The storybook idea of family—dad, mum, kids, gran and grandpa—doesn't always reflect the bonds that tie us most closely to one another in Australia today. Many of us, even those in traditional family structures, find that the people with whom we feel the greatest kinship—a godmother, a brilliant teacher, a tight-knit group of friends—have no biological connection to us.

The contributors to this collection, among the finest writers in Australia, pay tribute to the people who shaped them, and reimagine what family can mean in the twenty-first century. Forget the old, rigid definitions: this is a celebration of families in all the wonderful forms they may take.

Contributors: Alice Pung, J.P. Pomare, Rachael Treasure, Jackie French and Elaine Harris, Ellen van Neerven, Ruby Hamad, Jaclyn Crupi, Osman Faruqi, Daniel Browning, Amy Remeikis, Leah Jing McIntosh, Antoinette Lattouf, Cath Moore, Oliver Reeson, Fiona Murphy, Shannon Burns, Andy Jackson, Daniel James and Oliver Twist.

Alaina Gougoulis and Ian See are editors at Text Publishing.