Tim Winton interview: ‘The world isn’t always what you think it is’
The author of The Riders on creating characters who feel like family, the force of weather and geography in fiction, and how being a parent has shaped him as a writer
Monthly Spotlight: The Riders by Tim Winton
Tim Winton’s 1995 shortlisted novel features a desperate man’s attempts to find his missing wife as he journeys across Europe
Tim Winton is an accomplished Australian author and was named a ‘Living Treasure’ by the National Trust of Australia in 1997. He is the author of 13 novels, two of which, The Riders and Dirt Music, were shortlisted for the Booker Prize, in 1995 and 2002 respectively. Winton has won Australia’s most prestigious literary prize – the Miles Franklin Award – four times.
The Riders follows Scully, a distressed father who is desperately searching for his missing wife. Travelling across Europe with his young daughter, Billie, he’s haunted by a ghostly presence as he tries to comprehend his wife’s actions.
The Riders is currently being adapted for the screen. The A24-backed film, directed by Edward Berger (Conclave, Patrick Melrose), produced by Ridley Scott and starring Brad Pitt, is expected to be released in late 2026.
From a reading guide and extract to illuminating features, find out more about our October Monthly Spotlight here.
- By
- Tim Winton
- Published by
- Picador
Tim Winton depicts a man’s desperate quest across Europe, as he tries to track down his missing wife
