Award-winning author Evie Wyld talks about her new book “The Echoes” and why there are so many sharks in her novels. Also Catherine McKinnon’s epic war novel “To Sing of War” and Jordan Prosser’s novel about a band road trip “Big Time”.

Evie Wyld is one of the few Australian writers to have won both the Miles Franklin and Stella awards (the Miles for All the Birds, Singing and the Stella for The Bass Rock). In her fiction, she is drawn to the paranormal and the gothic, and that atmosphere permeates her new book, The Echoes, which is partly narrated by a ghost. Evie shares her best writing tip (yes, it involves sharks) and tells how she found the TV series Neighbours when she was growing up in England.

Catherine McKinnon is a playwright, literary critic and novelist. Her second novel, Storyland, was shortlisted for the 2018 Miles Franklin. Catherine’s third book, To Sing of War, is set during World War II and asks what makes that war so special. It is an interwoven story that weaves together multiple perspectives of characters in different locations, including the Australians fighting the Japanese in New Guinea and the developers of the atomic bomb in New Mexico, USA.

Big Time is the debut novel by Australian screenwriter and novelist Jordan Prosser. It is the story of a band road trip set in a futuristic, fascist Australia, where a popular drug gives users a glimpse into their future.

August is Australian Poetry Month and to mark the occasion, Radio National brings you brand new poems commissioned by Red Room Poetry. Laura Panopoulos is a poet based in Tasmania who also runs Silver Words, a monthly open mic spoken word event in Hobart. Laura’s poem is called Perimeter of Rectangles. For more information about Poetry Month visit Red Room Poetry.