Sleepers Publishing and their Almanacs are known for championing new authors, many of whom have gone on to win acclaim, awards and hearts with their work. This edition contains 28 quality short stories and showcases many promising writers. ‘Happy Monday’ by Michelle Radke is a superb opener. The main character is assailed by a plague of anthromorphised cane toads, one of whom knows about past indiscretions and makes her re-examine her motivations. Just when I was thinking ‘oh no, not another talking animal story…’ another level of insight and pathos is introduced in the form of a drug-addicted daughter.

Another piece that stands out for its use of form is Belinda Rule’s ‘Statement of Claims on Behalf of My Father’. First the narrator itemises (‘Ways in which I have disappointed my father’). This is followed by a formatted table (‘Places that the small screwdriver my father has had since he was 14 was not able to be found, with related comments’) and, finally, a diagrammatic (‘Reasons I rang my father from overseas and their probability of untruth’). This is a sweet summary of a father/daughter relationship and family history in the vein of Jennifer Egan’s prize-winning A Visit From the Goon Squad.

There are also some excellent stories by authors whose books will be published by Sleepers later this year. In the ironically titled ‘Kid-free’, Eleanor Limprecht writes about a struggling couple who try to revive their relationship. In ‘Pilgrimage’, Vanessa Russell focuses on a young wife who is suffocating under intense pressure from her husband and their rural fundamentalist community.

The collection also includes work by established authors like Melanie Joosten, Paul Mitchell, S.J. Finn and Laurie Steed. Overall, there’s a lot in here for a very little, making this one of the best-value anthologies around.

Annie Condon is from Readings Hawthorne.