Wiping your chin won't be a simple matter in 15 Brisbane cafes this Valentine's Day.
That cappuccino moustache will have to wait until you've read one of 12 micro romance-related stories printed on your paper napkin, all written by Brisbane authors.
Whether you're looking for love, are lovelorn or all loved up there's a 300-word story or two for everyone on the napkins, says QUT humanities graduate Sue Wright who asked emerging Brisbane authors to write a piece of flash fiction about finding/losing love.
"The response was tremendous and we have a variety of quirky, fun stories that can be read in the time it takes to imbibe a coffee," Ms Wright said.
"There's a love-at-first-sight story, a falling out of love story, a love across a crowded room story, a short memoir, and one about a gamer and his anxiety-filled attempt to ask a non-gamer out.
"I thought the napkin stories seemed like a great way for people to connect with and celebrate local writers.
"Brisbane has some wonderfully talented writers and I'm keen to help get their stories out there, and the cafes have been fantastically supportive."
QUT graduates are among the authors. Freya Wright-Brough, a screenwriter graduated from QUT last year. Her story "God, not another Bad Hair Day" is about the god of the BHD who is fed-up with the job until he causes two people to meet and fall in love.
"Flash fiction isn't something I'd seek out but if it's there in a cafe I would want to read more of it," she said.
Jack Vening, who won the QUT 2010 undergrad and 2012 postgrad creative writing prizes, wrote about a boy who tries to find a girl he met as a child on a family trip through Kalgoorlie.
"It's mainly a lamentation, or a love-letter to a memory that he's actively seeking to reclaim, though it's impossible," says Jack, a contributor to Stilts, the online Brisbane-centric literary site started by QUT graduates.
QUT honours graduate Alana Eising's story is called "Love the Sea" and is about a woman who runs away to find solace in the sea she loves
"I'm always exploring the effect the sea has on people and relationships, both as a metaphor and as a physical thing," Alana said.
Copies of each of the stories will be available on napkins from these cafes on Thursday, February 14:
- The Little Prince Espresso - Woolloongabba
- Avid Reader - West End
- Black Cat Books - Paddington
- Riverbend Books and Teahouse - Bulimba
- Hallowed Grounds Espresso - Mt Gravatt
- Shucked Espresso - Newstead
- Rendezvous - Dayboro
- Chica Cino - Nundah Village
- Woolloongabba Antique Centre - Woolloongabba
- Lady Marmalade - Stones Corner
- Brother Espresso - Brisbane City, Bulimba, Windsor
- The Fifth Battery - Fortitude Valley
- Library Cafe - State Library of Queensland, Southbank
Media contact: Niki Widdowson, Q!UT media, 07 3138 2999 or n.widdowson@qut.edu.au
