Spineless Wonders Short Australian Stories

14/07/2025

📣 Seeking Sydney ep 6 is out! Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!



Echidna Audio Kathy Prokhovnik

19/06/2025

⏰ It's time for episode 5 of Seeking Sydney: Power at Work 💪

In Episode 5, we're looking at activism in Sydney – from the Eveleigh railway workshops to Glebe Point Road; from freedom for women to the Freedom Ride. In this sneak peak from the episode, Julie Gibson, a revolutionary and resident of Glebe for 30 years, recounts her journey from education to feminist activism. ✊

📍You can find episode 5 of Seeking Sydney on Spotify and Apple podcasts!

20/05/2025

Have you written a novella in prose or verse? Or a hybrid novella that crosses genre boundaries? Enter the Australasian Association of Writing Programs (AAWP) and Spineless Wonders publishing (SW) ‘Novella Prize’ for your chance to win.

If you win you will receive: a judges’ report from an established literary author. This ‘tick of approval’ will see your manuscript assessed without delay. You will, effectively, leap to the top of the submissions pile. You will also receive a $500.00 cash prize and fully subsidised conference fees to attend the annual conference of the AAWP (December 2025) where you will be invited to read from your work.

If your full manuscript is as robust as the synopsis and opening extract, you may secure a publishing contract with Spineless Wonders.

Take advantage of this stunning opportunity. Fast track your writing journey in a fiercely competitive market.

Read the full terms of entry here

Prizes This page presents creative writing opportunities created by the AAWP and our partners. More, non-AAWP, prizes and activities can be found on the News thread. The Prizes and Partnerships Portfolio is managed by AAWP President | Chair, Associate Professor Julia Prendergast, contactable directl...

20/05/2025

History on the Radio: crafting history for audio audiences
Seeking Sydney’s creator, Kathy Prokhovnik will join this panel to chat about her history podcast.
Registration link in bio
When: 10 Jun 2025, 17:30 - 19:15
Location: History House, 133 Macquarie Street, Sydney AND online
https://www.phansw.org.au/upcoming-events/
The PHA NSW-ACT is hosting a panel discussion about how best to get your history heard. You are invited to hear from three speakers with experience in crafting histories for radio and podcasts. The session will hopefully answer many questions about audio histories such as:
• How do I come up with a good idea?
• How do you pitch your idea, and who do you pitch it to?
• How is writing history for audio different? What do you need to think about?
• What are some of the considerations you need to think about when writing for a wide audience?
• What is it like to be in the recording studio?
The session will be chaired by the PHA NSW-ACT President Dr Naomi Parry Duncan (https://naomiparry.net/consulting/).

Panel members:
• Minna Muhlen-Schulte
Minna Muhlen-Schulte is a professional historian and project manager with over a decade’s experience managing complex, publicly funded projects, authoring thematic histories and collaborating with First Nations communities to deliver heritage interpretation outcomes. Minna has researched and written documentaries for ABC Radio National and developed radio content for the Dictionary of Sydney and 2SER. Currently Minna is the project manager of the Australian Creative Histories and Future project at UNSW. Previously Minna worked at GML Heritage and Create NSW in the Arts and Cultural Development funding program.
• Meg Foster
Dr Meg Foster (FRHistS) is an award-winning historian of banditry, settler colonial and public history who specialises in Australian bushranging. Meg received a prestigious ABC Top 5 Humanities Media Residency to develop her media skills with Australia's national public broadcaster, and created a podcast for ABC Radio National's Rewind program as a result. Combined with tv, radio and podcast appearances, reviews, newspaper articles, blog posts, and artistic collaborations, Meg has a breadth of experience engaging academic and public audiences, and a passion for making connections between history and the contemporary world.
• Kathy Prokhovnik
Kathy Prokhovnik’s day job is as a technical writer, project manager and editor. She also writes fiction (long form, short stories, microfiction) and creative nonfiction. Her podcast series, Seeking Sydney, started life as a social history of Sydney, travelling from east to west. It asks, ‘Where did Sydney come from, and why?’ Kathy is currently finalising her second novel, Safety in the Home. She has been awarded a fellowship at the Perth KSP Writers’ Centre and a Newcastle Lighthouse Arts residency. Her short stories have had some wins, some shortlists, some publications. She blogs at http://kathyprokhovnik.com/

This event is free for all PHA members (including those outside of NSW and the ACT).
You can attend in-person (at History House, 133 Macquarie Street, Sydney) or on-line (from 6pm-7.15pm)
Registration is essential to receive the Zoom link and for catering purposes.
Non-members are welcome to attend for $10.
5.30pm - refreshments served at History House, 133 Macquarie Street (down the hill and on the other side of the street from SLNSW)
6.00pm - panel discussion facilitated by Naomi Parry Duncan
7.00pm - questions
7.15pm(ish) close - attendees may choose to go out for dinner afterwards.

15/05/2025

A reminder that Seeking Sydney episode 4 is available NOW to listen to on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! Just search Seeking Sydney!

In this episode we travel down George Street to the harbour, and the Opera House. They’re the backbone of most descriptions of Sydney – good reason to slide over them – but Kathy's been talking to some people who’ve got some interesting things to say about them. For extra notes and acknowledgements please go to the 'Seeking Sydney' blog.

16/04/2025

Our online event is tomorrow at 7:30pm via Zoom. All are encouraged to tag along and celebrate Ricochet with us 🌟

Make sure to head to the link in our bio and RSVP 🐌

06/04/2025

A big thank you to everyone who attended our Newcastle Writers Festival event: The Art of Brevity vs the Depth of Narrative 🌟

Also a massive thank you to Cassandra Atherton, Paul Hetherington, Kate Forsyth, Annette Higgs, Bronwyn Mehan, Alex Poniris, and our fantastic authors who contributed to Ricochet.

If you have any pictures or videos, make sure to tag us in them!

We’ll see you for next year’s anthology launch (for those of you not attending our fabulous online launch, deets in our bio) 😉🐌

03/04/2025

There is ONE DAY until our collaborative book launch at Newcastle Writers Festival! 🥳

This year’s anthology, ‘Ricochet’, will be launched at the ‘The Art of Brevity vs the Depth of Narrative’ event held at NUspace X301 on the 5th of April @ 4:30pm. Admission is free and all are encouraged to swing by!

Our fantastic judges Cassandra Atherton and Paul Hetherington will be hosting the session and will be announcing the winners of the national and Hunter category of the joanne burns Microlit Award 2025. We will also be screening a select range of author videos of ekphrastic works housed in the anthology and made by the talented Alex Poniris.

Books will also be available for purchase at the festival gift store on the day, but you can also grab a copy from our website linked in our IG bio! ⭐

01/04/2025

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT #4: CASSANDRA DUELL 🤩

Basing their piece ‘Arcing’ on Wassily Kandinsky’s ‘Cossacks’, Cassandra has said that in ‘Arcing’, images impel one another in unexpected ways; much like seemingly disparate memories that venture into abstract (and sometimes whimsical) territory, before resonating acutely with a real-life matter.

Swipe right to read a short passage from the piece 💗

To read more, buy a copy of ‘Ricochet’ from the link in our bio!

01/04/2025

Did you know Ricochet was out and available for purchase?

‘Ricochet’, a microlit anthology published annually in collaboration with Newcastle Writers Festival for the joanne burns Microlit Award ⭐

The book will be launched at the Newcastle Writers Festival ‘The Art of Brevity vs the Depth of Narrative’ event hosted at NUspace X301 at 4:30pm. The event will be hosted by judges Cassandra Atherton and Paul Hetherington and will feature screening of author readings and the presentation of the national and Hunter category winners. Entry is free and all are welcome.

Copies of Ricochet will be available for purchase on the day at the festival gift store, but you can also buy a copy off our website linked in our Instagram bio.

We’re so excited to see you all there! 💗