Author Interviews | Page 1

Will Maclean | 'It would be amazing to see a ghost, but I never have'

Tim and Abi, the twins at the heart of Will Maclean's story of a haunting, The Apparition Phase, are obsessed with the macabre: “There was... Read more

Jack Dee | 'I trust my instincts and if I’m making myself laugh, it’s usually OK'

Amid a veritable blizzard of books by comedians out this autumn is What Is Your Problem? by Jack Dee, in which “comedy’s little ray of... Read more

Lauren Child | 'It felt like a time to write about what we wish for'

Lauren Child's latest story focuses on Christmas in a Clarice Bean story that is full of empathy and hope Read more

Graeme Macrae Burnet | 'In order to immerse yourself in a novel I think you have to feel that it is real'

Graeme Macrae Burnet's fourth novel is a thrilling investigation into the nature of sanity and identity Read more

Ruth Ozeki | 'As an artist I have relationships with fictional voices all the time'

"The notion of 'a book' is just a convenient fiction which we books go along with because it serves the needs of the bean counters... Read more

Aisling Fowler | 'I wanted to feel I was in a good place with the series before the books came out'

Aisling Fowler was watching her husband play a video game when inspiration for the heroine of her début novel first came to her. “He’s very... Read more

Catriona Ward | 'It tested me more technically, and emotionally, than any book I’ve written'

Catriona Ward's third novel, The House on Needless Street (Viper Books), is fearsomely dark and magnificently multi-layered, a journey to the heart of trauma and... Read more

Bella Mackie | 'I just want to make people laugh, honestly'

A darkly comedic story about class, family and murder might seem like a surprising premise for the début novel from Bella Mackie, whose previous non-fiction... Read more

Toni Tone | 'My publishers have been great at highlighting the fact that there is a lane for me'

Galvanised in the wake of a break-up, Toni Tone turned to Twitter, sharing her shrewd take on relationships, which paved the way for her resonant... Read more

Dapo Adeola | '[Malorie Blackman] is like the aunt I didn’t even know I had'

"She is literally my favourite person in the whole of children’s publishing.” Dapo Adeola is... Read more

Melanie Blake | 'As a working-class person, you must still be seen as you were then, not as you are now'

From time spent homeless as a teen to being a sage to showbiz names, Melanie Blake has spun her colourful career tales into a pair... Read more

David Harewood | 'As a Black British man I believe it is vital that I tell this story'

"As a Black British man I believe it is vital that I tell this story. It may be just a single account from one person... Read more

Alice Oseman on adapting her graphic novels for the screen

Alice Oseman is the author of four contemporary YA novels with HarperCollins Children’s, including Solitaire, which was published when she was 19, and Loveless, which... Read more

R J Palacio | 'The whole book is about the connections we make in our lifetimes'

Pony, the new novel from American bestselling author R J Palacio, is about Silas, a boy who sets off in search of his father with... Read more

M G Leonard and Sam Sedgman | 'Thinking about how it can sell makes you a better author'

Fresh from winning Children's Fiction Book of the Year at this year's British Book Awards, M G Leonard and Sam Sedgman are gearing up to... Read more