In 1982 Baker embarked on a ten-year writing project, interviewing 36 Australian writers for her Yacker –
Australian Writers Talk About Their Work series, published by Picador and based on
The Paris Review interviews with writers. In 1983 she and her then-partner
Robert Drewe moved to Melbourne where Baker worked at
The Age newspaper for a year before she was offered the position of Arts Editor at
Time Australia magazine. In 1988,
The Age newspaper offered Baker a position as a features writer based in Sydney, a position she held for seven years. Baker was subsequently deputy editor of the
Good Weekend, arts editor of the
Sydney Morning Herald, and for five years editor of
The Australians
Weekend Australian Magazine. Between 1986 and 1999
Yacker 1, 2, and 3, were all published, and Baker's first novel,
Women and Horses, was a runner-up in the prestigious Vogel Australian Literary Awards in 1990. It was published in Australia by Picador, and in the U.S as a
hardback by
St. Martin's Press. In 1994 Baker's book of short stories,
The Powerful Owl, was also published by Picador. The title story was runner-up in
The Canberra Times short story competition and has been included in numerous anthologies, including
The Penguin Century of Australian Stories. In 2000 Baker's second novel,
The Hidden, was published by Knopf, and included Baker's own photographs – a theme she would continue later in her anthologies. In 2001 Baker left News Ltd and moved out from Sydney to the Byron Bay hinterland to pursue an interest in natural horsemanship and from where she continues to write articles and books. In 2017 she was appointed President of Save a Horse Australia. In 2014 Baker started
Verandah Magazine an online arts, culture and lifestyle magazine covering the Byron Bay and Northern Rivers region, which includes numerous local contributors. She is also a regular book reviewer for the
Sydney Morning Herald and has also reviewed for
The Times Literary Supplement. Baker has edited a number of anthologies, including
The Penguin Book of the Horse and with
Allen & Unwin as publisher she edited and contributed to
The Infinite Magic of Horses,
The Wonderful World of Dogs,
The Amazing Life of Cats and
The Wisdom of Women. Her writing has also appeared in numerous other anthologies, including Fathers (ed Ross Fitzgerald); Women Love Sex (ed Susan Johnson); Loves (Jean Bedford); The Penguin Book of the Beach (ed Robert Drewe) and The Penguin Book of the City (ed Robert Drewe). She has written three children’s books,
The Little Angels Counting Book,
I Know That and
Belinda the Ninja Ballerina published by Ford Street in 2015, and she is currently working on her third novel. In 2015 Baker also edited and wrote an essay for arts philanthropist Pat Corrigan's book
Gabori, the Pat Corrigan Collection of Paintings by Sally Gabori, published by Pan Macmillan. In 2017 she collaborated with film-maker Marie Craven, creating three film/poetry videos which have been shown around the world. The pair also took part in a poetry collaboration with Chaucer Cameron and Helen Dewbery – ‘Elephant’s Footprint’. Baker has an MA in Art History from the
University of Adelaide. == Personal life ==