1. What inspired you to write the prose poem/microfiction which will appear in Writing To The Edge? I was in a chemist shop when I overheard an angry conversation. Toothbrushes were strewn around the floor. A wiry woman shrieked into her mobile phone, ‘Someone stole my ‘done and don’t I know who it was!’ I … Read More
THE COLUMN
Writing to the Edge with Cassandra Atherton
1. What inspired you to write the prose poem/microfiction which will appear in Writing To The Edge? Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca was a huge influence on this piece. The first line, ‘Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again’ haunts me. Mrs Danvers is a brilliant character who terrorizes the unnamed narrator, beautifully. I … 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
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
White Light Reviewed by Alison Jones
White Light, short stories by Mark O’Flynn: review by Alison Jones, Katoomba Library. O’Flynn has a vernacular gift. The words and images he uses in these stories are precise and sculptured to fit their subjects. The standout story for me is Red Shoes, an affectionate portrait of Dorothy Hewett and husband Merv Lilley. I felt … Read More
Open letter
Dear SPINELESS WONDERS, I facilitate a group of young, emerging writers and have been encouraging them to enter your Icons competition. Could you tell us a little more about it? Yours, Frustr8d Teacher Dear FT, Thank you for your inquiry and for the chance to explain a little more about our latest competition. An icon … Read More
Small Wonder review
We are reproducing, in full, this terrific review by Ali Jane Smith of our first prose poetry/microfiction anthology, Small Wonder. You can find other reviews, great fiction and poetry in the final issue of Famous Reporter here. Copies of Small Wonder can be purchased from our Products Page or ask for it at your local … Read More
Spineless Wonders Audio
EARWORMS Breaking the Silence When I first began thinking about Spineless Wonders back in late 2010, I envisaged the three platforms, PRINT DIGITAL AUDIO. At last, we are now offering short Australian stories as audio files or, as we like to say, as Earworms, stories that stay with you. In writing this blog post, we … 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
Recycling Tales: unearthing treasures in the short stories of Angela Carter and Margo Lanagan
This week, guest blogger, Karina Brabham dives into the work of two short fiction greats, Britain’s late Angela Carter and Australia’s Margo Lanagan, to find out how they each take something old and turn it into something shiny and new. Writers are recyclers at heart. Not necessarily in an environmental sense, but rather that we … Read More