Cirrus@Austlit

'Last month in Melbourne, a group of book reviewers and literary editors took part in a conference organised by Monash University’s Centre for the Book. There were more than thirty short papers, or ‘provocations’, as they were styled. Our Editor lamented the low or non-payment of some reviewers (especially younger ones) and announced a major new campaign to further increase payments to ABR contributors. Much good came from Critical Matters: Book Reviewing Now. Book reviewers are a non-organised, often isolated class: Critical Matters pointed the way to a more united cohort. Hearteningly, the mood was invigorating – not rueful or defensive. To complement this symposium, we invited a number of the participants, and others, to respond to this question: ‘What single development would most improve the Australian critical culture?’'