Short: a collection of interesting short stories and other stuff from some surprising and intelligent people, edited by Lili Wilkinson

Short is a fascinating collection of very short stories and, as the subtitle so aptly describes, “other stuff” from some of Australia’s best YA authors along with some new, young writers. It has been edited by Lili Wilkinson of Scatterheart and The (not quite) perfect boyfriend fame.

Sometimes when you read a book of short stories, there might be only 5 or 6 in a regular sized book. Sometimes there are more like 10 or 12. Well, Short manages to cram 50 pieces into it’s 240 small sized pages. Plus author bios and an introduction. The stories are really short. Some are only a couple of pages long. Some less.

If you have an interest in Australian YA writing, you might recognise the names: Barry Jonsberg, Andy Griffiths, Penni Russon, Simmone Howell, Michael Panckridge, Carole Wilkinson, Steven Herrick, Michael Pryor. Well, that’s just a small taste of the authors who have contributed to Short.

It’s obviously pointless to talk about every story in the book, and needless to say you will like some more than others. That is the beauty of a book with 50 short stories. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like some, because there’s a pretty good chance you’ll like most of the others.

Perhaps my favourite was Barry Jonsberg’s The house which managed to send a shiver up my spine in only one page. Michael Pryor’s The match – a two sentence story provides a fascinating use of sentence structure. Andy Griffith’s The tale of the three little bottoms and the big bad bum was pretty much as you’d expect and you’ll know by reading that title whether or not you are going to like it, and Penni Russon provides a lesson in brevity with her Six word stories.

Short is a wonderful little book and you’re bound to find something you like in it. None of the stories take long to read, so it’s a great one to have sitting around for when you have a few spare minutes. Also, the royalties from its sales are going to Big Brothers Big Sisters. So if you buy a copy, you not only get some good reading, but you will support a worthwhile cause.