I arrive at the restaurant early but the pocket rocket that is Louise Adler is already sitting at the table, having a pre-lunch caffeine hit. She jumps out of her seat, offers me her hand and a beaming smile and introduces me to the waitress, whom she clearly has known for longer than five minutes.

The European, the perennially buzzing, heavily wooded cafe restaurant opposite Victoria's Parliament House, is an extension of Adler's dining room. And, as chief executive of Melbourne University Publishing, she has a fair bit of dining to do in an effort to convince politicians, journalists, sports stars and other would-be authors to write for her. MUP publishes 40 to 60 books a year, which Adler says is not many. In the next breath, however, she concedes she is no good at saying no, suggesting the publishing schedule may be somewhat crowded for an outfit with a staff of 16.