check out the Damaged in Transit book trailer made by Evelyn … Read More
Amanda Lohrey Selects series: Interview with Erin Gough
Erin Gough, author of Night Trip What inspired you to write this story? Some years ago I met someone at a party, a seemingly ordinary sort of person, who happened to mention how he liked to drive up the freeway of a Saturday with a group of mates and jump off the top of a cliff. … Read More