2012 Ditmar Award for Best Collected Work (nominee)
A teenage girl stolen from her family as a child; a troupe of street actors creating a new culture infused with memories of the old; a boy born into the wrong body; and a teacher who is pushed into the role of guide tell the story of The Nightside.
In a future world of extreme climate change where most people were evacuated to the East, and organised infrastructure and services have gone, a few thousand obstinate and independent souls cling to the city of Perth and to the southern towns. Living mostly by night to endure the fierce temperatures, they are creating a new culture in defiance of official expectations.
Drawing on local knowledge of Perth, Isle reimagines the Western Australian landscape in a confronting and plausible future. Appealing to both YA and adult readers, Nightsiders is a collection of four interlinked short stories exploring issues of climate change, gender identity, multiculturalism and community. Featuring complex and diverse characters, this collection is aimed at a YA audience looking for fresh and empowering science fiction.
Table of Contents
Introduction by Marianne de Pierres
The Painted Girl
Nation of the Night
Paper Dragons
The Schoolteacher’s Tale
AWARDS
Nation of the Night - Winner, Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Short Story
Paper Dragons - Shortlisted Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Short Story
Longlisted for the Tiptree Award
Honourable Mention, Norma Hemming Award
REVIEWS
Reviews
"In this wonderful body of work I hear echoes of two exceptional writers, Doris Lessing and Margo Lanagan.
Sue Isle has created a daunting, yet not hopeless day after tomorrow Western Australia; linked stories all set in the same moment, the moment, for various characters, when you realise that climate change has won, and civilisation is not coming back. So you stop mourning, and you move on… Made me wish there was a novel." –– Gwyneth Jones
"Nation of the Night, and this is the story that is for me the lynch pin of the collection… As well as looking at the identity issues for Ash, there is also discussion of the fate of refugees in the city and the difficulties that they face like being able to provide and educate their families, as well as dangers facing those who don’t belong. To me, this felt like a political statement given the emotional reactions that people have to the refugee issue, not only in Australia, but also in other places around the world." –– The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader
ABOUT THE TWELVE PLANETS SERIES
Twelfth Planet Press is an independent publishing house challenging the status quo with books that interrogate, commentate, inspire.
The Twelve Planets are twelve boutique collections by some of Australia’s finest short story writers. Varied across genre and style, each collection offers four short stories and a unique glimpse into worlds fashioned by some of our favourite storytellers. Each author has taken the brief of 4 stories and up to 40 000 words in their own direction. Some are quartet suites of linked stories. Others are tasters of the range and style of the writer. Each release is a standalone and brings something unexpected.
The Twelve Planets
Book 1: Nightsiders by Sue Isle
Book 2: Love and Romanpunk by Tansy Rayner Roberts
Book 3: Thief of Lives by Lucy Sussex
Book 4: Bad Power by Deborah Biancotti
Book 5: Showtime by Narrelle M Harris
Book 6: Through Splintered Walls by Kaaron Warren
Book 7: Cracklescape by Margo Lanagan
Book 8: Asymmetry by Thoraiya Dyer
Book 9: Caution Contains Small Parts by Kirstyn McDermott
Book 10: Secret Lives of Books by Rosaleen Love
Book 11: Female Factory by Angela Slatter and Lisa Hannet
Book 12: Cherry Crow Children by Deborah Kalin
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
In a future world of extreme climate change where most people were evacuated to the East, and organised infrastructure and services have gone, a few thousand obstinate and independent souls cling to the city of Perth and to the southern towns. Living mostly by night to endure the fierce temperatures, they are creating a new culture in defiance of official expectations.
Drawing on local knowledge of Perth, Isle reimagines the Western Australian landscape in a confronting and plausible future. Appealing to both YA and adult readers, Nightsiders is a collection of four interlinked short stories exploring issues of climate change, gender identity, multiculturalism and community. Featuring complex and diverse characters, this collection is aimed at a YA audience looking for fresh and empowering science fiction.
Table of Contents
Introduction by Marianne de Pierres
The Painted Girl
Nation of the Night
Paper Dragons
The Schoolteacher’s Tale
AWARDS
Nation of the Night - Winner, Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Short Story
Paper Dragons - Shortlisted Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Short Story
Longlisted for the Tiptree Award
Honourable Mention, Norma Hemming Award
REVIEWS
Reviews
"In this wonderful body of work I hear echoes of two exceptional writers, Doris Lessing and Margo Lanagan.
Sue Isle has created a daunting, yet not hopeless day after tomorrow Western Australia; linked stories all set in the same moment, the moment, for various characters, when you realise that climate change has won, and civilisation is not coming back. So you stop mourning, and you move on… Made me wish there was a novel." –– Gwyneth Jones
"Nation of the Night, and this is the story that is for me the lynch pin of the collection… As well as looking at the identity issues for Ash, there is also discussion of the fate of refugees in the city and the difficulties that they face like being able to provide and educate their families, as well as dangers facing those who don’t belong. To me, this felt like a political statement given the emotional reactions that people have to the refugee issue, not only in Australia, but also in other places around the world." –– The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader
ABOUT THE TWELVE PLANETS SERIES
Twelfth Planet Press is an independent publishing house challenging the status quo with books that interrogate, commentate, inspire.
The Twelve Planets are twelve boutique collections by some of Australia’s finest short story writers. Varied across genre and style, each collection offers four short stories and a unique glimpse into worlds fashioned by some of our favourite storytellers. Each author has taken the brief of 4 stories and up to 40 000 words in their own direction. Some are quartet suites of linked stories. Others are tasters of the range and style of the writer. Each release is a standalone and brings something unexpected.
The Twelve Planets
Book 1: Nightsiders by Sue Isle
Book 2: Love and Romanpunk by Tansy Rayner Roberts
Book 3: Thief of Lives by Lucy Sussex
Book 4: Bad Power by Deborah Biancotti
Book 5: Showtime by Narrelle M Harris
Book 6: Through Splintered Walls by Kaaron Warren
Book 7: Cracklescape by Margo Lanagan
Book 8: Asymmetry by Thoraiya Dyer
Book 9: Caution Contains Small Parts by Kirstyn McDermott
Book 10: Secret Lives of Books by Rosaleen Love
Book 11: Female Factory by Angela Slatter and Lisa Hannet
Book 12: Cherry Crow Children by Deborah Kalin
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Used availability for Sue Isle's Nightsiders