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:

Hello, i love your books (all of them) and specifically like His Dark Materials. i have two questions for you, 1. I'v read in interviews and other writings that you liked and grew up with comics and I wondered if you had ever considered having his Dark Materials made into one or if anyone has already offered? 2. Do you read and enjoy other books like His Dark Materials that deal with religion in the way yours do, such as Good Omens by Neil Gaimen and Terry Pratchett? Thanks, Everett

Asked on 17/12/2010 01:16:48

Answer:

Thanks, Everett. Yes, your guess is a good one: I love comics, and I have considered at least three proposals to turn HDM into a graphic novel. I haven’t said yes yet because I wasn’t happy with some aspect of what was being suggested – the length, or the writer, or the artist, or something else. If the right combination of writer (because I haven’t got time to do it myself) and artist comes along, backed by a publisher who will give the project enough space, then I’d be delighted to say yes. As for the second part of your question – yes, I enjoy the work both of Pratchett and Gaiman. Admirable writers, both of them.

Question:

Hi, I'm a very old lady and love your books! I was not surprised when Hollywood appeared unwilling to produce the second two books in your trilogy. I would love to see films of the entire work made, but I would like to see the films be uncompromisingly true to the spirit of the books—truer, I'm sure, than Hollywood would want. Here's an idea for you: are you familiar with the work of Hayao Miyazaki? He is one of my favorite directors and animators of all time, and much of the work he does is in many ways similar to yours (iconoclastic, taking great liberties with time/period, epic scale, featuring brave/passionate young girl heroines, etc.). Working with him would simultaneously liberate you from Hollywood, America/Canadian/British unions/stars/producers/churches, and commercialism while opening up a world of new visual possibilities—think of Spirited Away! It would be a dream come true to have the two of you work together. What do you think?

Asked on 15/12/2010 21:31:39

Answer:

Hi to you. Yes, I love Miyazaki too, partly because he resolutely insists on drawing the old-fashioned way and has no truck with computer generated imagery. CGI is all very well, but in the end audiences don’t believe in it: they know it’s just pixels. That’s why I loved the recent film ‘The Illusionist’ by Sylvain Chomet. If you haven’t seen it, do try and find it. Its lovely painstakingly hand-drawn frames are ravishing, and because all of us at some point in our lives have tried to draw something, we all know how difficult it is to do it well; so we’re more moved and amazed by what we can see are real drawings than we are by the most vivid CGI. As for freedom from all the Hollywood/ etc forces you mention, that would be fine by me. The trouble is that they are the ones with all the money. Every film is the result of a deep struggle between the film-makers and the money people. Every great film happens when the film-makers win.

Question:

Hi Can I use the idea of dæmons in a story, or do you have the rights to it? Kind regards Alex

Asked on 14/12/2010 16:25:49

Answer:

Question:

Dear Mr Pullman.My daughter is 8 and in year 4 at primary school.Her literacy group is reading Northern Lights at the moment.They are being asked to read a chapter a day and write a 3 line summary of what happens per chapter.For each part of the book they are to write a 1 page summary.Recently my daughter was ill and had to play 'catch up' on return to school -missing a play time.My concern is that she doesn't seem to be enjoying the book -that it's become a chore.I've tried to get this across to her teacher without success.I wondered if you had a view on this that I could share with my daughter and her teacher. Kind Regards Bruce Davidson

Asked on 13/12/2010 06:01:48

Answer:

Dear Bruce - thanks for this question. The situation you describe fills me with rage and despair. I’ve met it before in questions from or on behalf of other children, describing practices in other schools, and I never fail to utter a great howling roaring curse to shake the foundations of the heavens upon whoever thinks this is a good way to introduce a child to a book. It is the best way I know of to induce them to feel that reading is a task to punish slaves with. You’ve made me resolve to do something with my next book for children: I shall write out that curse in full at the front, so that no child will be under any illusion that I wrote the story in order to make them miserable, and that no teacher will think that I approve of this mindless, joyless, witless, purposeless, soul-destroying, book-hating, anti-human, intellectually squalid and educationally savage violation of what should be a joyful and precious thing: the meeting of a child and a book. You don’t tell me your daughter’s name, but please tell Miss Davidson on behalf of every author who ever lived that we apologise to her on behalf of the nincompoops who have come between her and our work. Tell her that our intention is never to punish, but only to enchant. Tell her that I hope with all my heart that she’ll come back to my novel much later, when she feels she’d like to, under no compulsion from anyone, without anyone else knowing or caring, to read or put down as she pleases, and that she has a happier time with it then. I really hope she does. I hope she’ll feel that she could be Lyra’s friend, not Lyra’s critic. And of course the same goes for every other book that the education system has captured and tied up and tortured. Tell her that we are on her side, not on the side of the education system that works like this.

Notice: I haven’t criticised her teacher personally. Maybe that teacher is himself or herself under a compulsion to work like this. If you share this with your daughter’s teacher, I hope you’ll let the Headteacher know as well, and make it clear that my anger is directed through them and mainly at the malevolent system they have to administer. But they are grown-ups; they do have a small bit of responsibility. They shouldn’t get away scot-free. My maxim for education is this: Everything we ask a child to do in school should be something that is inherently worth doing. This is not. A grown-up teacher should see that, and work differently.

Question:

Do you like EastEnders? Or it is just Neighbours that you are a fan of?

Asked on 12/12/2010 10:45:40

Answer:

No, there’s only room for one soap in my life, and it’s Neighbours.