Author Description

‘There is little to match the pleasurable, exhilarating rush when we know we are in the hands of a writer with authority. Their power is like a kind of charisma – we allow ourselves to be willingly, absolutely persuaded.’ —Cate Kennedy In The Best Australian Stories 2010, Cate Kennedy presents a seductive line-up of the year’s most exciting short fiction, featuring the best work from publications around the country alongside pieces published here for the first time. A literary feud unfolds, blow by comical blow, in the books pages of a Sydney newspaper. Ned Kelly’s mother has her day in court. And as flood waters slowly rise in a small Australian town, a woman quietly watches and waits. By turns playful, heart-wrenching, intimate and exuberant, these twenty-nine stories reveal the strength and variety of Australian fiction today. The authors include first-timers as well as established masters, and the result is a stimulatingly diverse collection. Contributors include: Robert Drewe, Nam Le, Karen Hitchcock, Paddy O’Reilly, John Kinsella, Anna Krien, David Francis, Chris Womersley, Ryan O’Neill, Dorothy Simmons, Louise D’Arcy, Joshua Lobb, Tim Herbert, Michael Sala, Sherryl Clarke, A.S. Patric, Josephine Rowe, Mike Ladd, Meg Mundell, David Mence, Fiona McFarlane, Cory Taylor, Antonia Baldo, Suvi Mahonen, David Kelly, Joanne Riccioni, Stephanie Buckle, Gillian Essex, Michael McGirr ‘A collection to treasure and enjoy’ —Sydney Morning Herald Cate Kennedy is the author of the critically acclaimed short-story collection Dark Roots and the novel The World Beneath, as well as poetry collections and a travel memoir. Her work has appeared in many publications and anthologies, including The Best Australian Stories, the Harvard Review and the New Yorker. She is highly regarded as a teacher of short fiction and works as a mentor, editor and judge when not at work on her own writing. She li