Minister for Education and the Arts Rod Welford launched CQU Press’ national anthology of short stories, 'Travellers’ Tales' on Friday, November 11 at Parliament House.

'Travellers’ Tales' is a culmination of work from 33 gifted writers including winners of the Australian Vogel and Age Book of the Year prizes. It features stories by Di Morrissey, Christina Stead, Susan Kurosawa, Barry Oakley, Luke Slattery and Marele Day (author of Captain Cook’s Wife).

They have combined their talents to evoke the crazy challenges of exotic travel.

This new book enables the reader to travel the world in their favourite armchair, experiencing the excitements and misadventures of international travel from Africa to Albania, Thailand to Guyana and Bolivia to Turkey.

Edited by Michael Wilding and Professor David Myers, the anthology has been published by CQU Press - Outback Books.

During the official launch last week, Mr Welford told an audience of 85 supporters of contemporary Australian literature that he held in high regard the community-service commitment of Central Queensland University to providing a publishing service for all of Queensland.

The Minister’s remarks came shortly after CQU Chancellor Rennie Fritschy explained that he was proud of the University press which was resolutely flourishing at a time when all but 4 university presses had been shut down in Australia.

The Chancellor said CQU Press – Outback Books was successful because it rolled up its sleeves and took its Outback Books on walkabout to the remote-area bush people of Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Professor Myers said he remembered a time when he launched a book from a camel cart in a vineyard in Alice Springs and also recalled a launch at Katherine at which the Administrator of the Northern Territory, the Hon. Ted Egan, launched a CQU Press book by singing Keep the Branding Iron Hot and accompanying himself with his beefy mitts drumming on an empty beer carton.

The co-editor of 'Travellers’ Tales', Professor Michael Wilding of Oxford and Sydney Universities, said that Australian literary magazines and the short story as an art form were going through very difficult times as metropolitan bookshops are flooded with overseas imports.

It was therefore doubly gratifying for him that the entire edition of 'Best Stories Under the Sun, volume 1', had sold out and the orders from bookshops around Australia were auguring very well for 'Travellers’ Tales' which is volume 2 in the series.

Volume 3 was already on the drawing board and would be entitled: 'Confessions and Memoirs'. He and Professor Myers were aiming at a similar surprise mix of contributors ranging from established authors to unknowns, from celebrities to bushies, and from patriarchal prize winners to post-graduate students starting out.

Photo: Professor David Myers, CQU Chancellor Rennie Fritschy, Minister for Education and the Arts Hon. Rod Welford, and Assistant Editor of 'The Courier Mail' Des Houghton.