Cirrus@Austlit

'Eight years ago, I spent two weeks on a writing retreat with the well-known writer Bri Lee, before her name was well known. At the time, I was twenty-six and had recently published my debut short story collection. She was twenty-four and had recently sold her debut memoir. We didn’t vibe. I suspect that my style of working didn’t look like work to her, that I annoyed her by doing stuff like banging the ice tray on the counter while she typed at the kitchen table. Her working style looked like work. She struck me as equal parts ambitious and insecure—qualities that I shared and didn’t enjoy seeing in another.'  (Introduction)