Cirrus@Austlit

'Why book publishing can be a risky business'

''Writers, their friends, enemies, editors, and publishers began to materialise out of the library's archive boxes, and I found myself setting off in search of these elusive, eccentric, and often quarrelsome characters.'

'In this unique and entertaining blend of memoir, biography, and literary detective work, highly respected former fiction editor Craig Munro recreates the lives and careers of Australia's most renowned literary editors and authors, spanning a century from the 1890s to the 1990s.

'Famous figures featured in this book include A.G. Stephens, who helped turn foundry worker Joseph Furphy's thousand-page handwritten manuscript into the enduring classic Such Is Life; P.R. Stephensen, who tangled with the irascible Xavier Herbert, working closely with the novelist to revise his unwieldy masterpiece Capricornia; Beatrice Davis, who cut Herbert's later novel Soldiers' Women in half, and whose lively literary soirees were the talk of Sydney; and award-winning fiction editor Rosanne Fitzgibbon, who was known as a friend and champion to her authors, including the prodigiously talented young novelist Gillian Mears.

'Throughout it all, in beguiling and elegant style, Craig Munro weaves his own reminiscences of a life in publishing while tracking down some of Australian literature's most fascinating and little-known stories. Literary Lion Tamers is a delight for anyone interested in the wild outer edges of the book world.' (Publication summary)

'Scholarly research on book history and contemporary publishing has expanded significantly since the 1990s. Book Publishing in Australia: A Living Legacy draws on a wide range of print and digital resources, and builds on the work of three earlier volumes: Paper Empires: A History of the Book in Australia 1946–2005, edited by Craig Munro and Robyn Sheahan-Bright (University of Queensland Press, 2006); Making Books: Contemporary Australian Publishing, edited by David Carter and Anne Galligan (University of Queensland Press, 2007); and The Return of Print? Contemporary Australian Publishing, edited by Aaron Mannion and Emmett Stinson (Monash University Publishing, 2016).' (Publication abstract)

'I first read Xavier Herbert’s remarkable novel Capricornia in 1972 – the year I was married – and it led to several heated discussions with my newly acquired father-in-law. Later I discovered that his grazier forebears had been – for their time – enlightened squatters. Around 1900, they commissioned Steele Rudd’s father, the ex-convict Thomas Davis, to write a memoir of his early days on the Darling Downs. As well as a frank account of frontier violence, it included an extensive glossary of Aboriginal words.'  (Introduction)

'Craig Munro began his blue-pencil adventures at the University of Queensland Press in 1971. Over the next thirty years, he became friend, counsellor, and occasionally foil to some of the country's leading authors.

'From a champagne-fuelled telegram to Patrick White to a run-in with Xavier Herbert, Craig's editorial life was punctuated by encounters with remarkable writers. Championing the early works of Peter Carey, right up to the Booker–winning True History of the Kelly Gang, Craig also edited David Malouf's first novel, Johnno. He was teased by Murray Bail's tantalising mind games, discovered a passion for Olga Masters' fiction, and helped create UQP's acclaimed Indigenous list.

'Blending book history with memoir, Under Cover explores the invisible art of editing from an insider's perspective. Told with warmth and humour, it is a wise, entertaining tour of three audacious, intoxicating, and ultimately inspiring decades of publishing mayhem.