É«½ç°É

ORDERS PLACED AFTER 05 DECEMBER 2025 WILL BE SHIPPED AFTER 19 JANUARY 2026

A Little Better Elsewhere

A Little Better Elsewhere

Sydney University alumni, staff and students, foreword by Sarah Ayoub

Regular price $35.00 $35.00 Sale

Format: paperback
ISBN: 9781742105871
Publication: 01 Mar 2026
Publisher: The University of Sydney

A return to one’s childhood home unearths lost memories. A family spends an evening together listening to Grandma’s stories about their faraway homeland. A mother dreams about a daughter she’s never met. A piece of lace blurs the line between past, present and future.

A Little Better Elsewhere is a poignant anthology that grapples with the complexities of nostalgia. From intimate reflections on childhood innocence to powerful depictions of grief, love and change, this collection of short stories, essays and poetry celebrates the diverse insights of Australia’s emerging writers.

With a foreword written by Sarah Ayoub, A Little Better Elsewhere weaves together experiences of joy, longing, sadness and comfort, challenging us to consider whether nostalgia helps us make peace with the past or keeps us trapped in its shadow.


The University of Sydney Anthology is created, curated and produced by publishing students.

Sarah Ayoub is a freelance journalist and best-selling author based in Sydney. Sarah attained her PhD with a thesis examining migrant narratives in Australian teen lit and currently lectures in journalism and writing at the University of Sydney and the University of Notre Dame. She has been a Stella Prize Schools Ambassador, hosted writing workshops with the Australian High Commission in Brunei, and most recently been a judge for the NSW Premiers Literary Awards. She is a former writer-in-residence of Sweatshop Literacy Movement and currently sits on the board of the Australian Society of Authors. Her work has appeared in various print and online publications. Her books include Hate is Such a Strong Word, and The Yearbook Committee and The Cult of Romance.

Acknowledgements

Foreword by Sarah Ayoub

A Little Better Elsewhere by Raghad Hilles

Bana’murrai’yung (wet becoming cooler) by Chloe Isabelle Pryce

Everything and Nothing at All by Aishmita Kumar

When Did You Say You Were Leaving by Rosanna Chim

Bougainvilliea by Mona Elhassan

Lotus Bloom by Arani Ahmed

Memory Lane by Zara Hussain

Elderberry by Lakai Tungafasi

Developing Film by Lachlan Griffiths

The Flesh Age by Prue Foster

Late Summer, Balmain by Shania Daphne Andrea OBrien

Strange Memory Mechanisms by Jennifer Scarini

The Whole of the Moon by Amalia Stone

Aubade by Lachlan Griffiths

Free to a Good É«½ç°É by Cherie Baird

Kala by Kuyili Karthik

Doc Martin by Vanessa Yenson

White Will Drink the Wine by Shania Daphne Andrea OBrien

Waiting for the Fall by Arani Ahmed

Where To? by Joseph Parker Lucas

What the Lace Remembers by Ananya Thirumalai

Gia by Yenfay Camp

Muscle Memory by Ujjwal Nandan

Squish by Sagar Nair

The White Salamander Tax by Jacob Lucas

Pocket Worlds by Lucy Blue

Tree Rings by Annis Chan

Coming Up For Air by Vanessa Yenson

His Light Guiding Me by Angela Fossi

Family Is the Thing of Dreamlikeness by Jensen Chou

Perfection by Clara Tan

Reflections by Cherie Baird

An Angel With Me by Angela Fossi

Worm by Emily Jean

A Window to You by Angela Fossi

The First Bite by Shania Daphne Andrea OBrien

Twenty Years Love by Chloe Isabelle Pryce

Day One by Alessio Maugeri

Night-child by Chloe Isabelle Pryce

Invitations by Saraa Purba

Purloin by Prue Foster

The Art of Gift Giving by Urvi Agarwal

É«½ç°Écoming by Purny Ahmed

My Last Day by Komal Gupta

Liver Spots by Zara Hussain

About the Authors

About the Editors

Format: paperback
Size: 210 x 148 mm
Copyright: 2026
ISBN: 9781742105871
Publication: 01 Mar 2026