Certifiable Truths : Stories of Love and Madness

by Jane Messer

This collection of writing by Australian writers is diverse in its understandings, moving between the skilful and ingenuous ragged horror of the loss of one’s ‘right’ mind, to more writerly examinations where all the ingenuity of the writer has been utilised.

Genres: Fiction

248 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1998

About the author

I'm a writer of fiction and creative nonfiction, with novels, radio plays and other works published over the years. Coming out in 2026: Raven Mother, a memoir and social history, with NewSouth Publishing.
I'm also a teacher of creative writing, and which is very much a vocation for me. I've been teaching since the early 1990s and headed up the Creative Writing programs at Macquarie University for many years. These days I mentor individual writers and run Masterclasses. And in 2025, I launched StorySALOON: Short Stories, Centre stage, a live show and podcast devoted to growing the audience for Australian short stories (read by some of our brilliant actors).
My most recent novel is Hopscotch (Picador 2015). The past few years while writing Raven Mother, I've been writing short stories. I don't have any plans for a new novel, or not yet anyway!
I'm a passionate reader of Australian and world literature including literature in translation, and love popular genre lit including YA, Speculative and fantasy.
I live in Sydney.