Outlandish Voices the podcast

"Useless Questions": a radio play by Laura E. Goodin

A dramatic tale of heroism, reference librarians, and giant space lobsters.  Cast:  Cat Sparks, Satima Flavell, Stephen Ormsby, Nicole Murphy, and David McDonald.  Written by Laura E. Goodin.  Original music by Houston Dunleavy.

"Korf" by Jayne Hoschke

If Korf can't manage his own powers, someone will just have to do it for him.... Outlandish Voices is proud to present another in its occasional series of stories by young Wollongong-area writers. Today's author, Smith's Hill High School student Jayne Hoschke, gives us an ominous tale about power: who can control it, who should control it — and what might happen if it's out of control entirely. By the way, this post marks one year of Outlandish Voices bringing you science fiction, fantasy, and horror from the writers of the Illawarra!

Tales from Anaphoria

This edition of Outlandish Voices the podcast brings you something extraordinary: the myths and music of Anaphoria. Find a quiet half hour and let yourself be swept into the thoughts, sounds, and spirituality of these tales and musical works. You can find out more about Anaphoria here. Meanwhile, Banaphshu waits for you, waits to tell you her stories....

"The Machine of Babel" by Theresa Nguyen

In this edition, Outlandish Voices brings you the second in its occasional series of stories by young Wollongong-area writers. Theresa Nguyen, the author of “The Machine of Bable,” is, like our first young writer, a student at Smith’s Hill High School in Wollongong. In this deft science-fiction story, Theresa has had the courage to stare straight into the face of every writer's secret fear.

"Whatever It Takes" by Andrea Fernando

Outlandish Voices is very excited to bring you the first in an occasional series of stories by young Wollongong-area writers. Andrea Fernando, the author of "Whatever It Takes," is a student at Smith's Hill High School in Wollongong. She brings you a terrific story of obsession, ambition, history, and hope. The story came to our attention here at Outlandish Voices for its truly imaginative characterization and the polish of its writing. We think you'll be as impressed as we are with this story by an up-and-coming young writer with a lot to say.

"The Teeth of Moloch" by Houston Dunleavy

Moloch's boys are hard men. And he's not very nice himself. But who is left to stand against him? Ulster-born Houston Dunleavy is Senior Lecturer in Composition in the School of Music and Drama at the University of Wollongong. Since 1985, he has pursued a national and international career as a composer and conductor. Now, it seems, he can also write words. Houston was Guest Artist at The American University in Washington D.C., and Visiting Composer at James Madison University, The Cleveland Institute of Music, Ball State University, the University of Florida’s Florida Electro-acoustic Music Festival, Georgia State University, The University of Southern Florida, The Albert Roussel Festival, The Delaware New Music Festival, and the Aurora Festival. This is the first time anyone has asked him to write something that didn’t have music in it.

"Crossfire" by Alan Baxter

Darryn is dead. Actually dead. And Death is really starting to bug him. Alan lives on the South Coast, writes dark fantasy, sci fi and horror, rides a motorcycle, and loves his dog. He also teaches Kung Fu. Read his short stories, novella and novel extracts at his website -- www.alanbaxteronline.com – and feel free to tell him what you think. About anything.

"The Malcontent" by Nathan Hill

The fulfillment of Charles's dreams of undead glory is at hand -- until the Malcontent speaks. Nathan, currently studying history at the University of Wollongong, has written stories, radio plays, and poetry, and is planning to take advantage of the distraction offered by the impending and inevitable zombie apocalypse to install a puppet Wollongong City Council. "The Malcontent" is his first published work.

"Oh, Russia" by Simon Brown

A sad, gentle tale of loss, change, and human connection in the time of global warming. Simon has been selling speculative fiction stories for over 25 years. His short stories have appeared in markets in Australia, the US, Poland, the UK and Japan; the best of these have been collected into Cannibals of the Fine Light and Troy, both produced by Ticonderoga Publications. His eight novels have been published in Australia, the US and Russia. He currently lives with his wife and two children in Phuket, Thailand, but considers the south coast of NSW to be his true home.

"Panthers Ahead" by Jacqui Dent

The satisfaction of a form well filled out has always been enough for the gods -- until now. Jacqui Dent has had fiction published in Voiceworks, Short & Twisted and Ecclecticism. In 2009 she won second place in the Fellowship of Australian Writers national short story competition, and has had a story broadcast on ABC Radio National. She has been an intern at Southerly journal and works at the NSW Writers’ Centre. Get more info and read more of her work at www.jacquident.net.

"A Million Shades of Nightmare" by Cat Sparks

Sarah Jordan's mother says she's perfectly safe. Sarah knows better. Cat lives on the sunny south coast of New South Wales. She works part-time as a graphic designer and writes as often as she can possibly manage. In 2004 she was a graduate of the inaugural Clarion South Writers’ Workshop and a Writers of the Future prizewinner. She has edited four anthologies, and won eight Ditmars and four Aurealis awards. Fifty-odd of her short stories have been published since the turn of the Millennium. She is currently hard at work on a trilogy, a standalone novel, a novella, and a handful of complicated short stories. Find out more at www.catsparks.net and http://catsparx.livejournal.com/ .

"Nasty Little Habits" by Robert Hood

Warwick is crass, rude, thoughtless, and vapid. And those are his good points. Robert Hood has been described as "Australia's master of dark fantasy" (Sean Williams) and "Aussie horror's wicked godfather" (Black Magazine), though his writing often crosses into science fiction, crime and general fantasy. Often humorous -- sometimes grimly, sometimes playfully -- his stories are characterised by believable characters and outright weirdness. Rob has lived in the Illawarra for several decades, having originally migrated here as co-host of a Sunday morning radio show called "Something Different for Sunday Breakfast" on 2-Double-O. Though most of his work is in short stories, he has also published five novels, several non-fiction books, lots of kids' books, a few playscripts, and an opera libretto! His latest collection is *Creeping in Reptile Flesh* (Altair Australia Books) and he is currently working on a short YA novel with the title *Robot War Espresso*, which will be published by Twelfth Planet Press in October. You can learn more about him on his website, www.roberthood.net, or read his award-winning film commentary blog *Undead Backbrain* at roberthood.net/blog.

The God at Ixtlan del Rio by Richard Harland

A snobbish tourist gets a little more authenticity than he bargained for. Richard Harland was born in England, but has lived almost all of his adult life in Australia. He has lived in the Illawarra for nearly 30 years. He was a lecturer in English at the University of Wollongong before becoming a full-time writer in 1997. He has had 14 books published altogether, by Pan Macmillan, Penguin and Scholastic. His novels are all deep-down fantasy, even when they’re also science fiction. Richard has won five Aurealis awards, including the Golden Aurealis for Best Novel in any category of SF/fantasy or horror, and his YA novel Worldshaker has just been released. Find out more about Richard at www.richardharland.net, and read his FREE cornucopia of tips for science-fiction and fantasy writers at www.writingtips.com.au.