I had planned to start this letter wondering how on earth December has come around again so quickly. But as I write, huge swathes of Australia are on fire, with a million hectares already burned. Homes have been destroyed and several lives lost. It’s hard to think of anything else.

Firefighters say they have never seen anything like it, and it’s not even summer yet. Scientists have been warning us for decades that climate change and water mismanagement will inevitably lead to catastrophic situations like this. I hope by the time you are reading this, the fires have abated and the Australian government is having a very serious discussion about the steps they need to take to address the environmental crisis facing us. Climate change is having an impact on everything, including the arts. We have been preparing a story about this issue for early next year.