Cirrus@Austlit

'We’ll Stand in That Place and Other Stories is the latest anthology in the annual Margaret River Short Story Competition. In this latest collection, contemporary concerns, such as climate change, cultural inclusiveness and the need for queer spaces, are explored and a spotlight is shone on the complex emotions that we sometimes fail to honour in our daily lives and close relationships.

We’ll Stand in That Place and Other Stories features 19 short stories selected from over 240 entries from the 2019 Margaret River Short Story Competition, which is now in its eighth year. The collection was edited by award-winning author and editor Michelle Cahill and includes this year’s winning story We'll Stand in That Place by Kit Scriven.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'This stunning story collection includes two prize-winning novellas along with an impressive range of historical and contemporary stories, all written by characters who yearn to belong and find acceptance.

'From the award-winning author of Stone Sky Gold Mountain come these superbly crafted stories that explore the inner lives of those who are often ignored or misunderstood.

'We follow a migrant mother who yearns to feel welcomed at a kids' party in a local park; a young skateboarder caught between showing loyalty and being accepted; and an Indonesian maid working far from home who longs for the son she's left behind. Bookending this collection are two stunning novellas: Annah the Javanese re-imagines the world of one of Paul Gauguin's models in nineteenth-century Paris, while the highly acclaimed The Fish Girl reworks a classic W Somerset Maugham story from the perspective of a young Indonesian woman.

'With rich emotional insight and a light touch, these wide-ranging stories reveal hidden desires and human fragility.' (Publication summary)