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Sonja Dechian

Sonja Dechian

Sonja Dechian is the author of the short story collection An Astronaut’s Life, which won the 2016 UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing and was shortlisted for the Steele Rudd Award the same year. Her writing has previously appeared in The Best Australian Stories, New Australian Stories 2, and elsewhere. She has co-edited two books of children’s writing about the Australian refugee experience, No Place Like Home and Dark Dreams.

Jolley Prize 2019 (Winner): 'The Point-Blank Murder' by Sonja Dechian

September 2019, no. 414 27 August 2019
Listen to this story read by the author. Irene and I are on the verandah at her grandparents’ house, in the two chairs we’ve managed to clear of spiderwebs. The baby is awake in her arms. ‘Did you sleep?’ I say. ‘Yeah, a few hours.’ ‘That’s good.’ She offers no sign of agreement. The sunset is orange, the sky scattered with clouds. We’re eating pumpkin and lentil soup o ... (read more)