James Hall began his newspaper career at the Lincoln Echo in England and, after completing his national service, he worked in Bristol. Hall came to Australia in the early 1960s with his first wife, the Australian Liris Mathieson. He worked for radio station 2GB and at the Sun-Herald, and then became one of the original members of staff at the Australian in 1964 where he remained for over ten years. He worked in many capacities at the newspaper including features editor, books editor, assistant editor and editor.
After leaving the Australian, Hall turned to the publishing industry. He joined various publishers including McGraw Hill, Cassell and Oxford University Press. He was also the director of the Australian Book Publishers Association.
In 1987 Hall took up the position of literary editor at the Bulletin. He also served as assistant editor and editor at the Bulletin. In 1991 he returned to the Australian to edit the Australian Magazine for six years and then took over as that newspaper's literary editor until his retirement in 2004.
In 1967 Hall married film critic Sandra Dawson (q.v.). Together they had two sons.
Source: Lenore Nicklin, 'Esteemed Chief Among His Peers', Sydney Morning Herald, 21 August 2006
