A lonely yowie emerges from the bush to attend the Desperate and Dateless Ball. Mysterious creatures descend from the sky to place a ban on footy. A shark named Bruce turns up in the local swimming pool. A fisherman enjoying a boys’ weekend on the Murray River finds perspective where he least expects it.

In SHIRL, Wayne Marshall takes a range of what-if scenarios to their fabulist and comedic extremes. Superbly inventive and powerful, these fourteen stories skewer contemporary Australian society – particularly the crisis of masculinity and national identity – in insightful and yet hilarious ways, blurring the line between fantasy and reality. Slightly warped and darkly comic, this astounding collection will make you rethink what it means to be Australian.

A wonderfully daring, absurd exploration of the sacred tenets of Australian life. – Nic Low

Marshall stretches the short-story form to its very limits utilising both stylistic invention and absurd humour. – VPLA judges