Nick McKenzie is one of the nation’s most decorated investigative journalists, having been named Australian Journalist of the Year on four occasions and awarded the Walkley a record fourteen times. His investigative reports into Ben Roberts-Smith were central to a defamation trial brought against Fairfax media. Last month the Federal Court found that Nick McKenzie’s account of Roberts-Smith’s criminal actions in Afghanistan was substantially true and that these actions could be said to amount to war crimes. Hachette will release his new book, Crossing the Line, this month.

If you could go anywhere tomorrow, where would it be, and why?

Anywhere but a courtroom!

What’s your idea of hell?

Long airport lines.

What do you consider the most specious virtue?

Good looks.

What’s your favourite film?

La Haine or The Big Lebowski.

And your favourite book?

Catcher in the Rye.

Name the three people with whom you would most like to dine.

Christopher Hitchens, Barack Obama, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Which word do you most dislike, and which one would you like to see back in public usage?

‘Nice’, and ‘Blackguard’.

Who is your favourite author?

Cormac McCarthy.

And your favourite literary hero or heroine?

Atticus Finch.

Name an early literary idol or influence whom you no longer admire – or vice versa.

Tim Winton: I used to struggle with his books in my teens. Now he’s my favourite Australian writer.

Which quality do you most admire in a writer?

Ability to evoke place and character.

Which book influenced you most in your youth?

Lord of the Flies.

Do you have a favourite podcast?

The Daily.

What, if anything, impedes your writing?

The internet.

What qualities do you look for in critics, and which ones do you enjoy reading?

Acerbic honesty. Norman Mailer on Tom Wolfe.

How do you find working with editors?

If they can put up with me, great.

What do you think of writers’ festivals?

Affirmation that people still love books.

Are artists valued in our society?

Not as much as they should be.

What are you working on now?

Crossing the Line – my book about Ben Roberts-Smith.