Celebrating Australian Women Writers in the Short Story Form. 

Another review of Melanie Cheng’s award-winning collection ‘Australia Day’ and another thumbs-up – this time from Anne Jenner who says:

There are messages here about the juxtaposition between the ever-present desire to belong and the drive to preserve and honour national identity that all Australians should ponder as our nation’s culture becomes ever more diverse year by year.

 I concur!

Anne has been busy indeed with a good overview of the Black Inc anthology ‘Something Special, Something Rare’ which features some of my favourite Australian writers. She also reviews ‘Pulse Points’ by Jennifer Down (an author who won the Elizabeth Jolley in 2014). I’ll be tracking down a copy of this collection. 

In her review of Josephine Rowe’s fourth collection ‘Tarcutta Wake’, Anne says of Rowe’s stories: ‘They’re like a picture painted with minimal brushstrokes.’

 

I loved ambling around Anne’s site, reading about her work in progress (a literary mystery) and checking out some of her short stories. What a wonderful way to get side-tracked on a Sunday afternoon.

Well done Ashleigh Meikle who reviewed her sixty-second book in the Australian Women Writer’s Challenge with a post about ‘Fairytales for Feisty Girls’ by Susannah McFarlane.   Ashleigh tells us this collection is:

An excellent book for all ages that defies stereotypes and empowers girls of all ages and backgrounds to be and do what they wish.

Well done, feisty girls. Well done Susannah McFarlane for writing them into existence. Well done Ashleigh Meikle for sixty-two reviews for AWW!

A thoughtful review on Oddfeather Creative’s blog of Abigail Ulman’s ‘Hot Little Hands’ which tells us that the collection contains ‘stories about young women that don’t somehow, sneakily, focus on men and their influence.’ A very interesting comment that I’ve heard reflected in reviews of some of the movies young modern women are producing these days.

Abigail Ulman, Hot little hands

 

Gosh I’ve had fun checking out the short story reviews and I apologise if I’ve missed a few. Life has gotten a little crazy this month. I’m hoping for a cracking round-up in November.

About Me:
I am a writer of short stories, essays, poetry and one novel and I am passionate about writing and reading the Australian voice. My bushfire themed collection of shorts (Flame Tip) was published in March 2017 by Hybrid Publishers and I’m currently working (oh, so slowly) on a water-themed contemporary historical novel. www.karenleethompson.wordpress.com

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