Why I Write
Authors come clean on what got them going
John Mortimer
Rumpole's creator explains how getting paid for a story as a 13-year-old got him started and why, at 85, it's hard to stop
Peter Robinson
The creator of Inspector Banks describes his 'bum on seat, fingers on keyboard' writing routine
Anita Shreve
The author of Testimony explains how a one-room library opened a world
Alaa Al Aswany
The author of The Yacoubian Building explains how his father got him started on a profession where he's never off duty
Toby Litt
The author of Corpsing explains how a love of stationery got him started, and why you should avoid writing what you know
Jodi Picoult
The million-selling novelist on carving out time for writing and the influence of Gone With the Wind
Bernardine Evaristo
The author of Blonde Roots on her love of Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl, and why giving library books as presents is not necessarily a good idea
Jonathan Coe
The author of What a Carve Up! and The Rotters' Club still wonders why his eight-year-old self wrote spy stories instead of playing outside on his bike
Luke Kennard
The award-winning author of The Solex Brothers on anger, reading Snoopy and fiddling with magnets
Mohsin Hamid
Why I write: The author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist explains why he's always had an unusual compulsion to share his fantasies
Nikita Lalwani
The Booker longlisted author of Gifted on Indian comics, shaping emotion through writing, and reading with a lazy eye
Sarah Hall
The author of The Carhullan Army on her childhood love of Ferdinand the Bull and why writing is better than packing frozen sausages
Reginald Hill
The author of the Dalziel and Pascoe series of detective novels reveals that his early storytelling skills were honed on his kid brother
Markus Zusak
The author of The Book Thief explains why failure is his best friend, and why all writers tend to be loners
Marina Lewycka
The author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian explains why she is driven to write by a sense of time running out, and why new writers should take a course
Tim Jeal
Tim Jeal's favourite childhood book was a memoir that turned out to be made up. The possibilities of biography have fascinated him ever since
Josephine Cox
Josephine Cox explains how six weeks in hospital got her started and why, over 20 years and 36 bestselling novels, she's never stuck for ideas
Iain Banks
Iain Banks, a man with not one but two careers as a bestselling author - of both regular and science fiction - explains that he took up writing because he seemed to be good at it, and because it seemed like an easy life
Maggie O'Farrell
Maggie O'Farrell struggles to explain the source of her 'graphomania', but she can't imagine life without it
Anne Fine
The bestselling author of children's and adults' fiction explains how not being able to get to the library got her started and now she has no choice
About 35 results for Why I Write 
