Whispers Behind the Wire
About this ebook
Seka Torlak, an investigative journalist, is at an Australian immigration detention centre in 2001, to write a feel-good piece about a model asylum seeker. Instead, she uncovers the story of Afsana — a young Hazara detainee whose quiet defiance made her a thorn in the side of the authorities. The official story is Afsana voluntarily “returned” home, but the paperwork doesn’t add up.
Determined to find the truth, she has herself locked inside as a refugee, undercover among the very people she has come to save. Behind the wire, Seka finds a system designed to break asylum seekers until they surrender their bid for freedom. In a place shadowed by corruption and silence, shining a light on the abuses behind locked gates can get you silenced for good. Will Seka win her freedom and her story, or will she become another silent victim of corruption?
Discover more
About the author
Amra Pajalic is an award-winning Australian author, educator, and indie publisher known for crafting compelling stories that blend heart, humour, and heritage. Her work explores themes of identity, belonging, and resilience, often drawing from her Bosnian background.
She won the 2009 Melbourne Prize for Literature's Civic Choice Award for her debut novel The Good Daughter, re-released as Sabiha's Dilemma (Pishukin Press, 2022). The anthology she co-edited, Growing up Muslim in Australia (Allen and Unwin, 2014), was shortlisted for the 2015 Children's Book Council of the year awards and her memoir Things Nobody Knows But Me (Transit Lounge, 2019) was shortlisted for the 2020 National Biography Award. Her short story collection The Cuckoo's Song (Pishukin Press) features previously published and prize-winning stories.
Amra is the author of the Sassy Saints series, a young adult contemporary trilogy set in Melbourne’s western suburbs. These stories feature smart-mouthed teens, love triangles, fake friends, and fierce girl power, offering a refreshing take on multicultural Australian life.
She is also the creator of the gripping Seka Torlak crime mystery series. Forged on the war-torn streets of Srebrenica, Seka Torlak fights for justice, retribution and truth.
Amra is committed to accessibility and inclusion in publishing. Through her micro-press, Pishukin Press, she releases her titles in a wide range of formats—including audiobook, large print, dyslexic font, paperback, ebook, and hardback—to ensure all readers can experience her stories.
When she's not writing, Amra is podcasting on Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes, mentoring emerging writers, and delivering workshops across Australia on self-publishing, writing craft, and creative resilience.
Connect with Amra via her website https://www.amrapajalic.com/
