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Sandy McCutcheon

Presents Australian Talks Back on ABC Radio National.

Biographical Notes from ABC Website

Sandy McCutcheon was brought up in New Zealand and moved to Australia in the 1970s. Most of his working life has been spent in either radio or theatre. Sandy has worked as an actor and director and has written 22 plays that have been professionally produced. He is also a best-selling author.

Sandy was the founder of the Illusion Farm Community, a Buddhist centre in the mountains of Tasmania that provided rest and retreat facilities free of charge for people in need. The Farm also provided the base for the Illusion Circus Theatre Company which toured many of his plays.

In his broadcasting career, Sandy has worked in both commercial and public radio with the highlights being his time on Double Jay and his present position as the producer/presenter of Australia Talks Back , heard every weekday around Australia on ABC Radio National and overseas through ABC Radio Australia. He also presented and produced a monthly book discussion program on Radio National called Australia Talks Books , which attracted some of the world's best-known writers including Peter Carey and John Le Carre.

Sandy has produced radio documentaries in many parts of the world including Bosnia, Yugoslavia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Mozambique, South Africa and North and South Sudan. In Finland he has worked with the Finnish National Broadcaster. He has a strong connection with Finland where he lived and worked on a scholarship from the Finnish Government. Sandy's radio work has been recognised with awards in Australia and at the prestigious New York Radio Festival Awards.

He has also been awarded the International Kalevala Medal by the Finnish Government for services to Finnish culture. Sandy's first novel, In Wolf's Clothing , was entered in the HarperCollins National Fiction Prize in 1995 and was runner-up out of a field of 400.

Sandy's subsequent novels, Peace Crimes , Poison Tree , Safe Haven and Delicate Indecencies are all bestsellers. He has also written two non-fiction titles and an illustrated children's book called Blik! Two new novels are due out next year.

Sandy McCutcheon currently lives in Brisbane.