ISBN 978-1-923763-58-6
PAPERBACK
these works come from me who have written all through my years, i like writing i’ve always done it even when deemed incorrect i write what i want what i think what i experience what i address and more if anything there really is no reason for why i do or will but more an instinct or just my personal nature to not just create but specifically write.
ISBN 978-1-923763-29-6
PAPERBACK
Dire events in history become reference points for how the world has coped. From March 30, 2020 to October 21, 2021, Melbourne endured 263 days across six lockdowns – more than any other city in the world. With no or limited supply of vaccinations, this was the blanket approach to managing a once in a one-hundred-year pandemic.
The physical reasons and benefits were well-documented, but the impacts on human spirit were intangibles that couldn’t be measured.
Through poetry, Any Other City lays bare what it was like to live through this experience.
Martin Jon Porter lives in regional Victoria with his partner and young family, where he works as a casual relief teacher. Any Other City is his third full-length collection of poetry.
ISBN 978-1-923763-86-9
PAPERBACK
About Being Human is the second volume in the Almost Enough Words series, a collection of sixty literary micro-tales exploring the quiet complexities of being human.
In roughly thirty words each, these stories pause over the moments that reveal us most clearly: family silences, private guilt, awkward kindness, old grief, unexpected laughter, fragile hope, and the small contradictions that make us who we are.
Each tale is paired with a brief reflection, inviting readers to linger a little longer before turning the page.
Thoughtful, warm, and gently philosophical, this collection celebrates the ordinary experiences we all share while reminding us that even the smallest moments can carry lasting meaning.
Open anywhere. Read for thirty seconds. Stay with it a little longer. Sometimes, almost enough words are enough.
ISBN 978-1-923680-85-2
PAPERBACK
ISBN 978-1-923680-86-9
EBOOK
Almost Enough Words: About Modern Life is a collection of literary micro-stories, each written in roughly thirty words.
Humorous, insightful, absurd, and reflective, these bite-sized stories explore the small moments and quiet contradictions of modern life: technology, work, relationships, identity, distraction, ambition, loneliness, and the search for meaning.
There is no beginning and no end. Open the book anywhere and find a complete story waiting for you. Some stories will make you smile. Others may stay with you long after the page is turned.
Perfect for readers who enjoy short literary fiction, thoughtful observations, philosophical reflections, and books that can be read a minute at a time.
Whether enjoyed over a morning coffee, during a commute, or as a thoughtful gift, Almost Enough Words invites readers to pause, look a little closer, and discover something unexpected in the ordinary.
Open anywhere.
Read for thirty seconds.
That’s the whole story.
My name means the direction East in Hindi, which feels fitting for someone often looking for meaning, direction, and occasionally my keys.
I write micro-tales and reflective essays about identity, awareness, and the quiet patterns that shape us.
I’m often drawn to small, everyday moments that hint at something larger beneath the surface. I try to capture them with brevity, humour, and a touch of philosophical observation.
When I’m not writing, I work as a data visualisation specialist, helping people see patterns more clearly.
I live in Sydney with my wife and two daughters. I enjoy observing nature, people, and the strange movements of my own thoughts and emotions.
I write to explore, not explain.
ISBN 978-1-923589-14-8
PAPERBACK
ISBN 978-1-923589-96-4
HARDCOVER
Life Out Here is a captivating collection of poems inspired by the vibrant life in the New England Region of New South Wales. It explores the people, places, and the absurdities that unfold in daily rural Australian life.
From “Life on the Land” to grappling with the “Black Dog,” and embracing the serenity of “Where Tall Timbers Grow,” this collection navigates the emotional highs and lows of country living. Rest assured, poetic license has been liberally applied, and names have been altered to safeguard the innocent. No animals were harmed during the creation of this book – just reputations.
I was raised and educated in Armidale, Northern NSW.Growing up, I lived a life most boys dream of – from trapping and shooting, to riding horses and dirt bikes.Life on the land with my mum, dad, brother and sister was wonderful, and it contributed to my love of the NewEngland area.
My first introduction to Australian Bush Poetry came from my father, who would recite Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson on the long car trips from the New England when we visited family and friends.Later in life, I met a station hand named Baden Howe,on a property northeast of Armidale where I grew up.
Baden wrote bush poetry and country songs. I spent hours with him, listening and learning. Those afternoons truly ignited my passion for writing.Most of these poems are inspired by people I have met and events in my life.When I was a kid, living on the family farm and staying at mates’ properties on weekends fuelled my love of theAustralian landscape.
Life has thrown me some curve balls – from dances with the “Black Dog,” to a broken marriage, to battling twice with cancer.During the drought in 2019 and the subsequent bushfires, I gained Australia-wide recognition with my poem Strength in Numbers, which received more than 90,000 likes on social media at the time.I continue to live in the New England area, on our property Elderslie.
I am a family man, with my wife Kylie(Molly), our mixed clan of six kids, and a menagerie ofanimals.I believe all poems should evoke emotions – and that everyone should be able to find both a giggle and a tear in this book.Life out Here in the New England
ISBN 978-1-923680-20-3
PAPERBACK
I spent a lifetime trying to fit in; now I’m learning how to belong to myself. What does it mean to become yourself when the world has only ever known your mask?
In Becoming Me, Neurodivergently, the follow up to Fragmented, Yet Whole, the author returns with a raw, honest, and deeply human memoir about growing up misunderstood, surviving systems that weren’t built for her, and slowly learning to trust her own voice.
Through stories of childhood masking, therapy ruptures, sensory overwhelm, motherhood, advocacy, and the quiet work of healing, she explores what it means to belong, not by fitting in, but by finally allowing herself to exist as she is.
This is a book about neurodivergence, yes, but also about courage, identity, and the messy, beautiful process of becoming. It’s a reminder that belonging shouldn’t be earned through silence, that authenticity is a practice, and that the future can be different for the generations who come next.
Niki Bonfield at The State Library of SA
ISBN 978-1-923443-54-9
PAPERBACK
ISBN 978-1-923443-69-3
HARDCOVER
ISBN 978-1-923443-82-2
EBOOK
“Life isn’t meant to be easy.”
This poetic and reflective memoir traces the journey of a woman who spent much of her life feeling different, overwhelmed, and unseen, until a late autism diagnosis reframed everything. Through raw recollections, quiet reckonings, and deeply human moments, Niki invites readers into the rich, complex inner world she once tried to hide.
From childhood confusion to a therapy experience that fractured trust, from mental health struggles to finding her voice as a therapist, this is a story of what it means to come home to yourself, slowly and painfully, but with grace. Writing became part of healing. So did the truth.
For those who feel too much, question too often, and wonder if they’re the only ones—this book is for you. You’re not alone. You’re not broken. And healing is still possible.
NIKI IS A counsellor and art therapist with a late autism diagnosis, whose lived experience deeply informs her practice. After hitting rock bottom, writing became a way to externalise the internal, a gentle reckoning with pain, identity, and healing.
Her memoir is a reflective and poetic offering born from that process, written for those who feel deeply, question often, and carry quiet hurts.
Passionate about inclusive support for neurodivergent individuals and trauma-informed care, she feels deeply honoured to sit beside others as they make sense of their own stories. Creativity, authenticity, and nature ground her life and work. She lives in the hills, surrounded by trees and stillness.
ISBN 978-1-923680-22-7
PAPERBACK
‘I guess it’s not surprising. As the living get quieter, the dead get louder.’
In her debut poetry collection The sweetness of dust, Amanda Kube explores what it feels like to close the book on a five generation Wimmera-Mallee farm. Moving deftly between shifts in time and perspective Kube draws us into daily life, where forebears are never far – ‘a glimpse, a shadow, disappearing around the corner’ – providing solace and admonishment.
More tender confessional than outback yarn, Kube’s gaze is wide open; embodied and lyrical. The women of this place step forward and tell stories of loneliness, isolation, and endless chores that sit alongside moments of quiet revelation. The farm always the central, nameless character – both cradle and constraint – connecting this restless family to Wotjobaluk presence. Walk with Adelene who has gone before. She circles the farm, still feeling the gravitational pull to place, with some things on her mind.
Amanda Kube is an educator who has spent most of her life in rural and remote Australia. She has qualifications in primary education, teaching English to speakers of other languages, and remedial massage. She is a volunteer fossil preparator at Eromanga Natural History Museum and can make a decent salad from whatever is left in the bottom of the fridge. This is her first poetry collection, centred around the years she lived on a family farm on Wotjobaluk land. Amanda now lives on Dja Dja Wurrung land in central Victoria.