Under Cover : Adventures in the Art of Editing

Under Cover : Adventures in the Art of Editing
ISBN: 9781925106756
Publication Date: 26 August 2015

In 1971, Craig Munro was a young editor at the University of Queensland Press, with just a typewriter and a poorly thumbed copy of the Chicago Manual of Style on his desk.

Over the next two decades, Craig became involved in an invigoration of Australian writing and publishing, with University of Queensland Press at its centre. After reading Carey's work in the indie magazine Tabloid Story, Craig published Carey's short-story collection, The Fat Man in History. He went on to edit several of Carey's novels, as well as David Malouf's classic semi-autobiographical novel Johnno. Craig championed the work of Olga Masters and Barbara Hanrahan, edited the stories of a young Murray Bail, and became firm friends with author and Top of the Lake scriptwriter Gerard Lee and his then wife, Jane Campion. Over the course of his long career, he also encountered an irascible Xavier Herbert, hardworking journalist Hugh Lunn, raconteur Herb Wharton, master storyteller Elizabeth Jolley, and then-emerging talent Kate Grenville. Just as importantly, Craig mentored and trained passionate editors who are today well-known agents, editors, and publishers.

In this remarkably candid volume, Munro shares his experiences of editing some of Australia's finest writers and the personal and professional relationships he developed over his long career. He recounts arguably the most daring, innovative, and well-funded period that Australian publishing has seen with humour, insight, and warmth. Like Hilary McPhee's Other People's Words, Under Cover is essential reading for all those who love books and cherish Australia's literary culture.