Richard Flanagan is in the middle of one of those demanding literary tours he usually tries to avoid when we sit down for lunch in Shanghai. The Man Booker Prize-winning author admits, straight up, that he was not keen on doing the interview, which has been organised by the Australian embassy as part of Australian Writers Week in China.

"I was very reticent about doing this," says Flanagan. "I've been on a thing about not doing any Australian press stuff for a few years. Some people revel in it. Good luck to them, I prefer not being known."