Both Hickey and Matta are equally thrilled that MidnightSun is championing the art of the short story. ‘What I felt when Anna called me was, “at last”,’ says Hickey, ‘because she is the one to have picked my work and recognised the potential. MidnightSun is to be credited, not only for publishing excellent and award-winning works, but for taking risks with relatively unknown authors — even the ones who have been at it for what seems a very long time.’ Likewise, Matta is delighted that MidnightSun recognised the place for her work in the market. ‘Writing stories is a little like creating children,’ she says. ‘When one of my stories gets noticed I feel happy for it, and I feel sorry for those poor tales that get overlooked. So when Anna said she loved my collection and wanted to publish it, I was delighted that a whole family of stories was about to set off into the world. I wish them well.’
Both books are set to be released in October 2020, and their launches will coincide with the 2020 Australian Short Story Festival, due to be held in Adelaide 16-18th October.
Find out more about Rural Dreams here.
Find out more about Life, Bound here.