I maintain a list of my all-time favorite flash & micro stories. It’s a big list! And a large number of those beloved pieces were written by Gillian O’Shaughnessy.
Gillian’s stories distill strong emotion and memorable characters. I’m particularly drawn to her stories that feature fantastical elements; she has a knack for weaving speculative images and literary language in an easy, elegant flow.
Her new collection, Salt City Runaway (Night Parrot Press), was just released. I’m thrilled to find so many of her stories together in this beautiful book! Several of these pieces are linked in the interview below. I’d also like to add a few of my own favorites: Little Flowers in XRay Lit, Hunger in Fractured Lit, and The view from apartment 95 on the Wednesday afternoon on Instagram. Seriously—go read these stories and soak up the glorious language!
In addition to building such a vibrant catalog of flash fiction, Gillian has gathered a significant group of fans and friends. She’s a positive force in the community. I’m happy to feature this short interview with her!
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Myna: Thank you for taking time to answer these questions! Tell us about Salt City Runaway! Who are your characters? What themes do you explore?
Gillian: Salt City Runaway is a collection of 50 very short stories, all set in the land and sea scapes of Western Australia where I grew up. My characters are girls and women who are reckoning with the nature of truth. There are themes of death, loneliness, abuse, love, and anger. They are fierce and broken, and they never give in. Well, some do sometimes, but don’t we all?
Myna: Do you have a favorite story or character in this collection?
Gillian: I love the title story, Salt City Runaway, it’s fictional but it describes a time when I was young, before Fremantle was gentrified and there was an abattoir close to town, spewing gruesome detritus into the ocean. As kids, we would swim through brown water and remnants of gore and thought nothing of it. It was working class and I loved it for all of its light and shadows. These stories are deeply grounded in place, the characters are fictional.
Myna: When a reader finishes the last word in the book, what emotion will they be feeling? Did you arrange the story sequence to amplify a specific emotional arc?
Gillian: I don’t know. Reading is such an individual experience, if a reader feels anything at all, I’ll be happy but I wouldn’t want to control it. To me, at least, the stories evoke different feelings: loss, betrayal, longing, anger, displacement, amid landscapes that are harsh and beautiful. I feel a deep connection to nature and the country where I grew up. In the last story, “Adrift,” for me it builds to a reminder that no matter how far we get from ourselves or our place in the world, there’s always a way back, we will always return home. I find that very hopeful and comforting.
Myna: How did this collection come about?
Gillian: I was very lucky to get a grant to publish this book with WA publishers, Night Parrot Press. The grant was awarded by the West Australian Government Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport which supports local stories and creative projects in all fields of the arts. I also received immeasurable support from Linda Martin and Laura Keenan from Night Parrot Press, who guided me through the grant process and writing the book. They are really amazing supporters of flash fiction, writers and writing.
As far as the collection itself, it was important to me that all of the stories were set in Western Australia, from around the time I was born to present day, set out like a series of photographs or a still frame movie. It’s not autobiographical, it’s observational. I wanted to write about the characters you don’t see in postcards and in tourism magazines.
Myna: If Salt City Runaway had a theme song, what would it be?
Gillian: It has a playlist! It’s hours long so I’ll spare you. Some of the songs are: Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl,” Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane,” “Delta Dawn” by We Two Thieves, “Love and Affection” by the Triffids.
Myna: I’ve enjoyed our conversations about Night Parrot Press. Could you give readers a quick intro to the press, and what makes them special?
Gillian: I could, but I thought I’d ask them to speak for themselves. Here’s Laura Keenan’s answer:
“We are a small, independent not-for-profit publisher started by two women who had an audacious vision for creating a platform for writers to experiment, take risks and challenge their ideas about what writing can achieve in shorter forms. When we published our first book in 2020, we never imagined we would still be going strong six years later with 10 publications. It has been a dream, but not without challenges, insecurities and moments of despair to fuel us forward. We would be nothing without the hundreds of authors who have trusted us with their words.”
Myna: I’ve always admired your use of speculative elements in your stories. What inspires those ideas? How do you blend the speculative plot points with your signature lush literary language?
Gillian: Sometimes they just come out that way. Usually stories start in my head with an image or a line that niggles. I almost always freewrite to begin with. I have had great success in Kathy Fish’s workshops where she encourages freewriting on dreams or memories where often the imagery is surreal. The Australian author, Helen Garner is also a great fan of freewriting, creating whatever space you need to tap into your subconscious and resisting the urge to self-edit in the first instance. So initially I am looking to give myself room and freedom to be weird. After that, sometimes a story might emerge on its own and I only need to tidy it up, that’s pretty rare though.
Mostly I have to think of what I need to add or remove to make a coherent story out of what is essentially a fever dream.
Editing is a delicate dance; to create enough narrative framework to give the reader a clear story without drowning out the magical elements. Whatever it takes. There’s no trick, it’s just work.
Myna: What originally drew you to writing? Has that changed as your career progressed?
Gillian: I love stories. I’m a reader before anything. Reading comes easily. Writing doesn’t. It’s hard to explain what draws me to writing. I guess I am chasing that sense of being drawn out of myself, I think some people refer to it as a flow state. I get there so easily when I read. With writing, it’s more like a compulsion. If I have it, I can’t stop it. If I don’t, it’s very hard to conjure. I can only start and see what happens. The more I write, the more I accept I need room for both, space to find the flow, then lots of time for the slog of it all.
Myna: I’d love to hear more about your journalism!
Gillian: I worked 15 years as a reporter and presenter at Australia’s national broadcaster, the ABC. And another ten years hosting a live radio show. I was lucky enough to interview some of my favourite writers and thinkers and pick their brains. Hilary Mantel, Tim Winton, Richard Ford, Marian Keyes. I covered everything as a reporter, murders, scandals, elections, natural disasters.
It was the most wonderful training ground for clean, concise writing. In tv and radio, you have to be interesting immediately in a very short space of time. By far the best thing I learned was how to take editorial feedback. It was very normal for sub editors to shout at you across a room full of your peers, to tell you your story was crap and it needed rewriting. Every piece of work was looked at by an editor, no matter if you were an award-winning senior journalist or the most junior cadet. I’d pitch story ideas in meetings every day and if they weren’t immediately compelling, my (beloved) producer would perfomatively fall asleep and loudly snore. I can take a critique with gratitude. I know how to fight for a story I love and I know when to pull my head in. Mostly.
Myna: Tell us about a recent accomplishment or share some happy news with us!
Gillian: Publishing my book is pretty amazing. My husband, Glynn Greensmith who is also a journalist is publishing his first book in the same month as me, so that’s pretty wild. His is an academic book on media ethics and mass shootings. I’m so proud of him and of the important work he does in this area. I just make stuff up.
Myna: Do you have other stories you’d like to mention?
Gillian: Starfish is free to read at Jellyfish Review. I was so proud when this story was accepted. Just between you and me, it is the most autobiographical story I have ever written.
I find it really hard to write stories that aren’t dark, so this one about leaning gently and fully into grief is a favourite. Literary Namjooning is one of my favourite publications, I love the ethos of self-care. Vessels
Myna: Tell us about your awards, nominations, etc. Don’t be shy!
Gillian: Eek! It’s an Australian thing. No one likes a skite. Ok. I was very proud to have stories included in The Best Small Fictions in 2023, 2024 and 2025. And winning the Welkin Prize was a huge thrill. I am cringing so hard right now.
Myna: Here’s a bonus question from Ivy Grimes, author of The Cellar Below the Cellar: What time of day do you do your best work?
Gillian: Morning. If I don’t crack in straight away, I am easily distracted.
Myna: Do you have a question you’d like me to ask the next person I interview? What things are you curious about in other writers or editors?
Gillian: Ask them how they approach endings. It’s so tricky, I always pay close attention.
Myna: Do you have a pet, or other non-writing hobbies/activities? Show us a picture!
Gillian: I have a wire-haired dachshund named Lucy Maud Montgomery or Monty for short. She is adored beyond measure. And I live with the bones of my beloved boys, Jo, Max and Huey. Buried under the birdbath. They are missed.
Myna: What do you wish I’d asked?
Gillian: Pineapple on pizza – definitely yes.
Myna: What’s next for you?
Gillian: I am heading to the Bath Flash Fiction Festival in Bristol to do a reading with my friends and writing heroes, Kathyrn Aldridge-Morris and Patricia Q. Bidar. And teach a workshop on isolation and flash. I love clean writing. I’m all about sparse language. That way, when you do hurl a poetry bomb, it has impact. I’m beside myself. I’m told there’s karaoke.
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Gillian O’Shaughnessy is a journalist, facilitator and author from Walyalup, Fremantle. She spent 25 years with the ABC, as a presenter and reporter with News and Current Affairs and Local Radio. Her short fiction has been widely anthologized and selected for the international Best Small Fictions in 2023 – 2025. She is a submissions editor for the US flash narrative journal, SmokeLong Quarterly. Gillian is a highly experienced moderator and interviewer, specialising in literature. She has curated Writers Weekend for the Festival of Perth and was a judge of the 2026 Australian Stella Prize for Women and Non Binary writers. Salt City Runaway is her first book.
Find Salt City Runaway (published by Night Parrot Press, May 9th, 2026) here.
Find Gillian on Instagram and Facebook
And on her website at Gillianoshaughnessy.com
Myna Chang 