Almanac Fiction: Swifty Taylor and the Dead Coach (Episode 6)

In this week’s episode, Swifty meets Laura for dinner, and reflects on their former relationship

Almanac Books: Best Fiction Books I Read this Year

Peter Baulderstone found the world dispiriting in 2023, but never waste a good crisis. It rekindled a love of fiction. Additions to the reading/listening list are welcomed.

Almanac (Cricket) Satire: Viv on Mick ballsing up things to do with his weight

Viv Tufnell returns. In this installment our hero finds himself without an easy avenue into the Ashes side due to some ‘heavy’ issues…

Almanac Short Fiction: ‘A Pest Exterminator’s Tale’

KD describes ‘A Pest Exterminator’s tale’ as “a short story originally drafted a couple of decades ago and worked upon here and there ever since. It’s about many issues, including phobias, and has echoes of ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’. The environment is very much Geelong’s waterfront of decades ago, when it was still seedy and run-down and just starting to undergo the process of gentrification and renewal.”

Almanac Short Fiction: ‘Brian and His Mum’

Brian was more like a frill-necked lizard than your average teenager … he was also close to his Mum. Kevin Densley describes his short story, ‘Brian and His Mum’, as ‘a very fractured fable’.

Almanac Short Fiction: ‘Bostell’s Lager Man’

The opening of Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis’, in which Gregor Samsa awakes from uneasy sleep to find himself transformed into a giant bug, receives an unusual twist in this short story from Kevin Densley. Is KD’s piece a strange cautionary tale? An example of ‘the Aussie surreal’? A modern Aesop’s fable with its origins in the brewery? You be the judge.

The Ringo Kid

Greetings Tipsters Found a pamphlet I wrote, season review ’97. Geez, I’ve been doing this for awhile. Interviewed Troy Luff in the Swans rooms, Feb that year. He was a regular bloke, on talking to oppo players during the game, “Sometimes you might say there’s a good looking girl in the crowd but mostly it’s [Read more]

Almanac Tennis (and life): Great Wall

A quirky tennis piece from Joey A. [Nice to have you back Joey – JTH]

Almanac Fiction – Daz Cooper Chapter 5: Hip and shoulder

E.regnans is back with the next chapter of his Daz Cooper series. The cricket flag has been won and we are into footy pre-season. But is there trouble in the Cooper household?

Almanac Fiction – Daz Cooper Chapter 4: Cricket training, dreaming

It’s Chapter 4. Daz Cooper has a lot on his mind. There’s an Under 16 cricket semi final, a maths test, a party… so much noise.

Almanacker in The Big Issue Fiction Issue

David Wilson (E.Regnans to you) has been chosen from 400 submissions to be one of 12 authors published in the Big Issue fiction edition. Do yourself (and the vendor) a favour and buy a copy, while its on sale to next Thursday.

Shark attack: a tale

Out-of-form gun recruit Joey Loveless had a problem. A big problem. A big problem that wouldn’t go away. Matt Zurbo tells the tale.

Review: Mr. Cleansheets

Mr. Cleansheets Author: Adrian Deans Publisher: Vulgar Press Published 2010 Reviewed by Adam Muyt This is a lads book, a ‘Boys Own’ adventure through the footballing landscape that is England.  Seriously, I can see this book doing well in the UK amongst a large slab of the football-loving populace.  Not bad for an aussie author [Read more]

Short Story: Harder to Whisper

By Richard Holt I wasn’t the only one. Chook hit the bottle … bad. He hadn’t worked for five years and he only saw his kids at Christmas. Johnno had lost everything on some property deal in Queensland. He was living in a caravan up on the river. At least he’d stayed out of prison. [Read more]