Image: The new collection of short fiction from Australian author and story teller - Pete Mitchell (Source: Pete Mitchell) Pete Mitchell author, Australian short stories, short fiction collection, book launch, Bunbury, independent author   A New Collection of Short Fiction I’m thrilled to announce the release of my latest book, Read My Shorts: A Collection of Short Fiction . Spanning themes of love and loss, contentment and discontent, resilience and regret, these stories exp

This is the first in a series of articles, to be featured on this blog, profiling some of the authors I admire and from whom I draw inspiration. The catalyst for the first of these was the quote below that was used in an article by Nikki Gemmel in The Weekend Australian Magazine (18-19 October 2025).* The Call to the Arts ‘Go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are not a way of making a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable…’ In an age dominated

Image: The Wonderful Northcliffe Pioneer Museum (Source: Southern Forests) Some of the best stories come from the least likely places. They’re tucked into small towns, hidden along quiet trails, just waiting for someone to notice. On my trek along the iconic Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia, I found one such place: Northcliffe, a town of fewer than 800 people, 628 kilometres south from Kalamunda, the start of my walk. The Magic of Small-Town Hospitality After weeks of sle

When I first started writing fiction, I thought characters were just placeholders for the plot. Boy, was I wrong. Characters are the...

Image: A pensive purveyor of fan fiction considers his next step (Source: Wix) Fan fiction refers to stories created by fans that use...

Image: Justice may be blind - but should readers? (Source: Google) I loved reading Raynor Winn’s 'The Salt Path'. It’s a compelling...

Image: Sydney Harbour Bridge, with the Opera House in the background, resplendent in Pride colours (Source: Google freestock) There’s a...

Image: A fraction of my 'to be read' pile (Source: Pete Mitchell) Finding your next great read can feel overwhelming with so many options...

Image: An imagined image of a quote by the Turkish/British writer and philosopher Elif Shafak (Source: Chatgpt) In age dominated by...

Image: Promotional poster for the 1981 movie BladeRunner. (Source: Warner Bros.) One of my favourite movies from the 1980s is Blade...

Isn’t it refreshing that in a time where so-called influencers continually push the next best thing that we simply must love, someone has...

Every creative needs a position on creative AI. Image and words Suno (AI) Every creative needs a position on creative AI. To be clear,...

You may never think of avocados the same. (Source: Adobe freestock)   Title: A Simple (yet delicious) Synthesis of Chocolate Mousse...

A sunset or a sunrise? Renaissanced, not retired. (Source: Pete Mitchell) Its 2025 and I’m back. It may appear that I've been inactive...

Image: An author hibernating with a good book (Source: chatgpt4) As you might guess from the image above, I am about to go into...

The relentless hounding is so draining. Every night, as soon as I walk in the door, they pounce. 'Dad. Can we have a pet? We'll look...

Image: The author with Marjorie Fitzgibbon's sculpture of James Joyce in Dublin (source: Pete Mitchell ) As a confessed bibliophile, few...

Image: An extract from the movie poster for Lolita, by Stanley Kubrick (Source: IMDb) Writing has the power to challenge every sense. It...

Image: A notable quote from Ann Patchett, one of the headline writers at SWF24 (Source: P. Mitchell) "Stephen King famously described...

Image: The summit of Mt Cuthbert in the Monadnocks Conservation, Darling Range (Source: Pete Mitchell). Apologies, I have neglected this...