Tim Winton's first Miles Franklin-winner, Shallows revolves around the ruthless commerce of whaling, and Queenie Cookson, who joins the fight to end it.


Angelus is a frontier town with a dark colonial past. And, for a century and a half, it's been a whaling port first and foremost. Queenie Cookson comes from a long line of whalers, but she loves the majestic creatures that visit every winter, so when citified conservationists descend on her community to protest, she's torn between loyalties. And everything solid around her begins to come apart.

'Shallows is that rare thing, not historical fiction, but fiction which brings the history of a place to life . . . a major work of Australia literature.' Washington Post

'A profound and inspiring work of fiction.' The Age

'This is dazzling, dazzling. It makes the heart pound.' Los Angeles Times

'Shallows is more than a passionate meditation on the tragedy of whaling; it is in some ways a minimalist Moby Dick, a questioning of the ways of God to man and of man to God.' Sydney Morning Herald