Catherine McKinnon

Catherine McKinnon writes Australian literary fiction that links private lives to landscape, history, and ecological change. Storyland unfolds around Lake Illawarra through five connected narrators and six time periods, beginning with a 1796 voyage involving Matthew Flinders, George Bass, and cabin boy Will Martin. The sequence moves through 1822, 1900, 1998, 2033, and 2717, then reverses to complete the earlier stories. Objects, kinship, and land carry meaning across the gaps. Fourth Estate Australia first released Storyland in 2017, and it was shortlisted for the 2018 Miles Franklin Literary Award. McKinnon consulted Illawarra elder and poet Aunty Barbara Nicholson about local knowledge, stories, and ownership while developing the work. HarperAudio released an unabridged edition in August 2018, narrated by Ulli Birvé and Grant Cartwright. The palindromic structure lets Storyland hold historical and speculative fiction together, while its recurring setting holds attention on colonization, environmental pressure, and collective memory across generations. The result asks readers to see place as a record of encounter, loss, adaptation, and responsibility rather than a passive backdrop.