University of Queensland Press (UQP) is a fine independent publisher but from the early 70s to the late 90s in particular it really punched above its weight. At one time or another, its stable of authors included Peter Carey, David Malouf, Kate Grenville, and Murray Bail. It published Peter Carey’s Oscar and Lucinda and True History of the Kelly Gang, both of which went on to win the Booker Prize. For most of that time Craig Munro was the editor behind those works.

As a young journalist, Munro was offered a job by the flamboyant head of UQP, the American academic Frank Thompson. Munro’s first encounter with Peter Carey was at the advertising agency where Carey worked. Over many bottles of beer, Carey declaimed loudly about writing and advertising: ‘I don’t want to be a full-time writer because writing’s a boring f**king insular silly occupation. I can earn a huge amount from advertising.’ But, as Munro shows, despite Carey’s apparent condescension, he took writing very seriously and was determined to master the craft.

It was strange that this small press in Australia’s most conservative city should become one of the beacons in publishing contemporary Australian poetry and fiction. When Thompson left to join another publisher, the board appointed the charming and energetic Laurie Muller to run the press. Muller came from a commercial publishing background and was shocked by UQP’s poor fiscal state, but he was fiercely committed to the idea of promoting Australian writing. He appointed Munro as the publishing manager. This was at a time when The Australian’s Greg Sheridan wondered why anyone would bother reading Australian literature and described his attempts at reading Carey’s work as ‘fruitless’. It was a fascinating time in Australia’s cultural history and Munro’s account is a warm and engrossing one. If you have the slightest interest in writing and publishing you’ll love this book – just as I did.

Mark Rubbo