Article
Ten years of the Best Australian essays, stories
The Best Stories and Best Essays series were born over ten years ago when, inspired by the Best American Stories and Best American Essays, Black Inc.’s founder, Morry Schwartz, thought to launch an Australian equivalent.
Since then, the short story has undergone a remarkable revival in Australia. Where once it was neglected as the novel’s less-glamorous cousin, it is now receiving the respect and attention it deserves. Some of the most
exciting new writers of recent years have devoted themselves to the shorter form. We are pleased and proud to feature many of them in The Best Australian Stories – A Ten-Year Collection.
Similarly, as The Best Australian Essays – A Ten-Year Collection shows, the essay form is once again in tune with the times. There is a strong desire to have experience captured and hammered into a fresh shape; there is also a powerful need to have new ideas dramatised, analysed and brought to life.
Each year the collection editors labour mightily to reduce the output of a year to its alluring essence. The Ten-Year Collections take their careful work and refine it yet further. Our aim has been to produce books of uniform quality but great variety, showcasing the vigour and diversity of a rich decade of Australian writing.
Download:
Best_Australian_Essays_-_A_Ten-Year_Collection_-_Media_Release.pdf
Best_Australian_Stories_-_A_Ten-Year_Collection_-_Media_Release.pdf
Meanwhile, listen to Phillip on Late Night Live:
The Panic Virus
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In 1998, London gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield co-authored a study in Lancet magazine, linking autism to the measles, mumps and rubella shot. His research was immediately challenged but it was not until last year that the study was retracted.
Author Seth Mnookin follows the Wakefield saga and raises the argument of how people come to believe and promote ideas that are false. The resulting book is titled The Panic Virus: Fear, Myth and the Vaccination Debate.