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State of the Story

Twenty years ago, Frank Moorhouse was responsible for editing an anthology of short stories entitled State of the Art (Penguin, out of print). In 2004 he again had the opportunity to assemble a collection of Australian short-story writing, taking on the editing mantle for Black Inc's Best Australian Stories 2004. What is of particular interest is that on both occasions he surveyed all the authors involved to find out a bit about themselves and what informed their writing - whether training, politics or other writers. He spoke to Eliza Metcalfe about the results.