When did you first write for ABR?

It was 2001. A dual review of Malcolm Knox’s début novel, Summerland, and Steven Carroll’s The Art of the Engine Driver. Luckily, I was generous about these relatively unknown authors and their books, since both went on to become significant figures in Australian letters.

Which critics most impress you?

There are so many. Elizabeth Hardwick, the doyenne of the New York Review of Books, remains the critic I take the most pleasure in re-reading. Gracious, whip-crack smart, widely read, a talented creative writer in her own right who approached even the most august literary personages with a beady gaze. I would have feared mightily being reviewed by her.