“Quality short fiction. Packed with surprises. Prepare to be transported.” Marion Halligan Escapist reading is usually light and inconsequential – ideal for those times when your body is relaxing on the beach, lounging in bed with a breakfast tray or slumping its way to work on public transport. The twenty-eight stories collected here, in Escape, … Read More
Spineless Wonders asks Mark Vender
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Most of the short fiction I’ve read has been in getting to know the writers’ marketplace, so more than authors, I take note of journals and ezines. Places where I’ve enjoyed the stories include Overland and Meanjin (in Australia), as … Read More
Spineless Wonders Asks Susan McCreery
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Amy Hempel, Miranda July, Raymond Carver, Alice Munro, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Peters, Wells Tower, Etgar Keret, Karen Hitchcock. 2. What is the most memorable short story you have read? And why does it stand out for you? Tricky, since I … Read More
Spineless Wonders Asks Andy Kissane
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? My favourites include Jhumpa Lahiri, Raymond Carver, Lorrie Moore and A.L. Kennedy. This year I read the best short story cycle I’ve ever read, Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitzer Prize winning book, Olive Kitteridge. It’s a portrait of the inhabitants of a … Read More
Short Crime: Liz Filleul
1. How would you describe the state of short crime in Australia? Right now, there are a number of National competitions eg SD Harvey, Queen of Crime, Scarlet Stiletto. Yet comparatively few crime anthologies or single-author collections of crime stories are being published. Is this your perception? What, if anything, changes would like to see? … Read More
Spineless Wonders Asks Lucia Nardo
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? My favourite short fiction authors include Raymond Carver, Doris Lessing and anything, short or long, by Cate Kennedy. 2. What is the most memorable short story you have read? And why does it stand out for you? One? If forced … Read More
Spineless Wonders Asks Sylvia Petter
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Roald Dahl, Alex Keegan, Edna O’Brien, William Trevor, Janette Turner Hospital. 2. What is the most memorable short story you have read? And why does it stand out for you? Several short stories resonate for me because they touch something … Read More
Spineless Wonders Asks Laura E. Goodin
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Shearman, Kelly Link, Margo Lanagan, Terry Dowling, Peter M. Ball, Christopher Green, Ben Francisco, Jason Fischer, O. Henry, Ray Bradbury, Lee Battersby, Simon Brown — the list goes on and on. Mostly writers of speculative … Read More
Spineless Wonders asks Joanne Riccioni
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? For short stories I love Joan London, Cate Kennedy, Lorrie Moore, Jhumpa Lahiri, Anne Enright, Annie Proulx, Raymond Carver and of course I can’t not mention Chekhov. 2. What is the most memorable short story you have read? And why … Read More
Indigo Book of Australian Prose Poems
Our small wonder prose poem/micro fiction competition kicked off on October 16 and so we thought it timely to reflect on the fine tradition of prose poetry in Australia. This week on The Column, Ali Jane Smith reviews The Indigo Book of Australian Prose Poems, Edited by Michael Byrne (Ginninderra Press, 2011). Opening an anthology … Read More