The Best Australian Stories 2015

‘Some readers are drawn to the promise inherent in a novel, and it’s true that the longer form can offer a slow and seductive immersion, but the short story offers pleasure of another kind – the quick fix, a shot of adrenaline to the mind and heart.’ —Amanda Lohrey

In The Best Australian Stories 2015, Amanda Lohrey, winner of the Patrick White Award and author of the acclaimed novel A Short History of Richard Kline, curates twenty pieces of exceptional short fiction.

In this wide-ranging collection, there are stories that will surprise, unsettle and beguile readers. Familiar subjects are examined from new perspectives: a teenage girl sneaks into a famous film director's study and steals his diaries; the life of Picasso is reimagined in miniature vignettes. And new life is breathed into the most universal of experiences: birth, death, love and loss. The mother of a girl with hearing difficulties watches her child grow into increasing independence. A young woman makes a poignant voyage to the site of her brother’s suicide.

Elegant, accomplished and evocative, these short stories move, delight and inspire.

Goldie Goldbloom • John A Scott • Claire Corbett • Cate Kennedy • Melissa Beit • Colin Oehring • Gay Lynch • Eleanor Limprecht • Julie Koh • Jo Lennan • Omar Musa • Ryan O'Neill • Sarah Klenbort • Jo Case • Balli Kaur Jaswal • Jennifer Down • Nick Couldwell • Nicola Redhouse • Annette Trevitt • Mark Smith

‘Short fiction has a clarity because, at its best, it captures a moment in time forever. This collection … is full of these unique and imaginative moments.’ —Guardian

‘Essential reading … masterfully edited by Amanda Lohrey’ —West Australian

‘Some of these writers are well known Australian storytellers and others are a revelation. All 20 are terrific. A few are ‘‘the best”.’ —Sydney Morning Herald

‘As Amanda Lohrey writes in her introduction, itself a compact work of art, the stories all contain ‘an element of danger’; risk is palpable in the sexual and power-driven desires that overflow these narratives, with transgression enacted by, or perpetrated against, central characters.’ —Australian Book Review

‘At times it’s brilliant, and succeeds in giving readers absorbing insights into a cross-section of Australian writing today.’ —Adelaide Advertiser

Amanda Lohrey is the author of the acclaimed novels Camille’s Bread, Vertigo and The Morality of Gentlemen, as well as the award-winning short story collection Reading Madame Bovary. She has also written two Quarterly Essays: Groundswell and Voting for Jesus. In 2012 she was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award.