1. What inspired you to write the prose poem/microfiction which is published in Small Wonder? I spent weeks walking past a poster for that Cowboys and Aliens film and I got to wondering why it is that in science fiction mashup movies the two cultures always have to be in conflict with each other (answer: … Read More
Spineless Wonders asks Moya Costello
1. What inspired you to write the prose poem/microfiction which is published in Small Wonder? These were extracted from my unpublished PhD novella ‘Harriet Chandler’. The novella is a hybrid text of prose poem and prose fiction, but also in terms of content: art, ecocriticsm, fictional biography etc. I am very conscious of ecocriticism, or … Read More
Spineless Wonders asks Kent MacCarter
1. What inspired you to write the prose poem/micro-fiction which is published in Small Wonder? For ‘Light Foxing’, it was a confluence of events and pet likes. I think similar to most people interested in books-as-artefacts, I’m agog for the crumbling, musty hardbacks that line both the shelves of discerning antiquarian bookseller and bargain bins … Read More
Spineless Wonders asks Erin Gough
1. What inspired you to write the prose poem/microfiction which is published in Small Wonder? I lived in Vancouver briefly a number of years ago and remember a Canadian friend of mine telling me proudly that instant mashed potato was a Canadian invention. This struck me as a hilarious thing to be proud of, until … Read More
Spineless Wonders asks Ryan O’Neill
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Of writers outside Australia, I love Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Katherine Mansfield and Vladimir Nabokov. There are many Australian short story writers I love. In the 1970s Peter Carey and Murray Bail wrote some of the best short fiction … Read More
small wonder: Charles D’Anastasi
1. What inspired you to write the prose poem/microfiction which is published in small wonder? I like to build poems out of small incidents that take place around me. ‘Madame Bovary’ grew out of such an incident. During a poetry reading while listening to one of the poets, I became aware of the sound of … Read More
Spineless Wonders asks Sue Booker
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Those who spellbind me not just in a few of their stories (like Raymond Carver) but all through each collection they put out, like Amy Hempel, David Foster Wallace and Western Australia’s Chris McLeod. 2. What is the most memorable … Read More
Spineless Wonders asks Doreen Sullivan
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? You know, and this is terrible, I tend to remember stories more than individual authors. But some names that I have gone looking for after being wowed at least once include: Maggie Alderson, Teresa Ashby, Steve Beresford, Leanne Hall, Cate … Read More
The Column – one year on
In the past year we’ve had 11,000 visitors to our blog. We’ve posted interviews with 45 top writers of short Australian stories as well as discussions, reviews and essays on what’s new and what matters in the short fiction scene. So, why not join us … Spineless Wonders is looking for contributors to The Column. … Read More
Spineless Wonders asks SJ Finn
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Annie Proulx, Elizabeth Jolley and Carson McCullers are a few of the many writers I admire for their short fiction. From a closer position I’ve gained knowledge and been influenced by collections such as Anson Cameron’s, ‘Nice Shootin’ Cowboy’, Tim … Read More