Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist of the Year 2010
Shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Award for New Writing 2010
‘This collection is beautifully formed.’ The Age
‘ Occasionally you pick up a book by a first time author and realise before you get to the end of the first page that a major new talent has arrived….Shirm is a gifted practitioner of restraint, leaving strategic gaps and silences, letting dialogue and imagery do their work and not spelling everything out, especially in the case of female narrators who know more than they’re letting on. Shirm is particularly gifted with the use of everyday objects and scenes as symbols for situations and states of mind. ‘ Kerryn Goldsworthy, Sydney Morning Herald
‘Wintonesque.’ Sunday Herald Sun
‘ Having Cried Wolf is a paradigm of consistent, subtle storytelling…In language that is sharp, precise and telling, Shirm is able to reveal in a handful of words and a patchwork of images, deep emotional truths…Having Cried Wolf is a remarkable collection of stories. ‘ Canberra Times
‘Shirm has skilfully evoked a diverse cast of personalities: most of them deeply likeable despite their flaws and inability to find their way. There is something very immediate and convincing in the way the author portrays the breathless busyness of a working mother or the sexual delicacy of a youth on the verge of manhood…the existential meditations that come with the final chapter of Alice and Grace’s relationship are profound and subtle.’ Mammamia
‘You’re in the hands of a born storyteller…’ Cate Kennedy
Gretchen Shirm 