Melanie Kembrey
Melanie Kembrey connects readers to contemporary books and the wider literary world, blending coverage of new releases, author voices and the business of publishing. She is National Books Editor at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age and editor of their arts and culture publication Spectrum, overseeing book coverage that spans reviews, curated lists, prize reporting and industry stories. Her work links what is selling, what is winning prizes and what is worth attention into clear, accessible narratives for general readers.
Books coverage and curated reading lists
In her books role, Melanie shapes and commissions much of the masthead’s literary coverage, including book reviews, author interviews and reporting on the publishing industry. She regularly assembles reading lists that organise a crowded market into concise selections, such as pieces on the year’s highest‑selling titles and what readers have been buying and discussing across the year. Her articles often group fiction and nonfiction together, offering a balanced view of both narrative and idea‑driven work and making it easier for readers to navigate new releases. As National Books Editor, she also draws on colleagues across The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age to create collective recommendations, including mid‑year round‑ups of the best books staff have read so far. This curatorial approach gives her coverage a strong through‑line: clear, practical guidance on what to read now, grounded in sales data, newsroom expertise and literary judgment.
Australian authors, emerging talent and prizes
Melanie’s coverage consistently highlights local authors, with recurring attention to Australian fiction and nonfiction across genres. She prepares selective lists of new releases that foreground Australian writers, limiting the number of titles to keep the focus tight and show which books stand out in a given season. Her work also engages closely with prizes and recognition; for example, she has written about a history book that has accumulated so many awards stickers it is “running out of room,” using that story to explore how repeated prize wins shape a book’s place in the market and in public conversation.[anchor] Beyond individual titles, she plays a long‑running role in identifying emerging talent through involvement with The Sydney Morning Herald’s Best Young Australian Novelist program, including judging the award and appearing with winners at events and festivals. Across this reporting, she treats awards, lists and critical acclaim not as isolated honours but as part of a broader ecosystem that influences which writers break through and sustain careers.
Arts and culture through Spectrum and Good Weekend Talks
As editor of Spectrum, Melanie extends her focus from books into the wider arts and culture landscape, overseeing coverage that includes literature, pop culture and other creative fields. She has introduced and promoted columns of “hot (and cold) takes on pop culture minutiae” in Spectrum, signalling an interest in everyday cultural phenomena as well as high‑profile works. Her role involves not only editing but also front‑of‑house work as a host and interlocutor: she presents episodes of the Good Weekend Talks podcast, interviewing authors and cultural figures in long‑form conversations that deepen and contextualise their work for listeners. She also moderates public events on media and culture, such as discussions at major libraries, drawing on more than a decade of experience at The Sydney Morning Herald. Together, these activities show a consistent pattern in her coverage: she connects books to the wider arts and media environment, framing them within trends in culture, commerce and public debate.
Across all of these strands, Melanie’s reporting is distinguished by its emphasis on the intersection of culture and the book business. She writes about what people are reading, what is selling and what is being honoured, while keeping the focus on the stories and writers behind those trends. For anyone looking to place a story in her orbit, the strongest alignment comes with topics that speak to contemporary books, Australian writing, publishing dynamics and how these shape broader cultural conversations.
4 more business journalists.
AdNews
AdNews focuses on how corporate decisions, campaigns and industry recognition shape the wider communications market, linking company moves and sector trends to their impact on regional audiences, traditional channels and people working in news and adland. It covers the business of media, marketing and advertising, tying deals, awards and campaigns to how the ecosystem functions day to day. Its reporting follows regional television and restructuring around Nine’s stations, explains why regional TV matters commercially, and combines transaction news with audience and pricing analysis. Long reads track traditional media recovery after COVID‑19 through agency views and budget shifts. AdNews treats journalists, mastheads and awards as business assets and reports on campaigns and marketing aimed at business owners, profiling data tools like Standard Media Index to show how entrepreneurial ideas become industry infrastructure.
Adrian Black
Adrian Black is a business reporter who treats regulation, court action and economic shocks as core business terrain, not side issues. He writes for The Canberra Times, covering corporate conduct, legal and market consequences of misleading investors, and concrete risks from technology, crime and volatile costs. His recent work centres on detailed coverage of the fallout from Regional Express profit forecasts and losses, tracking ASIC’s case, courtroom arguments and continuous disclosure mechanics in the NSW Supreme Court. He follows contested cases over time, parses formal statements, and connects legal developments to reputational damage, shareholder confidence and governance standards. Beyond litigation, he reports on rising fuel and energy costs, unpaid invoices and money mule schemes as operational risks, and examines how AI changes careers, always tying abstract forces back to specific businesses, workers and the choices they face.
Adrian Leung
Adrian Leung is a technically precise reporter on Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers, distinguished by deep coverage of engineering specifications, thermal management systems, and performance metrics often ignored by business media. He writes on Chinese EV makers including BYD, Nio, Leapmotor, Xiaomi, and others, examining their manufacturing strategies, market positioning, and production developments. His Electrical and Computer Engineering background informs detailed analysis of battery thermal management, torque outputs, battery capacities, and thermal performance metrics, including case studies like BYD’s Flash Charging system and e4 motor system. Leung tracks new model launches and refreshes with exact dimensions, pricing, and export timelines, and reports on broader auto industry profits, production volumes, and margins. He also covers battery technology and solid-state battery delays, translating complex chemistry and semiconductor supply chain issues into clear, business-focused insights.
Alex Gluyas
Alex Gluyas is distinct for tracking how investor flows, valuation pressures and structural shifts shape the Australian sharemarket, with a particular focus on equities and the technology sector. He is a markets reporter at the Australian Financial Review covering major asset classes, regularly writing about equities, commodities and currency markets. His core beat is equity markets and ASX trading dynamics, where he follows ASX performance, trading conditions, sector moves and trading behaviour, including record online activity and volatility driven by algorithmic trading firms, hedge funds, passive flows and superannuation funds. He reports live on how local shares respond to global moves, political shocks and company news, using performance data and fund manager commentary. He often focuses on technology stocks, AI and valuation risk, and analyses market structure, including ASX shrinkage and rising concentration in the S&P/ASX 200.