On Sunday 3rd December I was honoured to receive the 2017 Joe O'Sullivan Writers' Prize from the Australian Irish Heritage Association for my story 'The Centre Cannot Hold'. The award was presented by Denis Bratton of the AIHA at the Irish Club in Subiaco in conjunction with the annual Brendan Awards. I was made to feel very welcome indeed and was treated to an afternoon of singing, laughing and of course a couple of pints of Guinness! 'The Centre Cannot Hold' will shortly appear in the AIHA's quarterly publication, The Journal, as well as on their website.  Thanks very much to Denis and the rest of the Perth Irish community for making my day/month/year.

I'm pleased to report that 2017 is finishing on a positive note. Four of my stories were recently selected for Just off Message: a 20th year anthology from Interactive Publications. Two of the stories are reprints, but two ('Killjoy' and 'Losing Her Zen') appear here for the first time. 'The Kennedys: A Yellowcake Story' is a bridge of sorts between Yellowcake Springs and Yellowcake Summer. It first appeared in the now-defunct Eclecticism E-zine. 'Epoch O'Lips: A Tyler Bramble Mystery' is the fourth tale featuring Tyler Bramble. It first appeared in P3 WA. Thanks to David Reiter and IP for helping to bring these stories back into print.