James Sallis is pretty much the complete man of letters. Probably best known as a crime writer – in which role Ian Rankin has called him “one of the best of the best” – he has written sci-fi and literary fiction too. His non-fiction includes poetry, biography and criticism. And nor should one overlook here his work as a translator: if you should ever read Queneau’s Saint Glinglin in English, in the edition published by Dalkey Archive Press, you will be reading James Sallis’ prose. This wide-ranging interview – touching on various aspects of Sallis’ work and life, on the writing process itself and on the fate of the city of New Orleans – took place in July 2007.
Category: Author interviews
Interview with Phil LaMarche
The author of American Youth talks about his novel and its positive reception, cultural differences in perception, his characters, his narrative voice, the relationship between teaching and writing, his literary influences, on filming his work, his next project, and more.
Interview with Dorothy Porter
Dorothy Porter talks about her new novel El Dorado, on the “obscure and effete in poetry,” the reasons for and difficulties with writing novels in verse, her narrative technique, and much more.
Interview with Jackie French
In this fascinating and extensive interview, the author of Pharaoh (to mention just one of Jackie French’s extensive titles), talks about the writing and researching of Pharaoh, the critical importance of history and books to children, the thread that connects all her work, her unlikely hero, on maintaining passion in life, a big preview of her next book, and lots more.
An interview with Donald Westlake (aka Richard Stark)
Donald Westlake (a.k.a. Richard Stark) has been writing fiction for close to half a century now, and his achievements have garnered many accolades. Significantly, his admirers include many writers among their ranks. John Banville has called him “one of the great writers of the twentieth century” while for James Sallis he is simply “a great American writer”. The Mystery Writers of America honoured Donald Westlake with a Grand Master Award in 1993.
Interview with Tracy Repchuk
The author of The Poetry of Business talks about her book, the power of poetry, the corporate crisis of meaning, her intended audience, Poetry Canada, and lots more.
Interview with Markus Zusak
The author of The Book Thief talks about some major themes in his book, genre distinctions, the importance of darkness, on being a literary superstar in America, Death the character, his mise en abyme, The Standover Man, his next project and lots more.
Interview with Emily Raboteau
The author of The Professor’s Daughter talks about her first novel and its main character, the value of her MFA, the musical and literary sources of her inspiration, her uses of layers of direct and indirect storytelling, what she learned from writing The Professor’s Daughter, her next book, and lots more.
Interview with Anthea Paul, author of Girlosophy
The creator of Girlosophy talks about how the concept came about, why she didn’t self-publish, why the understanding of food is critical to all of the Girlsophy books, why the media has gone so astray in their messages, how she comes up with her topics, future projects, and lots more.
Interview with Carrie Tiffany
The author of Everyman’s Guide to Scientific Living talks about the inspiration for her first novel, the sources for her photos, her characters, the difficulties she experienced, the impact of success, and lots more.