‘Writing a novel is like flying a 747, with plenty of time for take-off, flight and landing. Writing a short story is like trying to get a plane off the ground as you are in the process of building it. It teaches a writer all kinds of skills.’

‘So much of writing happens entirely alone and entirely inside our own brains … it can be very easy to lose perspective. Collaboration and community are so important because of that: they keep me sane, and often stop me from despairing.’

‘I love pieces of writing by various authors which create these small, significant, suspenseful moments where the reader can see exactly what the stakes are, because characters are revealing those stakes under pressure.’ We asked award-winning author Cate Kennedy to tell us her what it is about conflict in writing that appeals to her, and which writers she loves reading.