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2. Who is your favourite literary villain and why?
Becky Sharp from Vanity Fair by William Thackeray. She is clever, resourceful, selfish, remorseless, resilient and fascinating, I reread Vanity Fair every five years or so just for the pleasure of encountering Becky and her shenanigans yet again.
3. You're hosting a literary dinner party, which five authors would you invite? (alive or dead)
Kent Haruf, Maggie O’Farrell, Margaret Atwood, Cormac McCarthy and Alice Munro are my adult picks. But I would also love to spend an evening with children’s creators such as Quentin Blake, Margaret Wise Brown, William Steig, Eric Carle and, Katherine Paterson. (I was lucky once to have dinner with the wonderful Nina Bawden.)
4. Which literary invention do you wish was real?
The ability to fly. The Summer Birds by Penelope Farmer is a lovely story about a mysterious boy who teaches the village children how to fly for one magical summer.
5. What are five words that describe your writing process?
Determination. Rewriting. Excitement. Frustration. Hope.
6. Which are the five words you would like to be remembered by as a writer?
Thoughtful, warm, empathetic, imaginative, emotionally resonant.
7. Picture your favourite writing space. What are five objects you would find there?
Cup of coffee, bed (a nap helps to sort out plot problems), computer, sunlight and a view.
'You' from The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. You are my joy and my despair.
9. If you could ask one author one question, what would the question be and who would you ask?
I would ask Margaret Atwood – Would you please turn the Oryx and Crake trilogy into a quartet?
10. Which would you rather do: Never write another story or never read another book?
What an awful dilemma. I can’t imagine living without reading or writing. So I’d just opt for kindly euthanasia!
Cup of coffee, bed (a nap helps to sort out plot problems), computer, sunlight and a view.
8. Grab the nearest book, open it to page 22 and look for the second word in the first sentence.
Now, write a line that starts with that word. (Please include the name of the book!) 'You' from The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. You are my joy and my despair.
9. If you could ask one author one question, what would the question be and who would you ask?
I would ask Margaret Atwood – Would you please turn the Oryx and Crake trilogy into a quartet?
10. Which would you rather do: Never write another story or never read another book?
What an awful dilemma. I can’t imagine living without reading or writing. So I’d just opt for kindly euthanasia!
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Margaret Wild is a bestselling and award-winning author who was born in South Africa and came to Australia in 1972. She has been a journalist on newspapers and magazines, and she worked as a book editor in children's publishing for 16 years, responsible for managing and commissioning a large range of titles. She lives in Sydney and now writes full time. Margaret has written more than 70 books for children. Her books are published around the world and have won numerous awards.