Short Stories

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For the Patriarch

by Angelo Loukakis
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genre Literary Fiction · Short Stories

Described by Patrick White as ‘splendid stories’, Angelo Loukakis’s provocative and beautifully written collection For the Patriarch depicts moments in the lives of a diverse group of characters in inner-city Sydney.

First published in 1981, For the Patriarch won the New South Wales Premier’s Ethnic Affairs Commission Award in that same year and was on the Higher School Certificate syllabus for fifteen years. It was first reissued in 2012. Writing of the second edition in the Australian Book Review, Elizabeth Holdsworth described it as ‘an important landmark in migrant writing’.

Angelo Loukakis has long been involved in the publishing industry as an author, publisher, editor and, from 2010–2015, he was Executive Director of the Australian Society of Authors. His books include Vernacular Dreams (1986), Messenger (1992), The Memory of Tides (2006) and Houdini’s Flight (2010).


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Canberra Tales

by Seven Writers
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genre Anthology · Short Stories

‘This book is a collective effort. In 1980 some of the writers met for the first time to form a writers’ group. The group, “Seven Writers”, now flourishes and gives each member the necessary support and critical encouragement to develop her own and the others’ work. When the group formed no one had published more than a few short stories or poems.’ — From the Introduction to Canberra Tales, first published in 1988 and reissued in 1995 as The Division of Love.

Canberra Tales offers an authentic taste of life in the nation’s capital during the 1980s, as well as the work of each of its members: Marion Halligan, Dorothy Johnston, Margaret Barbalet, Sara Dowse, Suzanne Edgar, Marian Eldridge and Dorothy Horsfield. Between them they went on to produce works that have received critical acclaim and won or were shortlisted for multiple prestigious awards. Marion Halligan, Sara Dowse and Margaret Barbalet all have other books in the Untapped Collection. 


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A Little More

by Margaret Scott
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genre Anthology · Essays · Poetry · Short Stories

In 1999, Margaret Scott contributed an essay to 40 Degrees South magazine. It began, ‘If The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald are to be believed, I have, late in life, changed from being “a little known poet” to a “cultural icon”.’ This collection of her essays, poetry, extracts from her books and tributes from her friends celebrates a woman comedian Mikey Robins describes as ‘a bloody legend’.

A Little More was first published in 2005, shortly after Margaret Scott passed away. She was involved in the selection of the pieces.

Margaret Scott (1934–2005) was an award-winning poet, academic, novelist and non-fiction writer. She was awarded the Centenary Medal for outstanding contribution to Tasmanian literature.


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Approximate Life: The Prince and Other Stories

by Tim Richards
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genre Short Stories

Approximate Life: The Prince and Other Stories brings together three acclaimed collections for the first time. Letters to Francesca (1996), The Prince (1997) and Duckness (1998) range across forms, from short story to novella and screenplay, and from surrealism to hyperreality-connected by common characters as well as themes of identity, authenticity and artifice. They are playful and poignant, satirical and serious, with echoes of Borges and Calvino grounded in a distinctly Australian perspective.