Short Stories by George Ivanoff

Kid Stories

50 Cents,
Stories for 9 Year Olds, Linsay Knight (ed) Random House Australia, NSW, Dec 2014.
A story about a very special 50 cent coin… that goes missing.

Adventure Holiday,
Orbit, March 2007 issue (Vol.92 No.2), NSW School Magazine.
A science fiction story about an interplanetary holiday that goes wrong.

Adventures With Yen 1: Finding Yen,
Tibbidy Magazine, #1, Jan 2008.
This was meant to be the first story in an ongoing series… but this mag never made it past #1. It’s a fantasy/adventure about two kids, a talking French Poodle and a genie named Yen.

Buried Treasure,
Countdown, July 2005 issue (Vol.90 No.6), NSW School Magazine.
A story about two kids searching for buried treasure on their grandmother’s farm.

City Run,
Astonishing Adventures,
Literacy Network magazine, Macmillan Education, 2010.
A story about a chase through a large city.

Dinosaur Bones,
Reading Box Green, 2007, Teachers 4 Teachers Publications Pty Ltd.
This is a humorous story about a kid digging up his back yard looking for dinosaur bones.

Dreaming the Win,
Speccy-tacular AFL Stories, Penguin Random House, NSW, 2018.
This is a funny story about footy on another planet.

Dog Ate My Homework, The,
Blast Off, February 2006 issue (Vol.91 No.1), NSW School Magazine. Reprinted in Stories for 7 Year Olds (ed: Linsay Knight, Random House Australia) in Dec 2014.
A story about a kid who has an amazing excuse for not being able to hand in his homework.

Easy Capture,
Reading Box Red, 2008, Teachers 4 Teachers Publications Pty Ltd.
A story about a young girl alone on a space ship about to be boarded by pirates.

Fairy Pie,
Stories for Girls, Random House Australia, NSW, 2013.
A story about fairies and the troll who wants to cook them.

Family Kitchen,
The Big Ideas Book: Families in Focus,
Harcourt Education, 2007.
A very short story about changing perceptions over the generations.

Future Dreaming,
Under the Weather: Stories about climate change, edited by Tony Bradman, Frances Lincoln (UK) in Nov 2009. Published in Australia by Walker Books in Feb 2010.
A young girl has frightening dreams about what the future may hold… but with the help of the new boy in her class, she realises that she can have an influence on the future.

Great Dinosaur Bone Mystery, The,
Blast Off, June 2005 issue (Vol.90 No.5), NSW School Magazine. Reprinted in Dinosaurs, BOLDPRINT, edited by Elizabeth Siegel, Rubicon Publishing Inc., Canada, June 2007.
A story about a young girl trying to help her father find a missing dinosaur bone.

Great Golden Idol of Bob, The,
Double Agents (part of Thrillogy), Edited by Paul Collins and Meredith Costain, Pearson Education Australia, August 2001.
[Double Agents – ISBN:0 7339 2474 3, Thrillogy set – ISBN:0 7339 2466 2]

Guardian of Tears,
Cat Stories, Penguin Random House, NSW, 2016.
A young girl is upset by her classmates’ reaction to her new short haircut and needs the help of a very special cat to deal with the situation.

Kids In Space,
Countdown, Oct 2004 issue (Vol.89 No.9), NSW School Magazine.
A science fiction story about a class of kids visiting the International Space Station.

Liquid Mouse,
Stories for 8 Year Olds, Linsay Knight (ed), Random House Australia, NSW, Dec 2014.
A story about a mouse, some evil cats and a daring rescue.

Long Shot,
Reading Box Yellow, 2009, Teachers 4 Teachers Publications Pty Ltd.
A story about a basketball game in space.

Market Day,
Reading Box Red, 2008, Teachers 4 Teachers Publications Pty Ltd.
A story about a girl wanting to buy a music book at a market.

Many Dogs, One Bone,
Dog Stories, Penguin Random House, NSW, 2016.
A boy in a wheelchair and a little robot dog get pursued by vicious robot dobermans.

Music of the Pod People,
Rich & Rare, Edited by Paul Collins, Ford Street Publishing, Vic, 2015.
A new portable music format, an alien invasion and peanuts collide in this humorous sci-fi story.

Next Step, The,
Orbit, Feb 2004 issue (Vol.89 No.1), NSW School Magazine.
A science fiction story about a boy communicating with aliens.

Night of the Unright,
Beyond the Grave, Edited by Paul Collins and Meredith Costain, Pearson Education Australia, August 2000.
[Beyond the Grave – ISBN: 0 7339 1462 4,Spinouts Bronze set – ISBN: 0 7339 1435 7]

Paper Wings,
Countdown, May 2006 issue (Vol.91 No.4), NSW School Magazine.
A story about a young girl’s flight of fancy.

Pudding Prize,
A Toy Christmas, Christmas Press, Nov 2016.
Each year, Great Gran puts a special prize into the family’s christmas pudding. This year it’s something extra special.

Rainbows and Jellyfish,
Stories for Boys, Random House Australia, NSW, 2013.
A story about a rather unusual alien encounter.

Saving Eden,
Tracking Through Science Fiction, Rigby, 2001.
This is a sequel to my novelette, Generation Ship.

Secret Agent Boy,
Orbit, October 2006 (Vol.91 No.9), NSW School Magazine.
A story about a boy training to be a secret agent.

The Thing,
Literacy Network Magazine, Red Wings Learning, New York, 2012.
A story about a strange thing called a Memory Eraser.

Underwater World,
Access Now, Pacific Learning, 2011.
Access Now is a set of literacy cards for use in US schools. This is a story about a mother and daughter going scuba diving.

Virtual Reality: 2023,
Access Now, Pacific Learning, 2011.
Access Now is a set of literacy cards for use in US schools. This is a story about a boy using VR to research the first Moon landing.

Waiting For The Phone,
Natural Disasters, Literacy Network magazine, Macmillan Education, 2010.
A story about a young girl waiting for news of her father, who has been trapped down a mine after and earthquake.

Wish Upon A Skateboard,
Orbit, August 2008 (Vol.93 No.7), NSW School Magazine.
A fantasy story about two kids, a skateboard and a genie.

Teen/YA Stories

Cooking,
Access Now, Pacific Learning, 2011.
Access Now is a set of literacy cards for use in US schools. This is a story about a teenage boy coming to terms with his mother being in hospital.

Dare To Swim,
GROW: Under the Southern Cross, edited by Anne Hamilton and Lyn Hurry, Writerlynks Grow, 2008.
A humorous story about trying to meet a dare.

Game Plan,
Trust Me!, edited by Paul Collins, Ford Street Publishing, April 2008.
A science fiction story about two teens and the challenges they face in pursuit of a rather unusual goal. Check out the book trailer below. This story was the inspiration for the novel Gamers’ Quest.

Gamers’ Inferno,
Trust Me Too!, edited by Paul Collins, Ford Street Publishing, June 2012.
A new story set in the same world as my Gamers novels.

Steps,
Midnight Echo #5, edited by Leigh Blackmore, Australian Horror Writers Association, March 2011.
This was written as a creepy YA story, but ended up in a general horror mag.

Grown Up Stories

And the Flesh Shall Fall,
Busybird Newsletter, Busybird Publishing and Design, Feb 2012.
A dark fantasy piece of flash fiction.

Bang!,
Midnight Echo, #1, Australian Horror Writers Association, Oct 2008.
A humorous, dark fantasy about exploding heads.

Blue Eyes,
Southern Blood, edited by Bill Congreve, Sandglass Enterprises Pty Ltd, July 2003.
[ISBN: 0 9580739 0 2]
A psychological horror story about a father and son. George’s wife, Kerri Valkova, provided the accompanying illustration.

Blue Moon Sonata,
Redsine, issue #10, November 2002.
A story of werewolves, music and higher education.

Colonist and the Choirmaster, The,
Fantastic Wonder Stories, edited by Russell B. Farr, Ticonderoga Publications, April 2007.
A science fiction story about colonists visiting a far-distant planet, that isn’t quite what they expected.

Feather-light,
Belong, edited by Russell B. Farr, Ticonderoga Publications, April 2010.
A story about unrequited love and a gay angel.

Heart of Gervacsio, The,
Dark Cheer: Cryptids Emerging, Volume Silver, edited by Atlin Merrick, Improbably Press, May 2022.
Set in an alternative past, this story is about the pursuit of a mythical cryptid.

Just a Game,
Dark Animus, Issue 10/11, Jan-June 2007 (although the online PDF issue was published at this time, the print version of this issue was finally published in June 2008).
A horror story about black-market, virtual reality games.

Kanchanaburi Find, The,
Ripples Magazine, Issue 2, October 2005.
A science fiction story set in Thailand and inspired by a trip there.

Last Monk, The,
Aurealis Magazine, issue #30, October 2002. Reprinted in Monk Punk, edited by AJ French, Static Movement, April 2011.
A science fiction story inspired by a visit to St Katherine’s Monastery at the foot of Mt Sinai. George’s wife, Kerri Valkova, provided the accompanying illustration.

MTP,
The Workers’ Paradise, edited by Russell B. Farr and Nick Evans, Ticonderoga Publications, December 2007. MTP stands for Management Training Programme.
A science fiction story set in the near future, where a company pays its employees with drugs as well as money.

Murder of Crows,
Clamour and Mischief, edited by Narrelle M Harris, Clan Destine Press, Dec 2022.
A little kids’ story for grown-ups, full of alliteration, whimsy, collective nouns and violent murder.

My Last Duke,
Anna Karenina Isn’t Dead, edited by Atlin Merrik, Improbably Press, March 2024.
A response, in the form of a letter, to Robert Browning’s classic poem “My Last Duchess”..

Nigella and the Clockwork Man,
Shadow Plays, April 2007.
A dark, adult fairy tale about the lengths to which Nigella will go, to create her perfect man.

Photographic Memory,
[untitled], Issue 1, Sept 2009.
Just a simple story about a man remembering how he once snuck into an R-rated drive-in movie when he was a kid.

Shit Happens,
Ripples Magazine, Issue 9, July 2007.
A tongue-in-cheek science fiction story about unethical business practices, energy nodules and constipation.

Tall, Dark and Handsome,
[untitled], #4, 2011.
A humorous story about a man falling for another man he hasn’t even met.

Vitality,
Dead Red Heart, edited by Russell B. Farr, Ticonderoga Publications, 2011.
This anthology is full of Australian vampire stories.