As this latest collection of short stories shows, the standard of New Zealand writing today can hold its own on the world stage. It also, though, has a distinctly local flavour, depicting our landscape and experiences as well as our wry insights and tone. Coming from a variety of writers and representing the best stories written over the past year, this third annual collection is a thoroughly entertaining read. There's love and there's lust, there's travel and there's murder, there's childhood memories and the trials of growing old. Beautifully written, it's the ideal book for sampling New Zealand writing today. Contributors: Maxine Alterio, Geoff Cochrane, Sian Daly, Sue Emms, Tracy Farr, James George, Charlotte Grimshaw, Lloyd Jones, Owen Marshall, Sue McCauley, Carl Nixon, Vincent O'Sullivan, Jo Randerson, Tina Shaw, Alice Tawhai, Fay Weldon, Peter Wells, Jane Westaway, Susan Wylie, Spiro Zavos.