Brian Matthews writes the By the Way column for Eureka Street. Brian is honorary Professor of English at Flinders University, Adelaide where he taught for 25 years and was awarded Flinders' first Personal Chair in English. He was Fulbright Scholar in Residence at the University of Oregon, 1986, and subsequently held visiting professorships at the universities of Trento, Venice and Bologna. He was head of the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies and professor of Australian studies at the University of London, 1993–96. In 1997 he became foundation director of the Europe Australia Institute at Victoria University, Melbourne. As a writer of biography, fiction and memoir and as a columnist for the Weekend Australian Magazine and Eureka Street, he has won numerous awards, including the Gold Medal of the Australian Literature Society, the Queensland, New South Wales and Victorian Premiers Awards for literature, the 2004 ARPA award for best humorous article and the CACS Honourable Mention for his The Temple Down The Road: The Life and Times of The MCG — 'An Outstanding Contribution to Australian Culture'. His most recent book, Manning Clark — A Life, won the 2010 National Biography Prize.