Short stories seem to be enjoying a resurgence of late. New annuals devoted to them (like Black Inc.’s Best Australian Stories and the Sleepers Almanacs) seem to be thriving; while writers like Cate Kennedy and Nam Le have built high profile careers and devoted followings with short fiction alone (so far). Scribe enters the fray this year with New Australian Stories, a mix of new and previously published fiction with the potential to become a series.

An impressive collection it is, too; leading with a characteristically dry, stylish and surprising story from Cate Kennedy, ‘Flexion’, about the unexpected aftermath of a farm accident where a tractor falls on its driver. It’s replete with crisp images like this one of the accident scene: ‘shattered glass strewn around him like crushed ice’. Other favourites of mine include Max Barry’s ‘How I Met My Daughter’ – sharp, funny, sad and brutal; Virginia Peters’ ‘The House Guest’, which cunningly plays with the reader’s expectations and prejudices; Georgia Blain’s knowing, reflective ‘The Other Side of the River’ and Abigail Ulman’s brilliant, uncomfortable ‘Chagall’s Wife’. Highly recommended.