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.

He 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 presents and produces a monthly book discussion program on Radio National called Australia Talks Books which has attracted some of the world’s best-known writers including Peter Carey and John Le Carre.

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. His 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 calledBlik!