People do change - individuals, families, nations - and the pace of transformation need not be geological.

Truly brave people accept that they may not see victory in their own lifetime. You just keep at it for the sake of those who come after you. You might not win but you stand a better chance by doing something.

Being afreaid proves you're alive and awake.

The desert is a spiritual place, we vaguely understand, and the sea the mere playground of our hedonism.

Who wants to be reputable? That's for golfers and tycoons with a sleazy past.

For a while Australians were desperately trying to be cosmopolitan. I think it is a pointless exercise. Australian novels are those rooted in Australia, with Australian landscapes and colours. My work has always had bits of Western Australia in it. It is always here. The world comes to us.

I eat green ants often enough. They are wonderful. The trick is to squash them before you eat them, otherwise they bite your tongue and it ruins the experience.