AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'The One Book Many Brisbanes story competition aims to develop new and emerging Brisbane writers. The competition discovers literary works with a Brisbane theme. One Book Many Brisbanes 6 is an anthology of Brisbane stories from the 20 winners of the One Book Brisbanes 2010 story competition. ' (Publisher's blurb)
Contents
-
Jimmy Ray and the Girl Called Daphne,
single work
short story
(p. 1-11)'A chance meeting in 1927 between returned soldier Jimmy Ray and the sculptor Daphne Mayo, who is looking for models for her sculpture of the city Hall Tympanum, results in a very different experience for him, and a catharsis for both of them. ' (1)
-
The River City,
single work
short story
(p. 12-23)'On a dry street in a flooded Brisbane, two men survive on illegal trade. Cut off from the safety of the walled city, their loyalty is tested when isolation becomes complete. ' (12)
-
Nourishing Rain,
single work
short story
(p. 24-35)'Flooding rain is a force to be reckoned with, but for a mother in an inner city suburb, it may just be the natural force she needs to grieve.' (24)
-
BriZbane,
single work
short story
fantasy
(p. 36-47)'A Brisbane man is attacked by a zombie. As his infection spreads his humanity falls away, but he is consoled by seeing the world, and himself, in a whole new way. ' (36)
-
Rhapsody in Blueberry,
single work
short story
(p. 48-59)A rain-slick night in November 1977. A police car pulls up outside a house on Cochrane Street, Paddington. Inside the house, a troubled young man in a disintegrating beanbag watches Joh Bjelke-Petersen on television. What do the police oficers want? And what is that sticky blue stain on the cracked lino?' (48)
-
Under the XXXX Sign,
single work
short story
(p. 60-69)'In 1972 a young mother takes her three children and the cat from country Queensland to live a new life in Brisbane under the Fourex sign. They soon learn that bright lights cast dark shadows.' (60)
-
A Day to Write Home About,
single work
short story
(p. 70-81)In the late 1930s memories of a terrible war and a great depression still loom, unspoken, in the souls of many adults. The children of this damaged generation, hearing hints of another war, try to make sense of the world they will inherit. Their returned-soldier father is proud of the land he has acquired to leave them, and the education he can afford for them. ' (70)
-
Playing the Tree,
single work
short story
(p. 82-93)'Two English assignments, a Science experiment, and a best friend who refuses to study. The school formal’s coming up and the boy she likes doesn’t even know she exists. ' (82)
-
Airwaves,
single work
short story
(p. 94-103)'When Japan enters World War II, Australia is in danger. The face of Brisbane changes, but in the rural Brisbane suburb of Camp Hill, a lonely, imaginative child dreams only of having a wireless. ' (94)
-
Manami's Education,
single work
short story
(p. 104-117)Fresh off the plane, a young Japanese student goes to great lengths to learn English and find a place for herself in the strange city of Brisbane. But what is it that she really learns?' (104)
-
Mowbray Brothers,
single work
short story
(p. 118-129)
'Saturday night, summer of 1920. Mowbray Park is where the local lads go for a laugh, a beer, and a smoke. Eight-year-old Lucky sneaks out of bed to discover his brother and hero has taken a dare that could cost much more than his one shilling bet. ' (118)
-
Roads South,
single work
short story
(p. 130-137)
'It’s the 1970s. Nadia Comăneci, the teenage gymnastic sensation, transfixes the world. In the outer suburbs south of Brisbane, life continues, sleepy and rural. But an acrobatic cow is on the loose, and the backhoes are heading for the farms. The city folk are moving south, and life will never be the same again.' (130)
-
Joint Effort,
single work
short story
(p. 138-147)
At a Joint Effort gig in 1978 at Queensland Uni, latent antagonism between two young women explodes into dangerous life like the punk music of the scene – igniting, as the music could, a lash of life-changing clarity. (One Book Many Brisbanes 6: 138)
-
The Sunday Morning Ring,
single work
short story
(p. 148-157)
Sunday breakfast before dawn, then Warne hits the Bruce Highway from Maleny to Brisbane, where the great bells of St John’s Cathedral wait silently. The inanimate brass behemoths stir to life high up in the dark tower, creaking and moving as he and the other ringers take the strain, and ring the bells out over Brisbane. (148)
-
Red Seat,
single work
short story
(p. 158-167)'The school year is almost over, and a particularly hot summer day is the catalyst for a year six girl who learns that sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better.' (158)
-
Too Late for 30 Rock,
single work
short story
(p. 168-179)
Three housemates rally together one night when Paul’s favourite book is returned along with an unexpected life-changing message. ' (168)
-
Second Letter 'A',
single work
short story
(p. 180-191)'Rachel works for Brisbane Constructions, the company responsible for building the first Gateway Bridge. Her dad tells her the bridge is bad news, but this turns out to be an understatement when Rachel discovers a secret that nearly cost her her life.' (180)
-
Light of a Different Kind,
single work
short story
(p. 192-203)
'As Max’s life grows more complicated, he escapes to the South Bank parklands with his sketchpad to take in the sights and the sun. Seeking shelter
from a sudden downpour he finds himself with a sympathetic spirit, the mercurial Stella, who asks nothing of him but may help him see more clearly in the fading light. ' (192)
-
Hungry Young Fools,
single work
short story
(p. 204-215)'With all hope of a professional career behind him, an ageing actor grudgingly joins a student production of The Tempest at The University of Queensland. He dwells on his failure until the enthusiasm of a starry-eyed student reminds him that life on the stage is where he has always belonged.' (204)
-
Disarticulation,
single work
short story
(p. 216-228)'Dixon Leader thinks he has nothing left to live for as he walks onto the Story Bridge – the care fully planned scene of his final moments. But his plans begin to unravel when he meets Bea, a young woman whose desperate need for help could prove his salvation.' (216)
