Tainted Innocence and other award-winning stories from the Twisted Stringybark Short Story Award
edited by David Vernon, e-book — and paperback, Stringybark Publishing,
ISBN: 978-0-9872558-1-5
$14.95 includes postage within Australia. Discounts for multiple purchases.
The corpse was heavy. Significantly heavier than you would expect. That was the main problem, thought Bruce, but it certainly wasn’t the only one. The fact that there was a corpse at all was an issue in itself.
The driving Melbourne rain fell with increasing determination as the two men navigated their way through the back lanes of Coburg. Bruce’s affection for his younger son — never particularly marked — was deteriorating rapidly...
“For crying out loud, Timmy!” Bruce cried as Timmy lost his grip yet again, the body dropping out of his trembling hands as a frenzy of barking exploded from behind a back fence. “If you can shoot him, you can fucking carry him!”
The evening was not going well.
— From Dumping Charlie by Monica Rogers
A tale with a twist always intrigues and here is an entire collection of thirty-one clever stories from both Australian and international authors. These are the winning and highly commended stories from the Twisted Stringybark Short Story Competition. Written by established and new writers, each story has been chosen for its unique contribution to Australian literature. Chosen by Susan Briggs, Andrew Perry, Julia Robertson and David Vernon.