No grounds for complacency

Carmel Bird has been almost impossibly productive. As well as 11 novels and nine collections of short stories, she has edited seven anthologies, written children’s books and racked up a stack of nonfiction works, including the writing-class ­favourite, Dear Writer. She is fleet of foot and can turn her hand to different styles with ease. It is difficult to find another Australian writer working today who has written so diversely and so constantly. Her work often has a breezy humour tha