“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
Escape_short_Australian_stories
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 A.S.Patric
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Lydia Davis comes to mind first. That term, short story, sometimes gets redefined. What it means. What’s still possible. Lydia Davis cracks open words and out spills new DNA. Everything is changed. I am no longer who I was. I’m … Read More
Spineless Wonders Asks Irma Gold
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? Some of my favourite contemporary Australian short fiction writers are Cate Kennedy, Nam Le, Helen Garner, Marion Halligan, Gillian Mears and John Clanchy. For the ‘otherwise’ who can possibly go past Alice Munro? And then there are the greats of … Read More
Spineless Wonders Asks Kim Westwood
1. Who are the short fiction authors you admire (Australian or otherwise, alive or dead)? I’m currently being impressed by Laura van den Berg. Some others for today (tomorrow I’ll think of more I wish I’d said) would be Janette Turner Hospital (‘The Prince of Darkness is a Gentleman’ was very powerful), Margo Lanagan’s anthology … Read More
Spineless Wonders presents … Interview with Caroline Reid
What is Spineless Wonders presents … and why are you so excited about it? It’s a night of short story readings, in a local pub, by professional actors. I’m calling it Spineless Wonders presents … a short evening of tall stories. The pub is a city pub (in Hindmarsh, Adelaide) with a country feel, there’s … Read More
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