news

Aurealis Awards 2025 shortlist

Delighted to learn my tragic, magic realist magpie love story – The Beautiful Thing You Once Were – has been shortlisted for an Aurealis Award…

Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror recommendations list

A bit chuffed about this… The Family Madness and The Measure of Sorrow made it onto Ellen Datlow’s recommended reading list. These are two of my favourite stories from the collection, so it means a lot to see them get a nod.

Winner Best Collection, Ditmar Awards 2024

Returned from hols yesterday to learn The Measure of Sorrow won Best Collection in this year’s Ditmar Awards!

ACT Book of the Year Awards 2024

The Measure of Sorrow was Highly Commended in the 2024 ACT Book of the Year Awards!

ACT Literary Awards 2024

How wonderful! Delighted to learn that The Measure of Sorrow is shortlisted for an ACT Literary Award. Congratulations to all the local authors on the shortlist.

Aurealis shortlist

Downright chuffed to learn The Measure Of Sorrow is on the Aurealis Award shortlist for best collection.

Lost in a world of darkness…

Really loved this intelligent, considered reflection on The Measure of Sorrow over at Seize The Press.

AsylumFest 2023

Another year, another road trip to beautiful Beechworth Asylum with notorious Canberra hoodlums Kaaron Warren, Aaron Dries, Robert Hood, Cat Sparks.

Conflux 17

Absolutely knackered after an immense weekend at Conflux 17. Remind me next year not to sign up for so much stuff!

Donderevo on Spotify

Thanks to the magic of modern technology, the full Donderevo back catalogue is now up on Spotify.

Tor.com – Can’t miss indie press spec fic

The Measure of Sorrow gets a write up at Tor.com, along with a host of other indie press spec fic that’s not to be missed!

Panel: dark fiction for dark times

Looking forward to chairing this panel the 2023 Speculative Fiction Festival at @writingNSW next month! Can’t wait to get stuck in to the knotty subject of horror’s great renaissance in these strange, dark times, with @jsbreukelaar @kaaron_warren and @antknee242 ...

Shadows shortlist for The Tub

Excited to learn my short story The Tub has been shortlisted in this year's Australian Shadows Awards. This is an oddly personal story that was a lot of fun to write, so I'm chuffed to see it getting some love. Double excited to see so many friends fine stories and...

Pre-order The Measure of Sorrow

Pre-orders are live for #TheMeasureOfSorrow and include this freaking amazing SWAG! Order now to get this gorgeous bookmark, moth sticker, and flyer for an eldritch rave that previously existed only in my head. (Also, you get the book, which is quite good too…) ...

Sign up for my newsletter – get a free story!

I’m excited to share that I’ve set up a newsletter over on Substack. If you want to receive a steady(ish) stream of insights, inspirations, obsessions, updates, recommendations and fascinations, as well as the occasional giveaway or free story, right into your inbox, then I’d love you to subscribe!

Publishers Weekly starred review

Holy fricken moley! The Measure of Sorrow just got a Publishers Weekly starred review!

Damnation Games in the house…

Look what the postie brought, just in time for Christmas! Chuffed to have my story Men Without Faces in this anthology of crime and supernatural horror, alongside some of my favourite authors in the genre…

AsylumFest 2022

So we went on a road trip—Kaaron Warren, Aaron Dries, Robert Hood, Cat Sparks and I—to Beechworth Asylum and the inaugural AsylumFest…

Reading: The Tub

I was lucky enough to join a group at Conflux this year giving readings from recent stories. I read from The Tub and maybe got a little too into it... (photos by Cat Sparks.)

Cover reveal: The Measure of Sorrow

The magnificent Meerkat Press are releasing my first collection of short stories in June next year. The cover is just blowing my mind! Meerkat have more details about the collection over on their site, as well as a gorgeous video – inspired by the short story The Moth...

Conflux 16, 2022

Goodbye, #conflux16! Thanks for an outstanding weekend. Had the best time hanging with my peeps, making new friends and talking myself hoarse. This community is absolutely the best. ❤️

Ariadne, I Love You wins a Ditmar!

So Ariadne, I Love You won best novella at the Ditmar Awards on Saturday. Absolutely bonkers when you look at the books it was up against. I managed to pull it together enough to give a semi-coherent acceptance speech – this time not just a long list of happy...

Ariadne, I Love You – audiobook

Huzzah! The top secret project is revealed!

I’m a great devourer of audiobooks, so loved every moment of making this. Thrilled it’s now out in the world.

If you like creepiness injected directly into your ears, then check out this audio extract.

Shirley Jackson Award winner!

Sooooo… aw jeez. I’ve been hiding out all day in a state of shock and bewilderment because The Attic Tragedy won a frickin’ Shirley Jackson Award!

InCONceivable – horror panel, critters and more…

Very excited to have joined a host of fantastic Aussie authors at InCONceivable, the new online con.

events

ACT Book of the Year Awards 2024

The Measure of Sorrow was Highly Commended in the 2024 ACT Book of the Year Awards!

The Measure of Sorrow – Melbourne launch

Shits and giggles aplenty at the Melbourne launch of The Measure Of Sorrow on Friday night. Great to hang with friends old and new, and talk (loudly, to compete with the background noise) books and dreams and kids and leeches et al. Big thanks to Rebecca Fraser for...

The Measure of Sorrow launch party

Thanks to everyone who made it to Blackbird Bar for the launch last night. Was a proper banger! Special thanks to Kaaron and Aaron, for always having my back. Thanks to Cat Sparks, Dan O'Malley, CH Pearce, and Nicole Murphy for the pics. Love to all of youse –...

Online launch: The Measure of Sorrow

in conversation with John Langan Big thanks to everyone who rocked up to the virtual launch of The Measure of Sorrow, hosted by Meerkat Press last weekend. For those who couldn't make it (or you hardcore types committed to watching the "Director's cut"), here's the...

Panel: dark fiction for dark times

Scary stories discussion panel

ICYMI: Aaron Dries, Dan O'Malley and I had the great pleasure of spending a dark and very stormy Halloween night talking horror and all things scary at the Woden library. And even if the rain kept you at home, you can catch it all on the video below (courtesy of...

Book launch party!

Ariadne, I Love You and The Attic Tragedy double book launch: In both 2020 and 2021, I released books into the wilderness of social distancing and lockdowns. Though we held some excellent online events to celebrate at the time, nothing compares to the vibe of a reading in a room full of people…

Online launch: Ariadne, I Love You and The Bridge

Join J.S. Breukelaar and J. Ashley-Smith in conversation as they discuss their latest releases: The Bridge; and Ariadne, I Love You.

StokerCon 2021

I had a blast at StokerCon 2021, read a (freakishly beardless) extract from Ariadne, I Love You, and Kaaron Warren, Aaron Dries. and I launched the pilot of our new podcast, Let The Cat In. Check out the videos here.

InCONceivable – horror panel, critters and more…

Very excited to have joined a host of fantastic Aussie authors at InCONceivable, the new online con.

Online launch: The Attic Tragedy

Join J. Ashley-Smith in conversation with Kaaron Warren and Aaron Dries as they discuss his debut novelette, The Attic Tragedy.

articles

Trip The Dark Fantastic (BigIndieBooks)

The Measure of Sorrow – Blog Tour I love a good listicle - the only trouble being having to keep it so short! Seriously, I could have kept going and going with this one, but picked these five as the collections that made the profoundest impression on me when I read...

Your Mind On Writing (Writing Forums)

The Measure of Sorrow – Blog Tour I had mixed feelings writing this and even more mixed feelings about sharing it, anxious that it was maybe just a bit too personal. For anyone who’s ever been strung between the highs of success fantasies and the lows of impostor...

Call of the wild and weird (T Kent Writes)

The Measure of Sorrow – Blog Tour Big thanks, as always, to T Kent Writes for hosting me on this leg of the blog tour - this time with a short article on the weirdness of not belonging. Read the full article at T Kent Writes.

Time and the deep, black lake (Horror Tree)

The Measure of Sorrow – Blog Tour The title novella from #TheMeasureOfSorrow almost didn't exist, but is now one of my favourite stories, both in the collection and that I've ever written. Really grateful for The Horror Tree letting me share my thoughts on...

Page 69 Test (TNBBC)

The Measure of Sorrow – Blog Tour Want to know what's on page 69 (dude) of The Measure of Sorrow, and whether it's representative of the rest of the book? Look no further than this fun article over at TNBBC... (spoiler alert: it is!) Read the full article at The Next...

Sounds of an Old House: A Haunting Memoir (Vol.1 Brooklyn)

The Measure of Sorrow – Blog Tour It's a pleasure and a thrill to write an essay for the exceptional Volume 1 Brooklyn, especially a (brief) memoir of growing up in a house that may (or may not) be full of ghosts. If you like appropriately ambiguous true stories of...

Five dark inspirations (Big Indie Books)

I was in a very particular headspace when I wrote Ariadne, I Love You. Keen to explore a very particular kind of supernatural occurrence: one that could be easily justified in rational terms, without being entirely explained away. At the same time, I was obsessed with the idea of inheritance, of the scars the past leaves on the present, and a particular kind of gothic sensibility that arises when a character worries over the same fixation for decades.

The road to publication (Writing Forums)

The most important lesson I have learned, on what turned out to be a thirty-year journey to becoming a published author, is best summed up by Chuck Wendig’s crude aphorism: finish your shit. It doesn’t matter how good that story is in your head, or for how many weeks, months or years you polish those first few chapters – if you don’t finish the damn thing it doesn’t exist and that’s the end of it.

Ambiguity is the essence of the supernatural (Vol.1 Brooklyn)

Have you ever seen a ghost? Or heard one? Maybe not. But perhaps you’ve had some experience or other you couldn’t easily explain, some weird occurrence which you mull on even now. Did it happen the way you remember? Or did you imagine it? That ambiguity, unfocused and inconclusive, is the essence of what we think of as the supernatural.

She’s Alive! Or… Can a character really take over your story? (Horror Tree)

I once read an interview with crime writer James Ellroy, who spoke bluntly when asked if his characters were flesh and blood. He said it was disingenuous for writers to say they had no control over their creations. The choices about their behaviour, their actions and reactions, did not arise independently – each was an artistic decision, made by him.

Seven Attic Tragedies

The Attic Tragedy – Blog Tour Long before Shakespeare littered the stage of the Globe with stabbed and poisoned corpses, and filled the hearts of his audience with a rampant black despair, the Ancient Greeks were performing tragedies of such bleakness and power they...

The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea (TNBBC)

As a student, way back in nineties Sheffield, I had an obsession with thrift store book finds. I was studying film and creative writing and had a voracious, directionless reading habit, fuelled almost entirely by random discoveries on the shelves of this or that charity shop between my house and the campus.

Dark short stories cast a long shadow (T. Kent Writes)

From the briefest burst of flash fiction to the stately novella, there is something about the short (and not so short) story that is perfectly suited to the dark and the weird. The best of them are incandescent, flaring brightly within our darkest spaces, burning shadows onto our vision that change how we see the world, see ourselves.

interviews

Fresh Blood interview

ICYMI (and aren't yet sick of my relentless pre-launch pimping), Greg Chapman invited me over to his website for a wee interview. Inside you will find: assumptions, inspiration, impostor syndrome, Enid Blyton, lists – and more! Check it out over on Greg's reviews...

B for Bookreview interview

Ariadne, I Love You – Blog Tour Silence, Pripyat, Margot, and some favourites from the just-read pile. This was a very enjoyable interview. Check it out here. Then go follow B for Bookreview on Twitter at @BookreviewB.

Tomes and Tales interview

Ariadne, I Love You – Blog Tour It’s a joy and a privilege to answer thoughtful and intelligent questions by someone who’s read your book. This interview was a pleasure from beginning to end. Thank you, Tomes & Tales! Check out the interview here...

Horror Tree interview

Ariadne, I Love You – Blog Tour This interview was so much fun! Moth dust, Raudive, and literary gaffer tape. What more could you want? Check it out here. Then go follow Ruschelle and the Horror Tree on Twitter at @RuschelleDillon and @HorrorTree.

Sadie’s Spotlight interview

Ariadne, I Love You – Blog Tour Trusting your instincts, inspiration, and the moral of the story - or not. Loved being a part of this interview. Check it out here. Then go follow on Twitter at @SadiesSpotlight.

Paul Semel interview

Ariadne, I Love You – Blog Tour This interview with Paul Semel was a great opportunity to dig into what Ariadne, I Love You is all about. Music, ghosts, channeling the supernatural. Check it out.

Speculative Fiction Showcase interview

Excellent to kick off the Ariadne, I Love You blog tour with this interview. Childhood imaginary friends, expatriation, ghosts, horror…

Angela Slatter interview

Honoured to be invited over to Angela Slatter’s blog for a virtual cup of tea and a (slightly one-sided) natter. We talked The Attic Tragedy, literary heroes, and my mortal terror of General Woundwort. Good times! Check out the interview here. Then go follow Angela on...

Unnerving Podcast interview

Had a blast chatting with @GenerousEd on the UnnervingMag podcast. We talked about dreams, burning your darlings, and how a kid reading Herbert, Hutson and King grew up to write The Attic Tragedy. Check it out below. Then go follow the podcast here.

Suzy Turner interview

The Attic Tragedy – Blog Tour Had a great time being grilled by Suzy Turner over at her blog. This turned out to be a much more personal interview than I was expecting (or, frankly, intending), and is all the better because of it. Thank you, Suzy! Check out the...

Australian SF Snapshot project interview

Stoked to be included in this year's Australian SF Snapshot. This is a fantastic, long-running archival project and it's an honour to be involved. Check out the interview here. Then go read all the rest of their awesome interviews at austsfsnapshot.wordpress.com.

Writing Forums interview

The Attic Tragedy – Blog Tour Next stop on the blog tour – with thanks to Writing Forums. Loved this conversation about drafting (**shudders**), axolotls, and recent reads that have blown my mind. Check it out here. Then go follow them on Twitter at...

Magic of Wor(l)ds interview

The Attic Tragedy – Blog Tour This interview with Magic of Wor(l)ds was a blast! We talked about Roald Dahl, the seething terror of existence, and why I'd invite Merrikat Blackwood over for tea... Check it out here. Then go follow them on Twitter at @MagicofWorldsBE

B for Bookreview interview

The Attic Tragedy – Blog Tour I had a lot of fun doing this interview with B for Bookreview. Check it out here. Then go follow them on Twitter at @BookreviewB!

videos

ACT Book of the Year Awards 2024

The Measure of Sorrow was Highly Commended in the 2024 ACT Book of the Year Awards!

Online launch: The Measure of Sorrow

Scary stories discussion panel

Cover reveal: The Measure of Sorrow

Online launch: Ariadne, I Love You and The Bridge

Join J.S. Breukelaar and J. Ashley-Smith in conversation as they discuss their latest releases: The Bridge; and Ariadne, I Love You.

StokerCon 2021

InCONceivable – horror panel, critters and more…

Very excited to have joined a host of fantastic Aussie authors at InCONceivable, the new online con.

Online launch: The Attic Tragedy

Join J. Ashley-Smith in conversation with Kaaron Warren and Aaron Dries as they discuss his debut novelette, The Attic Tragedy.

let the cat in

Polaroid photo of Aaron Dries, J. Ashley-Smith and Kaaron Warren

The award-winning podcast in which three horror writers and their guests riff on objects, inspiration, and those ideas that scratch at the door, miaowing to be let in.

Guests to date include Nathan Ballingrud, Alan Baxter, JS Breukelaar, Isobelle Carmody, Brian Evenson, Lisa L. Hannett, Kathe Koja, John Langan, Helen Marshall, Paul Mannering, Lisa Morton, Lee Murray, Jason Nahrung, TR Napper, Dan O'Malley, Garth Nix, Sarah Read, Lynda E. Rucker, Angela Slatter, Melinda Smith, Cat Sparks, Paul Tremblay, Kyla Lee Ward, Sean Williams and more!

Follow the show on:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify |. Google Podcasts | or your favourite podcast player