Recommended Short Stories from my 2016 Reading

I read 130 stories this year, including many fabulous ones. This list is always a mixed bag in terms of the variety of genre – some are what Graham Greene would call ‘entertainments’ and others not. But if they’re on the list, I loved them. It's a bit of an unusual list in that it's just the short stories I've read this year rather than those published in 2016. As I'm not a critic or reviewer, I feel no pressure to read the very latest. 

I could have added plenty more from At the Edge too, but I’m always hesitant with publications I’ve works in.

 I’m now 50 stories in to That Glimpse of Truth. 

Several other recommended reads from Rogues can be found in last year's list.  

Happy to provide further comment on any stories listed below. 

29 Fantastic Short Stories from my 2016 Reading: A Celebration of Short Stories. 

‘Steam Girl’ Dylan Horrocks (The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Six ed Jonathan Strahan)                                                                           

‘What we Found’ Geoff Ryman (The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Six ed Jonathan Strahan)                                                                                 

‘Restoration’ Robert Shearman (The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Six ed Jonathan Strahan)                                                                                 

‘Wakefield’ E.L Doctorow (All the Time in the World)                                              

‘Edgemont Drive’ E.L Doctorow (All the Time in the World)                                      

‘Gimpel the Fool’ Isaac Bashevis Singer (That Glimpse of Truth: 100 of the Finest Stories Ever Written ed. David Miller)                                                                      

‘Guests of the Nation’ Frank O’Connor (That Glimpse of Truth: 100 of the Finest Stories Ever Written ed. David Miller)                                                               

‘A House on the Plains’ E.L Doctorow (All the Time in the World)                          

‘White Lines on a Green Field’ Catherynne M. Valente (The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Six ed Jonathan Strahan)                                              

‘The Curious Affair of the Dead Wives’ Lisa Tuttle (Rogues ed. George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois)                                                                                                                            

‘How the Marquis Got his Coat Back’ Neil Gaiman (Rogues ed. George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois)                                                                                                

‘Relic’ Jeffrey Ford (The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Six ed Jonathan Strahan)                                                                                                                

                                                                                   

‘The Invasion of Venus’ Stephen Baxter (The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Six ed Jonathan Strahan)

‘Assimilation’ E. L Doctorow (All the Time in the World)                                           

The Caravan to Nowhere’ Phyllis Eisenstein (Rogues ed. George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois)                                                                                                               

‘The Dala Horse’ Michael Swanwick (The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Six ed Jonathan Strahan)                                                              

‘After the Apocalypse’ Maureen F. McHugh (The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Six ed Jonathan Strahan)                                                           

‘Fleet-Footed Hester’ George Gissing (That Glimpse of Truth: 100 of the Finest Stories Ever Written ed. David Miller)                                                                            

‘A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong’ K. J. Parker (The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Six ed Jonathan Strahan)                                                       

‘The Paper Menagerie’ Ken Liu (The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Six ed Jonathan Strahan)  

‘Street Furniture’ Joanne Anderton (At the Edge Ed. Dan Rabarts & Lee Murray)                                                                               

‘The Urge’ Carlington Black (At the Edge Ed. Dan Rabarts & Lee Murray)           

                                                                                                                                    

‘The Island at the End of the World’ Paul Mannering (At the Edge Ed. Dan Rabarts & Lee Murray)                                                                                                          

 

‘Catastrophic Disruption of the Head’ Margo Lanagan (The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Six ed Jonathan Strahan)                                             

‘Underbridge’ Peter Beagle (The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Six ed Jonathan Strahan)                                                                                       

‘The Badger Bride’ Angela Slatter (Live Reading)                                                        

‘Hurt Me’ M.L.N. Hanover (Songs of Love and Death Ed. George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois)                                                                                                  

‘The Rocking–Horse Winner’ D. H Lawrence (That Glimpse of Truth: 100 of the Finest Stories Ever Written ed. David Miller)

'Seven Excerpts from Season One' David Versace (At the Edge Ed. Dan Rabarts & Lee Murray)

Writers [on Writing]: Jane Smiley

Yes, I thought, a novel is a spot where language, movement, feeling, and thought gel for a moment, through the agency of, let's say, a particular volunteer, but it is not an object or a possession. It is an act of love.

Jane Smiley, A Reluctant Muse Embraces His Task and Everything Changes

UFC article in The Guardian, some background info. and additional comments

My opinion piece in The Guardian on Mr McGowan's promise to legalise cage fighting if elected was always going to cause a stir. Any writer taking on an industrial behemoth like the UFC expects this. I actually admire the athletes and what they are capable of, but this is about more than that - it's about people's long term health, the human cost and the cost to the community.

I'd like to personally thank Robert Reid from the Australian Medical Association (WA) for his ongoing support, communication and information; the editor of The Guardian, Lucy Clark for her work on the piece, and my wife for the medical papers on concussion and brain disease (not linked to the article).

This was a relatively long piece for The Guardian. I'd like to thank them for publishing it - it's a brave move as the UFC and MMA lobbies have passionate fans.

With this genre there are cuts due to word limits (the subtitle was The Guardian's too). I respect their decisions as they know the medium and the nature of the internet far better than I do. I've supplied some dot points below.

• my wife is a rehab doctor who has worked in Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) and also studies it. I didn't mention this in the article but I have room to here. She directed me to numerous articles on the subject of concussion and brain atrophy and also brain trauma. Doctors in the ABI ward are deeply disappointed by McGowan's promise. I've just listed a couple of medical research articles that my wife sent me, which are worth pursuing - but there is a heap out there on the long term effects of brain trauma and concussion: 

1.  David E. Ross, Alfred L. Ochs, Jan M. Seabaugh, Michael F. DeMark, CaroleR. Shrader, Jennifer H. Marwitz & Michael D. Havranek for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative have written about progressive brain atrophy in patients after mild traumatic brain injury
2. James H. Cole, PhD, Robert Leech, PhD, and David J. Sharp, PhD, for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative have written about the prediction of brain accelerated atrophy after traumatic brain injury  

• MMA causes brain damage. There is brain shrinkage in both boxing and MMA (boxing slightly higher), but what most articles (outside of medical journals) don't cover is that concussion also has strong links to brain atrophy in the long run. I'm not concentrating on deaths, I'm concerned about the human cost in the long run and the cost to the community. 
• Concussion has been strongly linked to long term brain disease and long term brain atrophy.  The danger is that these effects appear years, often decades, later ( the medical and neurological journals are clear on this - the two papers referred to earlier are a good start if you're interested in the latest research). MMA has more blows to already unconscious people than any other sport: an incredibly high average of 2.6 head strikes to already unconscious fighters. 
• Without the Cage, the MMA is currently on the wane here in WA. It has not gone underground. It's just dwindling.
• I'm not the one calling for a ban on the cage (the subtitle of the article is misleading) - I can't as cage fighting is already illegal in WA. Opposition Leader, Mr McGowan, however, has promised to make it legal if elected. This comes after meetings in Perth with the UFC executive Tom Wright. Wright has also assured a UFC fight in Perth if the sport is legalised. I'm calling on McGowan to not legalise the cage.
• The move to legalise the cage over East just fuelled the sport. The fact is the less people involved the better for all. So the 'Safety' call regarding a cage is not at all true.
• I do care about a range of other issues like the environment,  a more compassionate refugee policy, egalitarian values, wildlife, education, the arts etc. I've chosen to write about this as I've an uncle who worked with 'punch drunks' as a GP (boxing), my wife works in medical rehab... and most importantly, I don't want McGowan introducing a bloodline-injection into the sport via his promise to legitimise the cage. He's trying to pull the wool over our eyes. 
• McGowan's actions, fuelled by business interests and UFC dollars, run contrary to Labor's traditional prioritisation of Health. The Australian Medical Association strongly condemn the move. The science on concussion and the sport is irrefutable - both short term and long term. The figures over East condemn the move. AMA (WA) and its President Dr Andrew Miller justifiably condemn the move.

I appreciate that this topic may polarise people. Conversation and debate and dialogue are always welcome. I'm happy for all your comments to be put up over at The Guardian but I won't be open for comment here as I rarely view my blog and won't have the time to reply. All the aforementioned points are just to provide further context for those interested. 

Interview with Angela Slatter about my latest story 'Crossing' in At the Edge, Reviews of At the Edge and Thanks

Interview with Angela Slatter about my latest story 'Crossing' in At the Edge ; reviews of At the Edge by Alisha Tyson of The New Zealand Listener and Angela Oliver of NZ booksellers ; interview from the Editors, Dan Rabarts & Lee Murray & Thanks &  Current Reads.

I've read four stories so far by World Fantasy and multiple Aurealis Award winning author, Angela Slatter. All four are very good and three of them: 'The Coffin-Maker's Daughter', 'The Hall of Lost Footsteps' (co-written with Sara Douglass) and 'The Badger Bride' are superb. And I've also a number of Slatter's collections on the shelves awaiting to be read (a couple by the lethal Lisa L Hannett & Angela Slatter combo).

I feel of late that Angela Slatter has had influence on everything I've been in: we shared a story home in the anthology The Year's Best Australian Fantasy & Horror, 2011 Ed. Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene. One of my stories 'Reading Coffee' was mentioned alongside her story 'Brisneyland by Night' (which I'll have to read) as two  recommended Australian stories recently at Fossick Book Reviews, and Angela Slatter has played a role in the last two anthologies I've had works in: she wrote the back cover blurb for Bloodlines Ed. Amanda Pillar, and then moved to the inside pages with a beautiful foreword for the anthology At the Edge Ed. Dan Rabarts & Lee Murray.


And there's a little more irony, I just attended an honorary dinner for Angela at the KSP centre here in Perth, where she read aloud her exquisite tale 'The Badger Bride'.

Angela Slatter has been conducting individual interviews with all the writers in At the Edge, which makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in reading or writing or for those simply intrigued by the genesis of stories.

My interview with Angela Slatter on my latest story 'Crossing' can be found here: (interview link)

And for all the other interviews so far:(link)

I'm yet to read Angela Slatter's recently released novel Vigil. It's available in all good bookstores and online too. If it's anything like her short work, I think it would be more than worth the read. 

More on At the Edge

I was fortunate to have 'Crossing' mentioned alongside a few other great stories as a standout in a couple of reviews, and an editors' interview. Naturally all reading is subjective and so far I'm finding something to appreciate and admire in each individual story:

Angela Oliver's celebratory review at the I Love Books: NZ Booksellers blog includes a mention of 'Crossing' as one of Oliver's standout tales, along with 'Narco' by Michelle Child, 'Street Furniture' by Joanne Anderton, 'Hood of Bone' by Debbie Cowens,  'Call of the Sea' by Eileen Mueller and 'Responsibility' by Octavia Cade.

Here are a few of the stand-out tales in my opinion...

We also have ‘Crossing,’ by Anthony Panegyres, a ghost story with a difference. Poignant, bittersweet and something of a lesson in letting go of the past, it tells of Jane Self, separated by a cruel twist of fate from her husband and desperately seeking closure.

And I've been informed by the editor Lee Murray, along with book afficianado and friend, Jasmine Yee, and the lovely Juliet Marrillier that The Listener is a respected publication and a long standing household name in the Land of the Long White Cloud. I've pasted the review by Alisha Tyson below (congrats to other writers mentioned: Carlington Black, Phillip Mann, David Stevens):

And an interview where the editors of At the Edge (Dan Rabarts & Lee Murray) comment on their personal favourites here (briefer mention here) at Ragnarok Publications.

Thanks

I'd like to thank my writing group: Daniel Simpson, Annette Ong, Jolleh Ashbar and Laurie Steed for their feedback on the story along with Stephanie Gunn, who I traded stories with. And I'd also like to thank two of my former very talented creative writing students last year: Kate Enright and Paige Spence, for their love of the story, which led to me sending it out.  Whether or not the gifted duo pursue writing, I believe they'll both have bright futures. Kate and Paige's passion for the craft made them a pleasure to teach.  

Currently Reading: The Maze by Panos Karnezis (shades of Grahame Greene and Gabriel Garcia Marquez); and also the collection All the Time in the World by the wonderful E.L Dottorow; and naturally, the anthology At the Edge. 

Writers [on Writing]: Carol Shields

The imaginative side of fiction writing is always hard to describe to non writers, those tunnels in the unconscious, those flitting responses to what might have been, what possibly could be. 

Carol Shields, Opting for Invention over the Injury of Invasion

Writers [on Writing]: William Saroyan

My uncle, Terry Pitsikas, introduced me to the Armenian-American writer, William Saroyan, back when I was in high school. His work still resonates with me.

How do you write? My answer is that I start with the trees and keep right on straight ahead.
                          

                          William Saroyan, Starting with a Tree and Finally Getting to the Death of a Brother

                                                                                                                         

Latest Read: East of Eden and Latest Story

Latest Read and Latest Publication 

Latest Read: East of Eden by John Steinbeck. An utterly intoxicating melodrama, which explores American identity. It's humorous in parts, yet also moving, reflective, considered and visionary. The critics are right – the sporadic intrusion of the first person narrator doesn't quite suit. Still, I don't believe it impacts on the overall quality of the novel.  Superb. 
 

Latest story: The anthology At the Edge ed. Lee Murray & Dan Rabarts, which contains my latest story 'Crossing' will be launched at Au Contraire in Wellington this weekend. I look forward to reading it myself. It will be sold at various bookstores and will also be available from Amazon Books and Book Depository.

Celebrating Australian Short Spec Fic at Swancon; and Bloodlines ed. Amanda Pillar wins an Aurealis Award

 Australian short spec-fic panel: a celebration

Where: Swan Con Panel at the Pan Pacific Hotel

When:  8:30 - 9:30 Easter Sunday

Panelists: Anthony Panegyres, Liz Grzyb, Stephen Dedman, Guy Salvidge, Leonard Goulds

I'm both host and a panelist in this celebration of short spec-fic down under. We'll have great book giveaways, including Aurealis Award winning and short-listed anthologies. I anticipate that like last year we'll have an audience led discussion. We'll most likely cover recommended reads, recommended writers, the market, the craft, the submission process, payment, publication houses and journals. The list goes on. Come along for an informative and fun night. Feel free to field questions too - we encourage it.

Bloodlines ed. Amanda Pillar wins the Aurealis Award for Best Anthology!

Bloodlines ed. Amanda Pillar (which I've a story in) won the best anthology category at the Aurealis Awards!

Here's the impressive list of world-class finalists:

Hear Me Roar, Liz Grzyb (ed.) (Ticonderoga Publications)

The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2014, Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene (eds.) (Ticonderoga Publications)

Bloodlines, Amanda Pillar (ed.) (Ticonderoga Publications)

Meeting Infinity, Jonathan Strahan (ed.), (Solaris)

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume 9, Jonathan Strahan (ed.) (Solaris)

Focus 2014: highlights of Australian short fiction, Tehani Wessely (ed.) (FableCroft Publishing)


Congrats to Amanda Pillar along with the 16 writers, who all contributed to the award:

• Joanne Anderton "Unnamed Children"
• Alan Baxter "Old Promise New Blood"
• Nathan Burrage "The Ties of Blood, Hair and Bone"
• Dirk Flinthart "In The Blood"
• Rebecca Fung "In the Heart of the City"
• Stephanie Gunn "The Flowers That Bloom Where Blood Touches Earth"
• Kelly Hoolihan "The Stone and the Sheath"
• Kathleen Jennings "The Tangled Streets"
• Pete Kempshall "Azimuth"
• Martin Livings "A Red Mist"
• Seanan McGuire "Into the Green" (also writes as Mira Grant)
• Anthony Panegyres "Lady Killer"
• Jane Percival "The Mysterious Mr Montague"
• Paul Starkey "The Tenderness of Monsters"
• Lyn Thorne-Adder "Lifeblood of the City"
• S. Zanne "Seeing Red"

The complete Aurealis Award Winning List is below (congrats again to all the winners and finalists). Here in Perth we had a fantastic time at the Pan Pacific Hotel, where the great gang at Swancon had it streamed live from Brisbane on a big screen (with food and alcohol catered for). Wonderful night and it felt as if we were almost there.

BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION
A Single Stone, Meg McKinlay (Walker Books Australia) 

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL / ILLUSTRATED WORK
The Singing Bones, Shaun Tan (Allen & Unwin)                  

BEST YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY
“The Miseducation of Mara Lys”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)

BEST HORROR SHORT STORY
“Bullets”, Joanne Anderton (In Sunshine Bright and Darkness Deep, AHWA)

BEST HORROR NOVELLA
“The Miseducation of Mara Lys”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press) 

BEST FANTASY SHORT STORY
“The Giant’s Lady”, Rowena Cory Daniells (Legends 2, Newcon Press) 

BEST FANTASY NOVELLA
“Defy the Grey Kings”, Jason Fischer (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Firkin Press) 

BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY
“All the Wrong Places”, Sean Williams (Meeting Infinity, Solaris)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVELLA
“By Frogsled and Lizardback to Outcast Venusian Lepers”, Garth Nix (Old Venus, Random House)

BEST COLLECTION
To Hold the Bridge, Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin) 

BEST ANTHOLOGY
Bloodlines, Amanda Pillar (ed.) (Ticonderoga Publications) 

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
In The Skin of a Monster, Kathryn Barker (Allen & Unwin) 

BEST HORROR NOVEL
Day Boy,Trent Jamieson (Text Publishing)

BEST FANTASY NOVEL
Day Boy,Trent Jamieson (Text Publishing) 

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
Illuminae, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin) 

SARA DOUGLASS BOOK SERIES AWARD
The Watergivers [The Last Stormlord (2009), Stormlord Rising (2010), Stormlord’s Exile (2011)], Glenda Larke (HarperVoyager)

THE CONVENORS’ AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
Letters to Tiptree, Alexandra Pierce and Alisa Krasnostein (Twelfth Planet Press)

Awards and Reads and Releases

 Congrats to All: Aurealis Awards and Ditmar Award Finalists

It's Ditmar and Aurealis Awards time in Australia. The shortlists are out and it's a thrill to say that the latest anthology I've a story in, Bloodlines Ed. Amanda Pillar (Ticonderoga Publications), is a finalist for both awards.

There are plenty of great writers on the lists here and rather than congratulate everyone individually I've attached the links to the short listed works below.

Congrats to the editor of Bloodlines, Amanda Pillar, along with Ticonderoga Publications. I would also like to personally congratulate fellow Perth writer, Stephanie Gunn, whose novella from the same anthology has been short listed in the category of Best Fantasy Novella (Gunn is also a finalist for another novella in Hear me Roar Ed. Liz Grzyb).

Aurealis Awards Link

Ditmar Awards Link

Short Story Recommendations

It's not often you find Australian short fic being recommended so I feel humbled that Fossick Book Review has recommended one of my stories. 'Reading Coffee'  (originally published in Overland 204 in 2011) was the first story that I was truly proud of and it's recommended here alongside Angela Slatter's (who is a giant of short spec-fic) 'Brisneyland by Night'. Once again the link is attached below.

Fossick Book Reviews

Twenty One New Zealand Books We're Looking Forward to in 2016

The next anthology I've a story in, At the Edge ed. Dan Rabarts & Lee Murray is on this list of New Zealand books to look forward to reading. It's released in June.


21 NZ Books to Look forward to 2016

Lee Battersby's launch of Magrit

On Saturday I attended Lee Battersby's launch of his new novel for children Magrit. Battersby usually specialises in dark spec-fic (often with a comical edge) so hearing Battersby read so well to a much younger audience than usual was an enjoyable surprise. The story had all the wit and evocative imagery that readers expect from Battersby's adult work too. Lee ran a fun launch and Stefen Brazulaitis of Stefen's Books (check the store out in Shafto Lane if you get the chance) organised a great pub lunch post-launch too. 




Latest Read

Just finished Nights at the Circus by the incredible Angela Carter. It's a genre defying tour de force, well worth savouring and it deserves all the kudos it has received.  The perpetual dichotomy of the winged heroine, Fevers makes for one of the great characters in literature. It's already one of my all time favourite novels.

Currently Reading

• I've a few pages to go in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. And yes, Harper Lee ironically passed away when I was about midway through.  It was a sad day for literature but what a legacy Lee left behind her with TKAM. I can see why it's deemed an all time classic; the narrative voice of Scout is both innocent and gutsy, allowing for a beautiful observational voice. I don't think I'll read the recently released prequel/sequel Go Set a Watchman though. From the snippets I've read about Go Set a Watchman, I wouldn't want to tarnish my reading of what I believe the Finch family stand for in TKAM.

•  The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes. Interesting look into Shostakovich, his music, and his relationship with the totalitarian regime (what Barnes aptly labels "his relationship with 'Power'"). The prose, as always with Barnes, has a pure feel due to his strong use of nominalisation throughout, and let's face it, little imagery. I'm almost at the end of this novel too. I've enjoyed it so far, but to be honest, at times I wanted a little more from the narrative, especially after reading Barnes' captivating Arthur and George a couple of years ago. Still, a good, solid read.

Political Gripe: Okay, we can't really say too much Down Under after the rise of Tony Abbott but at least he's now fallen. Yet the Americans have trumped (or drumpfed if you've seen John Oliver's comical segment) us in the Mad Tea Party stakes. What's dangerous about the far right is that it plays on fear and division rather than encourage inclusivity. Wake up, America! This guy, Drumpf, is leading you down a foolishly dangerous and bigoted path.