FAMILY STORIES FROM THE ATTIC is an anthology of essays, creative nonfiction, and poetry inspired by family letters, objects, and archives. Nearly two dozen contributors from the United States and Australia tell stories of immigration and migration, loss, discovery, secrets, questions, love, and the search for meaning and identity. Editors Christi Craig and Lisa Rivero bring together both experienced and new authors who will prompt writers and non-writers alike to think about their own family treasures and histories in new and creative ways.

Survival, desire, disaster; misadventure, murder and magic combine in this unique collection of tales set in locations including old rural Australia, present-day cities and the distant mystical past. Twenty-seven short stories from renowned Australian fiction writer and poet Julie Thorndyke will take you on tantalising journeys in the company of artists and musicians, mothers and daughters, writers and lovers. as they make brave, desperate and audacious life choices. Earthquake, flood, fire; stolen babies and lost children; homelessness and betrayal; ghosts, mysteries and dreams - each story follows the journey of a richly imagined character as they act out their unique answer to the question 'What if?' Divertimento offers a chance to step briefly into the shoes of each protagonist and discover how it feels to love, steal, murder...and live to tell the tale.

Mrs Eileen Rickaby, a semi-retired botanical illustrator and Orchid Society member with a penchant for Mozart, lives a quiet ordered life with Missy, her cat. Her tranquillity is disturbed when close friend and neighbour Irene brings home a twice-widowed younger man of dubious character, and introduces him as her future husband. Petty theft, vandalism and violence disrupt the peaceful retirement village. How can Mrs Rickaby protect her friend from this con-man lover? Mrs Rickaby’s Lullaby is an engaging novel of haunting lyricism and gentle humour, exploring the timeless themes of love, loss and widowhood, friendship and belonging.

Julie Thorndyke’s two collections of tanka poetry, Rick Rack and Carving Granite, were published by Ginninderra Press. Editor of Eucalypt: a tanka journal since 2017, she also writes fiction and other poetry forms. Waiting for the Night, Julie’s picture book for children, was published by Interactive Press. Mrs Rickaby’s Lullaby is her first novel.

wild /waild/ adj. 1. living in a state of nature, as animals that have not been tamed or domesticated. 2. growing or produced without cultivation or the care of humans, as plants, flowers, fruit, honey, etc… 3. uncultivated, uninhabited, or waste, as land. 4. a. native to Australia and New Zealand: wild violet; wild cat. b. escaped to the wild… 5. living in an uncivilised state. 6. of unrestrained violence, fury, intensity, etc… 7. characterised by or indicating violent excitement, as actions, the appearance, etc. 8. frantic; distracted, crazy, or mad… 9. violently excited: wild with rage, fear, or pain. 10. undisciplined, unruly, lawless, or turbulent… 11. unrestrained, untrammelled, or unbridled: wild gaiety; wild orgies. 12. disregardful of moral restraints as to pleasurable indulgence. 13. unrestrained by reason or prudence: wild schemes. 14. extravagant or fantastic: wild fancies. 15. disorderly or dishevelled: wild locks. 16. wide of the mark: a wild throw. 17. Colloquial intensely eager or enthusiastic. 18. Cards (of a card) having its value decided by the wishes of the players or the player who holds it. -adv. 19. in a wild manner; wildly. -n. 20. (often plural) an uncultivated, uninhabited, or desolate region or tract; a waste; a wilderness; a desert. -phr. 21. in the wild, in natural surroundings or habitat: animals in the wild. 22. run wild, a. to grow without cultivation or check. b. to behave in an unrestrained or uncontrolled manner… (From Macquarie ABC Dictionary)

Join 159 poets from across Australia in an exhilarating and often surprising foray into the many facets of ‘wild’ – human, animal, environmental and metaphorical.