Cirrus@Austlit

'Short Stories: and now for something completely different, as they once said in a famous film. Over more than 45 years Derryn Hinch has written 19 books from novels to autobiographies; Scrabble, Wordle, and several diet and health books. But he had never tried anything like this. A compendium of short stories.  

'It came about, almost by accident, because he was writing (again) about that fictional intrepid journo Jonathan Hunter, as a full-length novel -- The Big Hawaii Mystery. Hinch says, to be honest, he just ran out of words. The story was finished. A friend suggested a book of short stories. And here it is. 

'The stories range from a murder mystery to a man who never was.  Obviously, they are fiction, but many are based on fact. Hinch likes to call it ‘faction’ because real experiences from his own life as a police reporter, TV host, federal senator, weave through the narratives. You may even recognise some of the characters.' (Publication summary)

'Derryn Hinch made headlines in 2016 when he went from media personality to Victorian Senator at the head of a new political party and made a lasting impact on the political landscape.
'This is an unflinchingly honest account of his last two years as a senator, before he lost his seat in the 2019 election.
'Hinch's diary exposes Canberra's inner workings and details on his professional successes and failures with trademark frankness.' (Publication summary)

'We were in the doctor's office and it sounded like something out of a B Grade movie when I said: 'Give it to me straight... how long have I got?'

'He'd just told me I had cancer, compounded by advanced cirrhosis of the liver. The doctor's reply: 'Twelve months'. There was a chance I could live longer if I could get a rare liver transplant but there were hurdles to get over just to get on The List. I knew that, at any time, there are about 2000 Australians waiting for organ donors to save their lives. And 20% die waiting.

'To complicate things, I was fighting another battle. This one in the courts where I faced a jail sentence for a 'Name Them, Shame Them' campaign which climaxed when I named two serial sex offenders whose identities had been suppressed.

'A traumatic eight months after making The List, I received a new liver and a new life. Two weeks after surgery I limped into court to be sentenced to five months under house arrest. There were also allegations I had 'jumped the queue' and didn't deserve an organ transplant because I'd been a drinker.

'In this book, I try to honestly answer all those questions and more. One thing's for sure: It was a helluva year.' (Publication summary)