1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Margo Lanagan. Ursula LeGuin. Alice Munro. Annie Proulx. David Mitchell. Cate Kennedy. Grace Paley. Daphne du Maurier. J.D. Salinger. As a teenager I loved Roald Dahl, master of the gruesome twist… There are huge raggedy holes in my education, which … Read More
interviews
Spineless Wonders Asks Josephine Rowe
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Australian: Dorothy Hewett Otherwise: Janet Frame Living: Sam Shepard Dead: Richard Brautigan 2. What is the most memorable short story you have read? And why does it stand out for you? Difficult question, but perhaps ‘Cathedral’ by Raymond Carver. Though … Read More
Spineless Wonders asks Michael Giacometti
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Jorge Luis Borges – Fictions Nam Le – The boat Steven Amsterdam – Things we didn’t see coming Jennifer Mills – her own zines (www.jenjen.com.au); look out for a collection later this year or next Samuel Beckett – First Love … Read More
Interview with Carmel Bird
Most literary awards (Hal Porter, Josephine Ulrick, Elizabeth Jolley) are named after writers who are now dead. How do you feel about the Spineless Wonders short story competition being named after you? Dead or alive, it is flattering to have my work in short fiction recognised in this way. I never actually think that Elizabeth … Read More
Spineless Wonders Asks Julie Chevalier
1.Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Tillie Olsen, Ernest Hemingway,Alice Munro, Pam Houston, Lorrie Moore, Jhumpa Lahiri, Tina Lupton, Katie Chase, Elizabeth Strout. From Australia, Ryan O’Neill and Sue Taylor. 2. What is the most memorable short story you have read? And why does it stand out … Read More
Spineless Wonders Ask Will Elliott
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? George Saunders is at the top of the pack, not far behind him are David Foster Wallace and Kelly Link. Karen Hitchcock would be my pick of Australian short story writers. 2. What is the most memorable short story you … Read More
Spineless Wonders Asks Favel Parrett
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Short fiction authors I admire (not in any order): Ernest Hemmingway, Robert Drewe, Michael Sala, Petina Gappah, Tim Winton, J.D. Salinger, Oscar Wilde, Junot Diaz, Kerstin Ekman… There are SO many! 2. What is the most memorable short story you … Read More
Spineless Wonders Asks Tiggy Johnson
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Assuming you don’t want a crazy-long list, I’ll list just three: Paddy O’Reilly, Zenda Vecchio, Ryan O’Neill. Make that four: David McLaren. 2. What is the most memorable short story you have read? And why does it stand out for … Read More
Spineless Wonders Asks Rjurik Davidson
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? There are many, so I’ll have to just name a few. My tastes are pretty varied, and I love Chekov as much as I love Kafka. A while ago I read a lot of New Yorker stories, and people like … Read More
Spineless Wonders Asks Louise Swinn
1.Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Salinger is the biggest cliché but aside from authors I’ve published – too numerous to mention – he still stands out, as does Amy Witting, Dorothy Parker, Michael Chabon. Emmett Stinson’s Known Unknowns has been the most recent to make me … Read More