I wrote criticism for twenty years, with pieces published in The Daily Telegraph, The Times Literary Supplement, Poetry Review, The London Magazine, The Scotsman, The Scottish Review of Books, Scotland on Sunday and many others. From 2016 to 2018 I also wrote for Canada’s National Post group on books and music.

I no longer write criticism because I cannot afford the time. This is a shame, as I consider lively critical debate at all levels of the media – not just one national book show or a page in a national newspaper – to be essential to literary culture. However, most outlets have long since closed or reduced their books coverage and now pay freelancers less than the minimum wage.