Join Night Parrot Press editor Laura Keenan at the York Regional Writers Weekend on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 May 2025 in conversation with Perth author Alison Middleton.
You can catch these Night Parrot Press luminaries at 2pm on Saturday 24 May at The Rookery (152 Avon Terrace – through the alley) as part of the full day of workshops and intimate conversations with some of WA’s most compelling writers.
This session forms part of the Saturday program – you can purchase a Day Pass for Saturday and Sunday (and part of Friday) through the link:
Gillian O’Shaughnessy, Local champion of flash fiction
Congratulations to Gillian O’Shaughnessy, a beloved member of the NPP writing community for securing a grant from the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) to write and publish her debut collection of flash fiction!
Gillian O’Shaughnessy is a journalist, moderator and author who lives in Walyalup/Fremantle. She spent 25 years with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a broadcaster, senior reporter and editor, and is a former curator of Writers Weekend for Perth Festival.
During COVID, Gillian was one of a merry band of writers who would join us online for fortnightly writing prompts and feedback. We had already published one of her pieces in our first anthology of flash, Once: A Selection of short short stories, and it was clear to us then that she was headed for great things in the flash fiction world.
Fast forward to 2025, and Gill is an award-winning, internationally recognised flash fiction author and respected submissions editor at Smokelong Quarterly, the longest-running journal dedicated to flash in the world.
Night Parrot Press is so thrilled that Gillian will not only be writing a solo collection of flash, but also undertaking professional development with us to gain in-depth experience in the publishing industry.
Stay tuned for updates and we can’t wait to see her book out in 2026!
Help Night Parrot Press publish TWO award-winning novelettes
[INSERT RECORD SCRATCH SOUND]
WITH YOUR HELP, WE DID IT!
We were absolutely delighted to see the tally on the Double-Take Novelette fundraising page hosted on the Australian Cultural Fund website tick over to hit our target of $23,500 with more than a month to go until the deadline!
We were thrilled to recognise Rashida Murphy and Karleah Olson‘s talents and fearless narratives by awarding their novelettes – Old Ghosts and Bloodwood – this year’s Double-Take Novelette Award in April.
Now with your generous support, we will be able to share their immense talent with the world by taking these winning novelettes to print – we have a dynamic publishing concept in mind and cannot wait to bring it to life!
Thank you for your continued support of Night Parrot Press and projects like these that allow both emerging and established writers the opportunity to experiment and challenge themselves with unconventional forms and to reach new audiences.
You have given two excellent Western Australian writers the opportunity to have their stories published as a book, but also show the broader community that our community supports new forms of writing and bold approaches that don’t rely on traditional models and expectations.
It looks like 2026 is going to be another busy and productive year for Night Parrot Press!
About the Award: Night Parrot Press created the Double-Take Novelette Award to celebrate new stories in an under-recognised form in Australian publishing.
CryBaby
Mabel Gibson
‘I was born a human storm. Emotionally charged from my very first breath of warm September air.’
CryBaby is an incredibly generous and authentic collection of micro memoir that offers a way to honour the layers of our younger selves. Mabel writes people and places that are equally vivid, and grief that is penetrating and honest.
–Kathryn Glendhill-Tucker
Thirty speculative fictions by 30 WA writers, each 750 words or less. The stories in this issue thrill, terrify, uplift, and mesmerise, encapsulating the hope, wonder and dark side of humanity.
This volume, published by Writing WA in collaboration with Night Parrot Press, is proudly supported by Edith Cowan University and Raine Square.
The first collection of micro memoir published in Australia.
In 750 words or fewer, these 100 carefully crafted stories invite the reader into the histories we often edit—or don’t tell—about ourselves.
One hundred authors give voice to the raw, chaotic and joyful spectrum of what it means to be human. Each micro memoir is unique in its scope, but the collection resonates with threads of shared experience across cultures and generations.
Playful and reflective, comic and raw, the collection explores human relationships, grief, vulnerability and celebrates the extraordinary in the ordinary.
