I can think of two, for different reasons. Elise Valmorbida for linguistic virtuosity and Tom Vowler for compelling storytelling.
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Thinking the worst of people is too easy and leads nowhere nice or even interesting. Being generous in spirit, without too much naivety, is usually fruitful.
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I’ve been lucky to do brilliant jobs – hospital doctor, RAF officer and writing. The only bad one I’ve ever had was a summer job in a factory ...
One summer I worked for a catering agency as a washer up, they sent me to kitchens all up and down Essex and although it wasn’t particularly fun ...
For me, this work feels vital, fascinating and enriching. It is interesting to be close to another writer’s writing process and to forge collaborations of different kinds, ...
Make up quotes from newspapers or an author you love for a boost in morale; insert your name here—”X’s writing is a tour-de-force” or “X is the most important ...
Nothing, or my own latest novel, however you want to look at it. I don’t read fiction when I’m writing and anyway only have time for New Scientist, ...
When I look at the childhood photographs my parents took, my earliest memories start when I was about four years old. These pictures give me back the sensual feelings I ...
Write the way you speak. So many people are great storytellers but then freeze when they try to put pen to paper. Try dictating it, then transcribing.
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Georgo Bassani, The Garden of Finzi Continis. Today. I’ll have another favourite book tomorrow, but this is the book I would like to share.
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Everything is governed by luck—good luck and bad luck. Advance with caution.
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I used to relax by watching films and reading, and although that does still do it for me a lot of times it can be work. Now I’ve allowed myself ...
I wanted to be a professional writer from the age of 10. I never wanted to be a wine writer. The Guardian made me one out of the blue.
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I wanted to write stories for a living when I was at school. Adults around me were generally discouraging. I became a journalist. The imperative to write re-emerged with the ...
Pornography, otherwise I am always thinking, seeing things. When I sleep I have very complicated dreams and nightmares.
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Whatever you do, do not eat anything that looks even remotely like shrimp. Trust me on this.
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Thumbing through Trainspotting when I was eleven years old really knocked me for six. It made me realise you don’t have to write a novel according to any strict formula ...
Look after your back when you write, invest in good writing equipment, as cute as it sounds to sit hunched up, your spine curled up like a snails shell, it’s ...
I don’t remember deciding, I just wrote. But I did decide to try and make money out of it when I was twenty-two, and got an agent.
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It conveys the confusion of Africa: what do you get when you shake up a can of worms?
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