[Guiltiest Pleasure:] Listening to Bon Jovi in the shower.
: Being terrified of a pantomime pirate and shouting at him to leave the good guys alone. An early precursor for not being able to distinguish between fiction and ...
Before I could use a pen to form words, I “wrote” in pictures; and once I could write, I did. I think I consciously knew writing was the thing when ...
[Earliest memory:] It would be something faded by the Californian sun of the early-eighties, most probably.
[When did you want to be writer?] When I found out about Roald Dahl’s hut.
[On underrated authors:] I can think of two, for different reasons. Elise Valmorbida for linguistic virtuosity and Tom Vowler for compelling storytelling.
When I was a kid, football and wildlife programmes were the two things I got most excited about. David Attenborough told me that polar bears have no natural predators, and ...
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.
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 ...
I do prefer the days when I could go to a comic store once or twice a month and find a new issue of Peepshow, Underwater, Eightball, or Optic Nerve: ...
I love Carver, of course, but I’m not exceptionally well-read, so I actually discovered his work when his name started popping up in reviews of my comics. I felt obligated ...
Michael Ondaatje
“I’ve been a fan of your work for 29 years,” begins Geoff Dyer as he sits down in conversation with Michael Ondaatje. “I’ve read all your ...
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 ...
Rob Fred Parker talks to writer Joe Dunthorne about his latest novel, the film adaptation of his debut Submarine, and more. Fans of of the magazine and Litro Live! may also recognise ...
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.
[Favourite book:] 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.