Cirrus@Austlit

'Children are the focus of Maxine Beneba Clarke’s choices in The Best Australian Stories 2017: children who disappear, children who are taken, children who never were. This theme unites the anthology so the stories speak softly to each other like whispers passed along a line.' (Introduction)

'When I lived in Sydney, one of my favourite places was Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, a stony seat cut into a promontory beyond the Royal Botanic Garden with a view from the Opera House and Harbour Bridge past Fort Denison and on towards the harbour heads. The land’s edge there has no boardwalks, no neatly set seawalls.' (Introduction)

'In the opening pages of this enjoyable book we are presented with the octogenarian former prime minister Bob Hawke excusing himself from his inquisitor and shuffling over to the edge of his terrace peering over Sydney Harbour to “have a leak”.' (Introduction)

'John Birmingham pinched all the indie cred in 1994 with He Died with a Felafel in His Hand, a sharply funny share-house memoir. Since then, Brisbane-based Birmingham has been prolific in diverse genres: a guide to writing, two Quarterly Essays, airport thrillers and sci-fi fantasies, as well as a regular newspaper column.' (Introduction)

'The legend of Gallipoli may never be eclipsed but recent celebrations have accentuated the heroes of the Western Front and the Middle East. The gallantry and sacrifice of our Diggers is legendary but we should also honour two of World War I’s most outstanding field commanders, both Australians: John Monash and Harry Chauvel.' (Introduction)