Melbourne Rare Book Week

Legendary Melbourne bookseller Mark Rubbo spent almost 50 years in the business until he retired as Readings managing director last year. From his days with one Readings outlet in Carlton to presiding over a chain of eight shops, he nurtured new Australian writers, worked to extend Melbourne’s cultural influence, and fought off a challenge from the Borders behemoth. Text publisher Michael Heyward calls him one of the world’s great independent booksellers. He talks about his career and 50 years of Australian writing to author and literary columnist Jane Sullivan.