| James Ley | |
| Birth Date: | 1971 |
| Birth Place: | Whyalla, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Critic |
| Nationality: | Australian |
| Alma Mater: | University of New England University of Melbourne University of Western Sydney |
| Genres: | --> |
| Subjects: | --> |
| Notablework: | --> |
| Spouses: | --> |
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| Awards: | Geraldine Pascall Prize for Critical Writing |
James Ley (born 1971) is an Australian literary critic and essayist.
James Ley was born in South Australia and grew up in Armidale, New South Wales.
After some time as a freelance critic, Ley founded the Sydney Review of Books. For the Sydney Review of Books, he has written essays on writers such as Ali Smith, Lydia Davis, Ottessa Moshfegh, and Helen Garner. He has been a judge for major fiction prizes in Australia.[1]
He is a prolific critic of Australian Literature. When he won the Geraldine Pascall Prize for Australian Critic of the Year, the judges stated that: 'He operates at the point where scholarly precision and essayistic liberty intersect. ... In a Ley review, you may be sure that an independent opinion informed by wide reading and sharp thinking is being stated'.[2]