Last night, author Jon Bauer (Rocks in the Belly, Scribe) launched the sixth Sleepers Almanac and the new Sleepers literary app at the Bella Union Bar, Trades Hall, Melbourne. I thought his speech was wonderful, so with Jon's kind permission, here it is for you all to read: Have you ever had that moment on a … Continue reading ‘What is a short story?’ Jon Bauer’s Sleepers Almanac and app launch speech
short stories
Guest review: Raili Simojoki on harvest: issue 5
harvest: issue 5 reviewed by Raili Simojoki Harvest ’s gentle, reflective, sometimes anxious writing appeals to Gen Y romantics who, dissatisfied by the disconnected, disposable information generated by mass media, are drawn instead to the poetic, intricate, and meandering. Editor Davina Bell speaks directly to this audience in her essay ‘To my Generation of Precious … Continue reading Guest review: Raili Simojoki on harvest: issue 5
Guest review: Sam Cooney on The Big Issue no. 359: Toasty Tales fiction special
The Big Issue no. 359: Toasty Tales fiction special Available now from street vendors, launched Wednesday 21 July at Readings Carlton Reviewed by Sam Cooney For me, The Big Issue is like a tub of Neapolitan ice-cream. It’s reliable. It’s unpretentious and doesn’t pretend to be anything except exactly what it is. You buy it every … Continue reading Guest review: Sam Cooney on The Big Issue no. 359: Toasty Tales fiction special
Guest review: Elizabeth Bryer on Josephine Rowe’s How a Moth Becomes a Boat
How a Moth Becomes a Boat Josephine Rowe Hunter Publishers, 2010 (Aus) 9780980397420 Reviewed by Elizabeth Bryer In Meanjin 67:2, 2008, Wayne Macauley describes the painstaking process he underwent in his search for a publisher for his allegorical novel, Blueprints for a Barbed-Wire Canoe, which went on to receive rave reviews and was even picked … Continue reading Guest review: Elizabeth Bryer on Josephine Rowe’s How a Moth Becomes a Boat
Both ways is the only way she wants it: an interview with Maile Meloy
As the title indicates, Both Ways is the Only Way I Want it (Text, May 2010 in Aus, Riverhead US), Maile Meloy's engaging collection of stories, is about the fear, desire, pleasure, confusion and complications of wanting it both ways and sometimes having it so. It's like Guido's dilemma in Fellini's 8 1/2 - he wants … Continue reading Both ways is the only way she wants it: an interview with Maile Meloy
Peter Goldsworthy on Gravel
Gravel Peter Goldsworthy Hamish Hamilton March 2010 (Australia) 9781926428192 Gravel is Peter Goldsworthy's new collection of short stories - amusing and moving - covering a range of predominantly white middle-class characters in conflict with their own egos. But there are also stories exploring erotic awakening (something Goldsworthy did well in Everything I Knew) and others where … Continue reading Peter Goldsworthy on Gravel
‘Obsolescence’ (an extract)
My short story 'Obsolescence' is the story representing the country of Norway (and the city of Bergen) in The Lifted Brow 6: Atlas. There are stories, songs, poems, illustrations and limericks representing every country in the world in this amazing, ambitious issue (book + 2 CDs). I'm so happy to be among contributors like Eddy Current … Continue reading ‘Obsolescence’ (an extract)
Brows will be lifted…
* New short story of mine in The Lifted Brow 6: Atlas, being launched this Friday! My story 'Obsolescence' is a bit of a dark, modern fable set in Bergen, Norway, where my relatives are from. The issue is going to be awesome, with a piece of writing about every country in the world (not … Continue reading Brows will be lifted…
Collected Stories – Richard Yates
Vintage 9780099518549 (Aus, US) When a man is fired from his job in the story ‘A Glutton for Punishment’, he realises he has enjoyed the failures in his life. The character in this – like many of the other characters in Richard Yates’ Collected Stories – runs over a conversation in his head, with his … Continue reading Collected Stories – Richard Yates
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned: Christopher Currie interviews Wells Tower, part the second
Part the first of Christopher Currie's interview with Wells Tower can be found here. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned Wells Tower Granta, 2009 9781847080486 (Aus, US/Kindle) In other interviews, you’ve talked about your stories having a 'moral pendulum' swinging between characters, and the importance of putting the reader slightly off-balance at the end of a … Continue reading Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned: Christopher Currie interviews Wells Tower, part the second
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