gretchenshirm

‘The Closure Company’ in Griffith Review’s ‘States of Mind’

I am very pleased to have my short story ‘The Closure Company’ appearing in Griffith Review‘s issue 72, ‘States of Mind’ https://www.griffithreview.com/articles/the-closure-company/ I’m thrilled that the story appears alongside some excellent work from Kathryn Heyman, Lech Blaine, Vicki Laveau-Harvie, Loki Liddle amongst others. ‘States of Mind’ is on sale now. Or better yet, subscribe toContinue reading “‘The Closure Company’ in Griffith Review’s ‘States of Mind’”

New story ‘Porcelain’ in Overland

I am so pleased that my story ‘Porcelain’ from my novel in stories The Crying Room, is published in the current issue of Overland. You can read it and the other excellent essays, stories and poetry by buying issue 240, or online here: https://overland.org.au/previous-issues/issue-240/ Or better still, subscribe and a beautiful copy of Overland willContinue reading “New story ‘Porcelain’ in Overland”

Start to Write

I will be teaching a ‘Start to Write’ course through Faber Academy at Allen & Unwin on 10, 11 and 12 November 2020. The course will run in the evening from 6.30pm to 8.30pm and will be offered online. For details and booking, visit the Faber Academy website here.

‘The Crying Room’ in KYD New Australian Fiction

I’m a bit late with this, but my short story ‘The Crying Room’ was published in last year’s Kill Your Darling’s New Australian Fiction Anthology. The Anthology has since gone into reprint, yippee! You can purchase a copy at your favourite local bookshop, or here: https://www.killyourdarlings.com.au/shop/new-australian-fiction-2019/ When the Anthology was reviewed in The Australian onContinue reading “‘The Crying Room’ in KYD New Australian Fiction”

Helen Garner’s Collected Stories

Helen Garner’s Postcards from Surfers was a revelation to me when I started writing. The silences within her stories are so bold and radical, it really showed me that writing is as much about what is on the page as what’s left off it. The book also contains one of my favourite sentences ofContinue reading “Helen Garner’s Collected Stories”

My review of Nicole Krauss’s Forest Dark appeared in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald over the weekend and can be read, here. Reading Forest Dark, was one of the most disorientating experiences I’ve ever had reading a book. For much of the time, I found the book difficult to read, the prose leaden and quiteContinue reading

Review of Elizabeth Strout’s Anything Is Possible

I’ve always admired Elizabeth Strout’s writing. Olive Kitteridge was a huge influence on me as a writer and I thought it was a career defining book for her until she produced Anything Is Possible. I tried to sum up my thoughts about this book for The Australian, you can read my review here.

Essay on Bernhard Schlink’s The Woman on the Stairs

I’ve always admired Bernhard Schlink’s fiction, particularly his short stories published in his 2000 collection Flights of Love. I think it’s the preoccupation with guilt and culpability that interests me so much. Although Schlink is more concerned with the peculiar German experience, they are emotions that plague us all to a certain extent. Here‘s me onContinue reading “Essay on Bernhard Schlink’s The Woman on the Stairs”

Where the Light Falls – Nominated for the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction in the NSW Premier’s Awards

I’m thrilled that my novel has been shortlisted for the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. You can also vote for it or any of the other excellent shortlisted books in the NSW People’s Choice Award, here. NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, Judges’ comments: ‘Where the Light Falls is brimming with virtuosoContinue reading “Where the Light Falls – Nominated for the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction in the NSW Premier’s Awards”