Q & A's

Latest Q & A's

I am privileged to have so many of you send through your questions about my work – thank you. I am afraid that I will not be able to answer all of them, but please still send your questions and I will do my very best to answer as many as I can.

Question:

Why does Amazon Germany, US and Spain offer HDM on kindle but not Amazon UK for your very own native country?

Asked on 17/08/2012 17:54:27

Answer:

Aha. Now we get into some very complicated country indeed. It has to do with royalties and contracts and things like that, which I don’t understand, so I’m leaving it to my agent to sort out. I’ll just say that writers have to be very careful not to let their books be sold for prices that are too low. Everyone likes low prices, but this is how we make our living. Just suppose you were in business making some piece of machinery that was important and useful, and you charged a price for it that let you earn enough to live on. Then along came a huge great retail company and said “We don’t think people ought to have to pay all that much for your machinery. We think they ought to pay much less! So we’re going to sell your machinery for a tenth of the price, and you’ll have to put up with it.” Does that sound fair to you?

Question:

Dear Philip Did you name Will Parry after Will Stanton from Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising Sequence? I thought you might have because your Will leaves his mother with a Mrs. Cooper at the start of The Subtle Knife. from Ian

Asked on 10/08/2012 02:12:58

Answer:

In a word, no.

Question:

Dear Phillip, I was interested to see that you like woodwork. Are there any similarities between your two crafts? Do you feel like a story is something you build?

Asked on 04/08/2012 15:47:39

Answer:

In a way ... But the main thing is that I’m using a different part of my mind, and using my body too, when I make a piece of furniture. It’s a change and a rest. It’s physically satisfying to pick up a straight piece of oak or walnut and imagine how I’m going to cut it and plane it and fit it together, and then to feel it changing shape under my hands.

Question:

Hi Philip! Can we please get an update on the progress of The Book of Dust? Are you still planning to release it? I only recently got into the His Dark Material books and I love them. I really wish there was more to read about Lyra & Will's worlds. Thank you Will.

Asked on 03/08/2012 12:03:29

Answer:

Yes! The Book of Dust is now approximately 200 manuscript pages long. I’m writing it steadily, and it’s making good progress. Part of the reason I’m able to do that is that I’ve got everything else out of the way. I can’t let you know when it will be published, but it’s a lot longer and more advanced now than it was when I last answered this question, so progress is being made.

Question:

Dear Mr Pullman, I've read that the first Sally Lockhart Book - The Ruby in the Smoke - started life as a play. Has this been published, or is there an adaptation for the stage, and why did you choose to turn it into a novel?

Asked on 09/07/2012 17:04:51

Answer:

No, it hasn’t been published, and unfortunately I’ve lost the manuscript, so I don’t suppose it will be. Actually the play was very different. The book is better.