Once upon a life
Famous writers look back on a day that changed their life
Once upon a life: Penny Vincenzi
It sounded good on paper: start up a fashion and beauty magazine and become publishing tycoons. All author Penny Vincenzi and her husband had to so was sell their home – and pray the money men would bite
Once upon a life: Margie Orford
In 1985, the crime writer Margie Orford was thrown in jail by South Africa's apartheid police. Here she tells of the brutal experience that turned her from an idealistic student into a traumatised young woman
Once upon a life: George Pelecanos
In 1976, George Pelecanos, writer of The Wire, was an 18-year-old tearaway and a disappointment to his father. That summer, he was forced to take over running the family diner – and life changed forever
Once upon a life: Mikey Cuddihy
As a young orphan, artist Mikey Cuddihy was sent to boarding school in Suffolk. Basic and bohemian, Summerhill was a revelation – not least because there Mikey was given guitar lessons by Joan Baez
This Much I Know: Miriam O'Reilly
Once upon a life: Paul Farley
Once upon a life: Vendela Vida
The free-and-easy California lifestyle of her hippy classmate made author Vendela Vida look at her own family in a new, unflattering light. But those candlelit fondues and sleepovers were tinged with regret…
Once upon a life: Wendy Holden
Heading to France as a 17-year-old au pair was supposed to unlock a glamorous new world for the author Wendy Holden. But life on the Riviera – and the promise of a trip to Cannes – was not all that it seemed
Once upon a life: Joanna Briscoe
All she ever wanted was homework, latin lessons and lacrosse. Instead Joanna Briscoe was left to find her own way through a series of increasingly anarchic rural schools. But it was all the education she needed…
Once upon a life: Chris Adrian
Summer camp was novelist Chris Adrian's annual nightmare as a child – until a spot of political wrangling netted him the coveted captaincy of the Spartans. But a true leader doesn't need to rig votes...
Once Upon A Life: Arabella Weir
Sent to a new school at the age of 11, writer Arabella Weir quickly became top of the class – in winding up the teachers. But could her wise-cracking career survive the challenge of taking O-levels?
Once upon a life: Helen Oyeyemi
As the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, novelist Helen Oyeyemi knows how hard it can be to feel at home. But when she was assaulted in broad daylight in a London park, she had no option but to pack her bags
Once upon a life: John Banville
A trip to California in 1968 proved a heady mix for Man Booker prize-winning novelist John Banville. He was agog at avocados and afros, and captivated by the voice of Alfred Deller. It was a long way from Dublin…
Once upon a life: Cynthia Ozick
Twenty years ago, with only six weeks training, the author Cynthia Ozick set off on a perilous solo flight across America that led to a terrifying vision among the clouds. But the real danger came when she told her story
Once upon a life: AN Wilson
Trapped in a boarding school run by a sadistic husband and wife team, the young AN Wilson received an early lesson in the art of dictatorship. But he finally discovered that revenge is a dish best served hot…
Once upon a life: Ali Smith
Looking back on her life, writer Ali Smith returns to the moment of conception to weave a poignant and funny memoir of an irreverent father, a weakness for Greek musicals and a fateful border crossing
Once upon a life: Rahul Bhattacharya
When nine-year-old Rahul Bhattacharya moved from small-town India to Bombay, he quickly surrendered to the big city's diverse appeal. But with urban life came a loss of concentration that was to last many years
Once upon a life: Olivia Laing
Teenage idealism led the author Olivia Laing to spend a spring living alone and obstinately off-grid in a bender in the South Downs. It may not have done much for her career, but it taught her things university never could…
Once upon a life: Jane Harris
She'd always wanted to be an actor, but crippling stage fright, a "startling lack of charisma" and the horrors of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 80s finally proved too much for writer Jane Harris
Once upon a life: Mohsin Hamid
Mohsin Hamid spent his childhood moving between California and his native Lahore. His response was to develop a fascination with maps and with imaginary islands he could populate with the best of both places
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