Spineless Wonders: 40 books

These perfectly formed microfictions provide glimpses into the everyday challenges of family life, relationships, ageing and loss. McCreery’s characters are typical humans – flawed, vulnerable, frustrating and frustrated. Told with empathy and wit and honed with a wordsmith’s skill, Loopholes...

Samuel is a young university drop-out looking for direction in his life. He is lured out late one evening by a co-worker, Josh, with the promise of an unforgettable experience. Josh is very secretive about his plan, insisting Sam simply ‘trust’ him. Against his better judgment, Sam agrees...

Stories and essays by Claire Aman, Tony Birch, Rjurik Davidson, Michael Giacometti, Marion Halligan, Andy Kissane, Jennifer Mills, Ryan O’Neill, Maria Takolander and Patrick West. With an Introduction by Amanda Lohrey. ‘Cracking the spine is not just a deftly curated overview of the contemporary...

In prose that sparkles with wit, shocks with insight, and beguiles with the air of legend, these seven stories take the reader from post-apocalyptic Tasmania to the tragedy of surrogate pregnancy in the 1950s. Loss of species, the whims of publishers, the question of Islam in regional Australia -...

This story’s spine-chilling revelation reminds us that there are some horrors past and present that will continue to haunt all of us long after other memories have dulled and faded.

‘A startling collection … sly humour and memorable characters.’ Chris Womersley What makes a man? In this collection of short stories, Pierz Newton-John moves through the full range of masculine experience, with an openness not afraid to show men at their most lonely, sexual, loving,...

‘Manning is a writer with a unique voice whose work is pushing the boundaries of contemporary short fiction.’ Paddy O’Reilly Mary Manning’s exciting debut collection includes a Goth clutching a homemade tart on a Melbourne tram, an old lady camping out on a medium strip and a wife...

This book about writing and the imagination is essential reading for any writer, emerging or experienced. Re-released with new material and updated advice for the 21st century writer. Contains advice for writers, inspirational quotes from numerous authors as well as writing exercises. 'Dear...

What effect does being without sexual intimacy have on our sense of identity? ‘Ite Misse Est’ explores this question through the experience of Berenice, a retired nun. The story is also about Berenice’s life-long friend, Mary and what happens when the people we love move beyond our reach, and...

Danny’s life is in crisis. It is one consumed with dread, rejection and humiliation. Danny struggles to find a path through an existence clouded with half truths, isolation and uncertainties while grappling with answers about an issue that lies at the core of personal identity and social acceptance....

It should have been a relaxing trip to the beach for a young man who had everything to live for... Mark has just handed in his final university psychology essay and is looking forward to a weekend away with his girlfriend. As he drives, his mind starts to wander, to the lyrics of a love song...

The Montagues are finally realising a dream, leaving the western suburbs for a more salubrious life in the northern beaches. Their young daughter Josephine struggles with leaving security for an uncertain future. This is a poignant account of how childhood objects, places, people and events...

In ‘Empty Rooms’, Sue Goldstiver delivers an edgy narrative that maintains a tension that both unsettles and intrigues whilst keeping you guessing all the way to its eventual conclusion. Holly shares an apartment with Lisa and her boyfriend, Rod. When Lisa disappears without a trace, Holly...

Step into the dysfunctional life of Eunice… Oblivious to her unhappy marriage, still living in her mother’s house and unable to stop biting her nails, Eunice feels as if she has no control over her own life. When her new husband needs to make a trip for work, Eunice tags along in the caravan...