“I adore that the short story allows an incompleteness that is self-sufficient, a lightness that carries heft, an accessibility that is complex yet eloquent.” We spoke to award-winning author Eugen Bacon on the short story form.

Fill your April with these wonderful writing events. There’s a mix of online and in-person events including Sydney Writers’ Festival, the Stella Prize award night, book launches, poetry slam workshops and more.

‘Almost 20 years ago I started writing the story of my life; the unconventional, and at times risky, journey I took to come to Australia from my home country of China, via Hong Kong, to become a family physician, a husband and a father of three…’

“The dark web is part of the zeitgeist of the past decade and has been responsible for a radical shift in things like drug dealing, privacy, and controlling our digital footprint.” Writer and journalist Eileen Ormsby dives into the dark web’s mysteries.

Looking for some audio content for your rainy commute? Take a look at the podcasts, albums and audiobooks our staff have been listening to this month.

“Emotional honesty isn’t a tell-it-all confessional honesty. It is to do with acknowledging the complexity of human thoughts, emotions and experiences.” We spoke to Lee Kofman on mastering emotional honesty in writing.

“Books that push the boundaries of what is marketable can succeed precisely because they do so.” We spoke to author, editor and translator Tiffany Tsao on the process of getting published.

“A short story happens when a writer sees the prospect of a moment, a pivot point, and consciously decides it’s the whole thing.” Nick Earls writes on the short story form.

Have a peep at the great things we’ve read in February — novels, YA fiction, short stories, poetry and more!