Martin Flanagan writes for the Age newspaper and is the author of twelve books, among them "The Call", an imaginative re-construction of the life of Tom Wills, a founder of the game, and "The Last Quarter", a trilogy of his football books.

What people have said about Martin Flanagan's football writing:

'Martin Flanagan must never be allowed to stop writing football. I say this because he is the only football writer I have read who is so good I think he could nearly describe a heartbeat - and that, if you want to touch the essence of football, is what you have to do.' Don Watson

'If I'm ever prompted, I have no hesitation in nominating Martin Flanagan as my favourite writer… I only hope I can see the game off the field as well as he does.' Nathan Buckley

'I like Martin's writing, and I know most players do too, because he comes from a different perspective.' James Hird

'The best of Flanagan has a finesse and feeling that no current Australian sports-writer approaches, let alone equals.' Gideon Haigh

'I love his brain.' Kevin Sheedy