Cassie McCullagh

Were you also a fan of Corris's work?

I think it's closer to 90s.

And I should say I interviewed him a few years ago in 2015.

We've put that old interview up online and so you can find it on the ABC Listen app or at the bookshelf.

Well, we've got an awful lot of stories to get through today, so we'll probably only spend about five minutes or so on each book and then we'll all come back together to see what we think about what short stories do.

But how about we begin with the Australian writer Robert Drew, which you read for us, Brett.

Robert Drew writes novels as well as short stories.

His novels include A Cry in the Jungle Bar from 1979, The Drowner and Whipbird, which was published just last year.

He's written non-fiction too, The Sharknet and Montebello, to name a few.

Now, we're getting a whole beach and island theme here.

His short story collections include The Body Surfers and The Rip.

But Brett, we're going to talk about his latest, which is called The True Colour of the Sea.

But before we do, have you read much of that other work that I just mentioned?

We want to keep reading.

Not enough.

Well, as you say, water and the sea and being on the edge of Australia has so much defined his writing.

I mean, since The Body Surfers in 1983, that was a big shift in Australian writing in the early 80s.

Not so remarkable now, but he did that in a way, didn't he?

And the beaches are on both sides of Australia.

And Robert Drew, as a person, lives between Fremantle in Western Australia and Byron Bay.