Short Stories
Forthcoming, and in progress: A Collection of Short Stories, and Quadrella of Novellas.
UPDATED March 2025
### NB, my new website address is now: johnjenkins1.com
*** Latest good news!
I am now working on New Short Stories, and also A Set of Novellas. I am toying with the title A Quadrella of Novellas for the latter.
So far I have completed many stories to final edit stage, some of which have been previously published in anthologies, journals and online.
Eventually, I will have enough material for my first collection.
I have been fascinated by short fiction since the mid 1970s, and have also edited several anthologies containing new Australian short fiction. The two (or perhaps three) new books I have in in the pipeline, however, will be the first extensive short story/novella collections of my own work.
*Already short-listed, published and prize winners:
Of my newest batch of 20 or so finished stories (ie, those dating back to around 2013/14) nine have already been shortlisted in leading Australian short story competitions and eight published in associated online or prize anthologies. One has won a major first prize, and another a 2nd prize.
My short story, Shadow Dancing, is the latest to be published – in P76 Magazine, Number 8, the Sonic Poetry Festival Edition, Spring 2023. And Shadow Dancing is a humorous fantasy love story set in Newcastle, NSW, about a dancer smitten with his partner Luna, and eagerly awaiting her return. P76 is full of much interesting material, available from Rochford Press, see: https://rochford-pressbookshop.square.site/product/p76-issue-8-sonic-poetry-festival-special-issue/164?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false
(For more details, see the Latest Posts and Publications section of this website.)
I am delighted that my short story, The Stars Shine For Bach, was published in the 2021 issue of the Oz Music Trust's E-Zine, Loud Mouth. See: https://musictrust.com.au/loudmouth/the-stars-shine-for-bach-a-short-story-by-john-jenkins/
Another short story of mine, Under His Hat, about Mozart and his dad's heist of a secret score, was also published in Loud Mouth: https://musictrust.com.au/loudmouth/under-his-hat/
Here is another recently published short story, The Flower in the Buttonhole: https://thehumanwriters.com/2022/01/08/the-flower-in-the-buttonhole/
* FIRST PRIZE, 2018 Elyne Mitchell Short Story Competition
My story, The Girl Who Wasn't There won the Open Section of the 2018 Elyne Mitchell Award, for a story up to 2,500 words, published by Corryong Neighbourhood Centre.
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So far, my completed stories comprise a huge variety: character studies, speculative fiction, tales of the uncanny, hard-nosed realism, naturalistic tales of everyday life, very dramatic stories and atmospheric ones as well. I find all the possibilities equally intriguing. I also have several novellas in progress.
Alan Marshall Short Story Award, shortlisted stories: I was shortlisted for the Alan Marshall Short Story Award in 2022, 2018 and 2017. See: http://www.nillumbik.vic.gov.au/Living-in/Arts-and-Cultural-Development/Alan-Marshall-Short-Story-Award
Here is a list of some of my published and/or shortlisted stories, so far:
'Shadow Dancing', see listed above, 2023.
'The Flower in the Buttonhole’ first appeared on The Human Writers website, ed. Caitlin O’Toole, pub. Human Writers, 2022.
‘Under His Hat’ and ‘The Stars Shine for Bach’ first appeared in Loudmouth: The Australian Music Trust E-zine, ed. Richard Letts, The Australian Music Trust, 2021 and 2020.
‘The Girl Who Wasn’t There’ won the 2018 Elyne Mitchell Short Story Competition and first published in the Elyne Mitchell Short Story Competition booklet, Corryong Neighbourhood Centre, 2018.
Rosemary’s Summer Harvest placed second in the 2017 C. J. Dennis Society Short Story Competition and first published in The Toolangi C. J. Dennis Society Short Story Competition booklet, ed. Daan Spijer, C. J. Dennis Society Inc., 2018.
‘The Bin Chickens’, ‘Clean’ and ‘The Constellation of Emily’ were short-listed for the Nillumbik Shire Alan Marshall Short Story/Contemporary Writing Prize in 2022, 2018 and 2017.
‘Through a Latte Darkly’ was short-listed for the Margaret River Short Story Competition 2017 and first published in Joiner Bay & Other Stories, Margaret River Short Story Competition Anthology, 2017, ed. Ellen van Neerven, Margaret River Press, 2017.
‘Her Ladyship’s Pleasure’ was short-listed for the Josephine Ulrick Literature Prize, 2015 and first published in The Review of Australian Fiction, Volume Fourteen: Issue Five, ed. S. J. Finn, 2015; and re-published in RAF Omnibus Complete Volume 14, ed. Admin, Zutiste Inc., 2015.
‘The Beach of Pink Shells’ was short-listed for the Annual Australian Science Fiction Story and Film Competition, 2015 and first published on the Annual Australian Science Fiction Film Festival website, ed. Admin., 2015.
‘The Red One’ was short-listed for the Cowley Literary Award Competition, 2014 and first published on the Cowley Literary Award website, 2014, then re-published in The Dubbo Photo News Weekender, 2014.
‘That Summer at Manly’ was short-listed for the Margaret River Short Story Competition 2013 and first published in Knitting & Other Stories, Margaret River Short Story Competition Anthology 2013, ed. Richard Rossiter, Margaret River Press, 2013.
‘Dissolving’ first appeared in La Mama Poetica, ed. Mal Morgan, Melbourne University Press, 1989.
‘A Fairy Tail’(now re-written) first appeared in Island In The Sun, An Anthology of Recent Australian Prose, ed. Damien White, Anna Couani and Tom Thompson, Sea Cruise Books, 1980.
‘Flash in an Amber Windshield’ first appeared in Meanjin, ed. Jim Davidson, 1974.
Frog and harlequin bug. Pic JJ.