The Cuckoo's Song
Award-winning author Amra Pajalić showcases her gritty, poignant and sometimes bruising voice in this eclectic short story book of previously published and prize-winning stories. Featuring powerful and moving stories of family dissolution, deprivation of war, tenderness of family and the heart-rending experiences of mental illness. Thriller stories with a twist of vindictiveness and retribution, and love stories that make the heart sing, this collection will delight and entertain. The Cuckoo’s Song-Francesca is ten years old when the gypsy fortune-teller told her the day and the hour of her death and she has been waiting since. Fragments-Seka and her brother forage for books in a bombed-out school in Srebrenica during the Balkan war. Friends Forever-Two lifelong friends share a room at a nursing home, as well as a secret or two. School of Hardknocks-Amina is a new high school student after migrating from Bosnia and struggles to acclimate to the Aussie way of life. Woman on Fire-A young girl lives with her mother’s boyfriend when her mentally ill mother is admitted into hospital. Please be aware that trigger warnings could contain spoilers and so I have included them on my themes page Published by Pishukin Press Read an excerpt For publicity information please view The Cuckoo's Song Media Kit |
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Teaching notes
Teaching notes to support secondary school learning with a resource kit that contains:
- Praise
- Synopsis of stories
- Author statement
- Author information
- Short story summaries
- Reading, research, analysis and writing activities
- Short story themes
Praise
'So devastatingly real' Maxine Beneba Clarke
Nervous Breakdown
'Rebellion is fuelled by the cultural disconnect between themselves and their migrant parents.' Sydney Morning Herald
Siege
'A powerful and moving story of family dissolution and the suffering, deprivation and terror of war.' Australian Book Review
'Amra Pajalić’s Bosnian Diary is a masterpiece of broken elegy.' Bulletin Review
Flirty Eyes
'Interesting' and 'original' writing. Australian Book Review
'Marvellous' and 'brisk' writing. Rip it Up Review
Nervous Breakdown
'Rebellion is fuelled by the cultural disconnect between themselves and their migrant parents.' Sydney Morning Herald
Siege
'A powerful and moving story of family dissolution and the suffering, deprivation and terror of war.' Australian Book Review
'Amra Pajalić’s Bosnian Diary is a masterpiece of broken elegy.' Bulletin Review
Flirty Eyes
'Interesting' and 'original' writing. Australian Book Review
'Marvellous' and 'brisk' writing. Rip it Up Review
Amra Pajalic introduces The Cuckoo's Song
Reviews
Media Kit
Title: The Cuckoo’s Song
Pub date: 31 January 2022
ISBN Print: 9780645331011
Print USD Price: $14.99
Print AUD Price: $19.99
ISBN Ebook: 9780645331004
EBook Price USD: $3.99
Ebook Price AUD: $4.99
Rating: Young Adult
Hashtags: #cuckoossong #shortstory #shortstorycollection #shortstoryfiction #loveozya #youngadultbooks #youngadultfiction #youngadultlit
Tagline: Gritty, poignant and bruising short stories
Short tagline: Award-winning author Amra Pajalić showcases her eclectic short story book of previously published and prize-winning stories.
Medium tagline: Award-winning author Amra Pajalić showcases her gritty, poignant and sometimes bruising voice in this eclectic short story book of previously published and prize-winning stories.
Blurb:
Award-winning author Amra Pajalić showcases her gritty, poignant and sometimes bruising voice in this eclectic short story book of previously published and prize-winning stories. Featuring powerful and moving stories of family dissolution, deprivation of war, tenderness of family and the heart-rending experiences of mental illness. As well as suspenseful new thriller stories with a twist of vindictiveness and retribution, and love stories that make the heart sing, Pajalić will delight and entertain.
The Cuckoo’s Song—Francesca is ten when a gypsy fortune-teller told her the day and the hour of her death and she has been waiting since.
Fragments—Seka and her brother forage for books in a bombed-out school in Srebrenica during the Balkan war.
Friends Forever—Two lifelong friends share a room at a nursing home, as well as a secret or two.
School of Hardknocks—Amina is a new high school student after migrating from Bosnia and struggles to acclimate to the Aussie way of life.
Woman on Fire—A young girl lives with her mother’s boyfriend when her mentally ill mother is admitted into hospital.
Reviews:
'So devastatingly real' Maxine Beneba Clarke
Nervous Breakdown
'Rebellion is fuelled by the cultural disconnect between themselves and their migrant parents.' Sydney Morning Herald
Siege
'A powerful and moving story of family dissolution and the suffering, deprivation and terror of war.' Australian Book Review
'Amra Pajalić’s Bosnian Diary is a masterpiece of broken elegy.' Bulletin Review
Flirty Eyes
'Interesting' and 'original' writing. Australian Book Review
'Marvellous' and 'brisk' writing. Rip it Up Review
Lead In Post
Eclectic short stories
I’ve dreamed about publishing a short story collection featuring my previously published and unpublished stories for a long time and this seemed like the perfect project to learn about self publishing. It’s also a great promotional opportunity as readers will see my range of writing styles and learn about my other books as I have had extracts of chapters published as short stories.
My short story collection deals with themes that represent who I am. As I was parented by a mother who was a Bipolar sufferer I find myself coming back to themes that deal with mental health, especially within the context of Non-English-Speaking Communities as this places particular pressure on a sufferer and family due to stigma and lack of awareness.
Growing up I did not see myself represented in fiction and I write own voices stories exploring my Bosnian heritage and culture so that young people who have an ethnic cultural background feel validated in seeing their lives represented in fiction.
I love reading stories that explore the real life effects of being in a war and providing a slice of history. As a writer I love the process of immersing myself in real life research to write stories set during the Balkan War of 1992-1995 when Bosnia became an independent country.
Growing up raised by a single mother for most of my childhood, and then becoming a nuclear family when my mother married my stepfather, I am fascinated by the notions of family ties and family loyalty. I am also an advocate of LGBTQI rights and write characters who are part of this community.
Excerpt
I was ten years old when the gypsy fortune-teller told me the day and the hour of my death and I have been waiting since. As the hour draws nearer peace descends upon me. A lifetime of waiting has its own price to pay.
The gypsies followed the fair that came to my hometown every year. When the gypsies came we locked our belongings away. We called them the plague, but at least we only had to endure them for the week of the fair.
I went with my older sister, Cosima, and her husband, Lorenzo, to the fair. As we got closer the noise got louder.
There was shouting, a band playing loudly and the noise from the rides and the screams of those riding them. On the street were many stalls with people selling jewellery, knitting, preserves. I looked at everything with wide eyes, my hand in my pocket as I smoothed the coin my father had given me. In the spaces between the tables beggars sat on the ground, their eyes on the ground as they pleaded for money. We passed a gypsy woman with a young girl on her lap, the child’s arm burnt and twisted.
'They do that to their children,' Lorenzo told me. 'It’s how they get pity and earn a few lires.'
I gasped, my eyes glued to the child’s arm.
The gypsy woman heard him, her face hardened and her eyes flashed her ire. Lorenzo met her gaze and hurriedly walked away. I followed Cosima and Lorenzo, still thinking about the gypsy woman and her child. They had looked hungry and tired.
I ran back to the gypsy woman. 'Here.' I thrust out my coin.
'Thank you my child,' she said, taking it. 'You have done a great deed for me and my child.'
I tried not to stare at her daughter but was helpless not to.
'I too will do you a great deed.' She gripped my hand and pulled me to her. Her hot breath tickled my ear as she whispered against it.
I stood and looked into her eyes. They were blacker than coal and bitterer than pepper. I tore away and ran, terror making me fleet-footed and nimble as I weaved through the crowd, the gypsy’s whispers echoing in my head.
Media:
Author Bio:
Amra Pajalić is an award-winning author, an editor and teacher who draws on her Bosnian cultural heritage to write own voices stories for young people, who like her, are searching to mediate their identity and take pride in their diverse culture.
Amra Pajalić won the 2009 Melbourne Prize for Literature's Civic Choice Award for her debut novel The Good Daughter. The anthology she co-edited, Growing up Muslim in Australia (Allen and Unwin, 2014, 2019), was shortlisted for the 2015 Children's Book Council of the year awards and her memoir Things Nobody Knows But Me (Transit Lounge, 2019) was shortlisted for the 2020 National Biography Award.
Social media handles
Website: http://www.amrapajalic.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amrapajalicauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmraPajalic
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amrapajalic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmraPajalicAuthor/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/amra-pajalic
Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3310015.Amra_Pajalic
Author Central: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B005C8AIDY
Newsletter sign up (receive a FREE ebook copy of Suicide Watch – Story 1 in The Cuckoo’s Song and young adult novel Sabiha's Dilemma) https://www.amrapajalic.com/my-newsletter.html
BUY LINKS
Pishukin Press: https://www.pishukinpress.com/collections/the-cuckoos-song
Universal (Wide Print): https://books2read.com/thecuckoossong
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59947154-the-cuckoo-s-song
Please be aware that trigger warnings could contain spoilers and so I have included them on my themes page
Pub date: 31 January 2022
ISBN Print: 9780645331011
Print USD Price: $14.99
Print AUD Price: $19.99
ISBN Ebook: 9780645331004
EBook Price USD: $3.99
Ebook Price AUD: $4.99
Rating: Young Adult
Hashtags: #cuckoossong #shortstory #shortstorycollection #shortstoryfiction #loveozya #youngadultbooks #youngadultfiction #youngadultlit
Tagline: Gritty, poignant and bruising short stories
Short tagline: Award-winning author Amra Pajalić showcases her eclectic short story book of previously published and prize-winning stories.
Medium tagline: Award-winning author Amra Pajalić showcases her gritty, poignant and sometimes bruising voice in this eclectic short story book of previously published and prize-winning stories.
Blurb:
Award-winning author Amra Pajalić showcases her gritty, poignant and sometimes bruising voice in this eclectic short story book of previously published and prize-winning stories. Featuring powerful and moving stories of family dissolution, deprivation of war, tenderness of family and the heart-rending experiences of mental illness. As well as suspenseful new thriller stories with a twist of vindictiveness and retribution, and love stories that make the heart sing, Pajalić will delight and entertain.
The Cuckoo’s Song—Francesca is ten when a gypsy fortune-teller told her the day and the hour of her death and she has been waiting since.
Fragments—Seka and her brother forage for books in a bombed-out school in Srebrenica during the Balkan war.
Friends Forever—Two lifelong friends share a room at a nursing home, as well as a secret or two.
School of Hardknocks—Amina is a new high school student after migrating from Bosnia and struggles to acclimate to the Aussie way of life.
Woman on Fire—A young girl lives with her mother’s boyfriend when her mentally ill mother is admitted into hospital.
Reviews:
'So devastatingly real' Maxine Beneba Clarke
Nervous Breakdown
'Rebellion is fuelled by the cultural disconnect between themselves and their migrant parents.' Sydney Morning Herald
Siege
'A powerful and moving story of family dissolution and the suffering, deprivation and terror of war.' Australian Book Review
'Amra Pajalić’s Bosnian Diary is a masterpiece of broken elegy.' Bulletin Review
Flirty Eyes
'Interesting' and 'original' writing. Australian Book Review
'Marvellous' and 'brisk' writing. Rip it Up Review
Lead In Post
Eclectic short stories
I’ve dreamed about publishing a short story collection featuring my previously published and unpublished stories for a long time and this seemed like the perfect project to learn about self publishing. It’s also a great promotional opportunity as readers will see my range of writing styles and learn about my other books as I have had extracts of chapters published as short stories.
My short story collection deals with themes that represent who I am. As I was parented by a mother who was a Bipolar sufferer I find myself coming back to themes that deal with mental health, especially within the context of Non-English-Speaking Communities as this places particular pressure on a sufferer and family due to stigma and lack of awareness.
Growing up I did not see myself represented in fiction and I write own voices stories exploring my Bosnian heritage and culture so that young people who have an ethnic cultural background feel validated in seeing their lives represented in fiction.
I love reading stories that explore the real life effects of being in a war and providing a slice of history. As a writer I love the process of immersing myself in real life research to write stories set during the Balkan War of 1992-1995 when Bosnia became an independent country.
Growing up raised by a single mother for most of my childhood, and then becoming a nuclear family when my mother married my stepfather, I am fascinated by the notions of family ties and family loyalty. I am also an advocate of LGBTQI rights and write characters who are part of this community.
Excerpt
I was ten years old when the gypsy fortune-teller told me the day and the hour of my death and I have been waiting since. As the hour draws nearer peace descends upon me. A lifetime of waiting has its own price to pay.
The gypsies followed the fair that came to my hometown every year. When the gypsies came we locked our belongings away. We called them the plague, but at least we only had to endure them for the week of the fair.
I went with my older sister, Cosima, and her husband, Lorenzo, to the fair. As we got closer the noise got louder.
There was shouting, a band playing loudly and the noise from the rides and the screams of those riding them. On the street were many stalls with people selling jewellery, knitting, preserves. I looked at everything with wide eyes, my hand in my pocket as I smoothed the coin my father had given me. In the spaces between the tables beggars sat on the ground, their eyes on the ground as they pleaded for money. We passed a gypsy woman with a young girl on her lap, the child’s arm burnt and twisted.
'They do that to their children,' Lorenzo told me. 'It’s how they get pity and earn a few lires.'
I gasped, my eyes glued to the child’s arm.
The gypsy woman heard him, her face hardened and her eyes flashed her ire. Lorenzo met her gaze and hurriedly walked away. I followed Cosima and Lorenzo, still thinking about the gypsy woman and her child. They had looked hungry and tired.
I ran back to the gypsy woman. 'Here.' I thrust out my coin.
'Thank you my child,' she said, taking it. 'You have done a great deed for me and my child.'
I tried not to stare at her daughter but was helpless not to.
'I too will do you a great deed.' She gripped my hand and pulled me to her. Her hot breath tickled my ear as she whispered against it.
I stood and looked into her eyes. They were blacker than coal and bitterer than pepper. I tore away and ran, terror making me fleet-footed and nimble as I weaved through the crowd, the gypsy’s whispers echoing in my head.
Media:
- One of indie authors championed in Arts Hub article ‘Should I Self Publish’ by Thuy On
- Interviewed by 3CR Published or Not episode about The Cuckoo's Song
- Featured in Star Weekly newspaper. Read here.
- Featured on a list of 8 Incredible Melbourne-Based Writers To Read On International Women’s Day
Author Bio:
Amra Pajalić is an award-winning author, an editor and teacher who draws on her Bosnian cultural heritage to write own voices stories for young people, who like her, are searching to mediate their identity and take pride in their diverse culture.
Amra Pajalić won the 2009 Melbourne Prize for Literature's Civic Choice Award for her debut novel The Good Daughter. The anthology she co-edited, Growing up Muslim in Australia (Allen and Unwin, 2014, 2019), was shortlisted for the 2015 Children's Book Council of the year awards and her memoir Things Nobody Knows But Me (Transit Lounge, 2019) was shortlisted for the 2020 National Biography Award.
Social media handles
Website: http://www.amrapajalic.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amrapajalicauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmraPajalic
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amrapajalic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmraPajalicAuthor/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/amra-pajalic
Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3310015.Amra_Pajalic
Author Central: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B005C8AIDY
Newsletter sign up (receive a FREE ebook copy of Suicide Watch – Story 1 in The Cuckoo’s Song and young adult novel Sabiha's Dilemma) https://www.amrapajalic.com/my-newsletter.html
BUY LINKS
Pishukin Press: https://www.pishukinpress.com/collections/the-cuckoos-song
Universal (Wide Print): https://books2read.com/thecuckoossong
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59947154-the-cuckoo-s-song
Please be aware that trigger warnings could contain spoilers and so I have included them on my themes page
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