Australian Shorts

Karen Hollands

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A monthly podcast about short stories written by Australian authors. Hosted by Karen Hollands, each episode features a short story read by its author followed by a conversation about their story.

31 maj

Australian Shorts Episode 10 Melanie Cheng

Episode 10 of Australian Shorts features Melanie Cheng. Melanie is a writer and general practitioner based in Naarm, Melbourne. Her debut short story collection, Australia Day, won the 2018 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Fiction and her novel, Room for a Stranger, was longlisted for the 2020 Miles Franklin Award. Her latest novel, The Burrow, has been translated and published internationally in North America, Hungary, Spain and Turkey. It was shortlisted for several Australian awards including the 2025 Stella Prize. Her short stories have appeared in Meanjin, The Griffith Review, The Big Issue and World Literature Today among many others. In this episode Melanie reads Stone Baby, published in World Literature Today in 2025 (https://worldliteraturetoday.org/2025/january/stone-baby-melanie-cheng). Melanie discusses the genesis of this story and how it took two decades to write. She talks about how her work as a doctor influences her writing and vice versa and gives us some tips on what makes a short story stand out in competitions. This episode was recorded on the lands of the Yuggera and Turrbal people of Meanjin, Brisbane, and on the traditional lands of the Kulin Nation in Naarm, Melbourne. Thanks for listening to Australian Shorts Podcast. This post is public so feel free to share it. Australian Shorts, a podcast about short stories written by Australian authors, is produced by Karen Hollands

1 tim 2 min
30 apr.

Australian Shorts Episode 09 Alex Cothren

Episode 9 of Australian Shorts features Alex Cothren. Alex is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Flinders University. He is a winner of the Carmel Bird, William van Dyke, Griffith Review Emerging Voices and Peter Carey Awards for short fiction. His satirical story collection, Playing Nice Was Getting Me Nowhere, was published in 2025 by Pink Shorts Press. Alex lives and works on the traditional lands of the Kaurna people. In this episode, Alex reads The Juansons from his collection and explains why this story took five years to write and how it went from a 30,000-word polished novella to a 3000-word short story. Alex also explains the purpose and potential dangers of satire and reminds us that the harder things are to do in art, the better our art usually ends up. This episode was recorded on the lands of the Yuggera and Turrbal people of Magandjin (Brisbane) and on the traditional lands of the Kaurna people (Adelaide). Thanks for listening to Australian Shorts Podcast. This post is public so feel free to share it. Australian Shorts, a podcast about short stories written by Australian authors, is produced by Karen Hollands

1 tim
1 apr.

Australian Shorts Episode 08 Cate Kennedy

Episode 8 of Australian Shorts features Cate Kennedy. Cate writes across genres and is widely published but perhaps best known as a short story author. Her two collections, Dark Roots and Like a House on Fire have been used as teaching texts on the Victorian Secondary School syllabus for several years and she works as a fiction advisor at Pacific University’s Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing program in Oregon. In this episode, Cate reads Little Plastic Shipwreck from her collection, Like a House on Fire (Scribe) and talks about why this particular story is still mysterious to her. Cate also discusses many aspects of writing, including the value in capturing the small, ordinary details of our lives, plus fiction’s great superpower: its ability to reveal a character’s sense of interiority. She explains the power of the three layers of a character’s “self” and the richness that the gap between these provides to both reader and writer. This episode was recorded on the unceded lands of the Yuggera and Turrbul people in Brisbane and the traditional lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung people in Castlemaine, Victoria. Australian Shorts, a podcast about short stories written by Australian authors, is produced by Karen Hollands

1 tim 17 min
28 feb.

Australian Shorts Episode 07 Jane Rawson

Episode 7 of Australian Shorts features Jane Rawson. Jane is the author of six books, most recently the essay collection Human/Nature: On life in a wild world (New South 2025) and the speculative historical fiction novel A History of Dreams (Brio 2022) which was longlisted for the Tasmanian Literary Awards. Her essays and short stories have been published widely. Jane is the Editorial Manager of Island magazine and lives in the Huon Valley in Lutruwita, Tasmania. In Episode 7 Jane reads her story Kangaroo, which was published in KYD’s 2019 Speculative Showcase, and originally published in the Ticonderoga anthology Ecopunk! as The wrong side of history. Hear Jane discuss different types of speculative fiction, the role imagination plays and why she loves this genre. We also discuss her approach to writing, her role as an editor of short stories, and how she views the current status of publishing short stories in Australia. This episode was recorded on the traditional lands of the Yuggera and Turrbal people and on the traditional lands of the Melukerdee people, who did not survive colonisation. I acknowledge the ongoing custodianship of the Palawa people of Lutruwita Tasmania. Australian Shorts, a podcast about short stories written by Australian authors, is produced by Karen Hollands

54 min
31 jan.

Australian Shorts Episode 06 Kate Ryan

Episode 6 of Australian Shorts features Kate Ryan. Kate is an award-winning writer of fiction and non-fiction, manuscript assessor, writing mentor and writing teacher. Her work has appeared in various literary journals and anthologies and her debut novel The Golden Book was published in 2021. Her latest novel HOUSE explores the intersection between families, architecture and emotion. In this episode Kate reads her story The Mighty have Fallen published in the Summer 2022 issue of Meanjin. Then we chat about the broad themes influencing her work, the tips she gives when mentoring writers and how reading helps when her writing stalls. This episode was recorded on the traditional lands of the Yuggera and Turrbal people in Meanjin, Brisbane and on the lands of the Wurundjeri people in Naarm, Melbourne. Australian Shorts, a podcast about short stories written by Australian authors, is produced by Karen Hollands

1 tim 1 min
2025-11-30

Australian Shorts Ep 05 Anne Casey-Hardy

Episode 05 of Australian Shorts features Anne Casey-Hardy. Anne began writing after a long career as a librarian and advocate for families of premature babies. In 2018, she won the Peter Carey Short Story Award for her story, Being the Mother. Since then, her short stories and poetry have been published in Meanjin, Island, Overland, Westerly, Kill Your Darlings and several anthologies. Anne’s short story collection Cautionary Tales for Excitable Girls was published by Scribner/Simon & Schuster in September 2022 and was longlisted for the 2023 Indie Book Awards. In this episode, Anne reads her story, Starving in the Land of Plenty. Hear Anne discuss her views on the origins of status anxiety, laughing at your own funny lines and why she favours the first person POV. This episode was recorded on the traditional lands of the Yuggera and Turrbal people in Meanjin, Brisbane and on the lands of the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. Australian Shorts, a podcast about short stories written by Australian authors, is produced by Karen Hollands

52 min
2025-10-31

Australian Shorts Ep 04 Laura Elvery

Episode 4 of Australian Shorts features Laura Elvery. Laura is the author of two short story collections: Trick of the Light and Ordinary Matter. She is a past winner of the Josephine Ulrick Prize for Literature, the Margaret River Short Story Competition, the Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize and the Fair Australia Prize for Fiction. Ordinary Matter won the 2021 USQ Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection. The judges described it as ‘elegant, inventive, and often deeply touching’. The collection was also shortlisted for the Queensland Premier’s Award for a Work of State Significance and the 2022 Barbara Jefferis Award. Laura’s first novel, Nightingale, was shortlisted for the Fiction Book Award and won the People’s Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award at the 2025 Queensland Literary Awards. Laura has a PhD in Creative Writing and Literary Studies from QUT. In this episode, Laura reads Grand Canyon from her second collection. Hear how Laura combined fact with fiction for this story, why she chose to tell it through Frank’s voice, how she feels about beginnings and endings in stories, how reading your work aloud differs from reading it in your head, and more! This episode was recorded on the traditional lands of the Yuggera and Turrbal people in Meanjin, Brisbane. Australian Shorts, a podcast about short stories written by Australian authors, is produced by Karen Hollands

1 tim 4 min
2025-09-30

Australian Shorts Episode 03 Laurie Steed

Episode 3 of Australian Shorts features Laurie Steed. Laurie’s short fiction has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and published in Best Australian Stories, Award Winning Australian Writing, The Age, Meanjin, Overland, Westerly, Island and elsewhere. Laurie edited the short story anthology Shibboleth and Other Stories, published in 2016. His debut novel You Belong Here was published in 2018 and shortlisted for the Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards. His memoir, Love, Dad, was published in 2023. Laurie’s collection of short stories, Greater City Shadows, won the 2021 Henry Handel Richardson Fellowship for Short Story Writing and was published in 2024. In this episode, Laurie reads The Punch. Then we talk about how this story came into being and Laurie tells us why it’s easier to take risks with short stories and talks about the joys and pitfalls of writing across literary forms, and the long game of writing. This episode was recorded on the traditional lands of the Yuggera and Turrbal people in Meanjin, Brisbane, and on the lands of the Whadjuk Nyoongar people in Boorloo, Western Australia. Australian Shorts, a podcast about short stories written by Australian authors, is produced by Karen Hollands

1 tim
2025-08-31

Australian Shorts Episode 02 Mirandi Riwoe

Episode 2 of Australian Shorts features Mirandi Riwoe. Mirandi’s short stories have appeared in Best Australian Stories, Meanjin, Review of Australian Fiction, Griffith Review and Best Summer Stories. Her collection of short stories and novellas, titled The Burnished Sun won the 2022 UQP Quentin Bryce Award. On selecting The Burnished Sun, Dame Quentin Bryce says: What a remarkable and skilful writer Mirandi Riwoe is … the sheer breadth of talent showcased across this collection of fiction is astounding. In addition to her short story collection, Mirandi has published a novella, The Fish Girl, and two novels, Stone Sky Gold Mountain and Sunbirds. Her third novel, A Short History of Longans will be available in 2026. Mirandi’s books are published by UQP. In this episode, you’ll hear Mirandi read Invitation from her collection and learn about the real-life events that fed into the creation of this story. We then chat about Mirandi’s writing process and discuss the importance of craft and practice when honing your writing skills. Mirandi also shares insights into selecting winners for short story competitions. This episode was recorded on the traditional lands of the Yuggera and Turrbal people in Meanjin, Brisbane. Australian Shorts, a podcast about short stories written by Australian authors, is produced by Karen Hollands

1 tim 2 min
2025-07-31

Australian Shorts Episode 01 Amanda O'Callaghan

Welcome to Episode 1 of Australian Shorts. This podcast series begins with Amanda O’Callaghan. Amanda has written and published many short stories and her fiction has been awarded and shortlisted in numerous contests in Australia, Ireland, and the UK. Her story collection, This Taste for Silence (UQP), was shortlisted for the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction and longlisted for the Edge Hill Prize (UK). It was described as “a stunning achievement” by Readings’ Ellen Cregan, with stories that maintain “a subtle, compelling sense of intrigue that makes each story highly readable without compromising the quality and detail of her writing.” In this episode, Amanda reads Things from her collection. Then we chat about her writing process and how writing short stories differs from writing long form and flash fiction. You will hear Amanda talk about the power that lies in a good short story, the courage it takes to write, “the tea bag process” of writing and why Amanda gets surprised by the stories she puts on the page. This episode was recorded on the traditional lands of the Yuggera and Turrbal people in Meanjin, Brisbane. Australian Shorts, a podcast about short stories written by Australian authors, is produced by Karen Hollands

59 min

10 avsnitt

A monthly podcast about short stories written by Australian authors. Hosted by Karen Hollands, each episode features a short story read by its author followed by a conversation about their story.

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Karen Hollands
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