I was born to write, it was as simple as that
Anthony Horowitz. Pic by Olivier Vigerie
Anthony Horowitz, one of the most popular authors to grace the Galle Literary Festival is back this year.
The indefatigable spinner of fantasy tales, he will be awaited by the loyal fans of his children’s books; the cosy old whodunit he revived with verve; or those of us who grew up watching the witchy medieval magic and adventure in green England- the vintage TV series Robin of Sherwood.
At the GLF, Anthony will cut straight into The Anatomy of a Thriller with Amanda Jayatissa and Chhimi Tenduf-La and have a conversation with Curtis Jobe- titled Murder, He Wrote. He is to also host an author lunch.
- What do you feel about returning to the GLF, after a four year gap?
I was very happy to be invited back to the GLF – the worst thing about Covid for me was the way international festivals closed down – but this has always been one of my favourite festivals. Galle is such a beautiful city and seems made for a literary gathering. It’s a great place to meet people, to walk along the walls and chat, to catch up with old friends. The audiences are brilliant and I might even get some winter sun.
- The Diamond Brothers and even the Alex Rider series first appeared at a time when mobile phones and internet were not ubiquitous. How well are these heroes braving social media etc. at this point?
Well, since you mention it, their author has just given up Twitter! It was my New Year’s resolution. We have to update the Alex books from time to time to make sure that the technology is keeping up with real life but I try to keep things up to date. Nightshade: Revenge, which came out last year is set in the world of augmented reality. The Diamond brothers can’t afford mobile phones or internet and part of their charm is that they’re still stuck in the world of Raymond Chandler. Even so, their last adventure, Where Seagulls Dare, referenced Brexit and current UK politics.
- What factors do you think draw you so inexorably to the fantastic, magical and mysterious (apart from a lonely public school childhood)? What do you think gifted you this bottomless imagination to fish for the fantastic?
That’s a lovely way of putting it. Fishing for the fantastic, indeed! I think it’s quite simple: I was born to write. There was nothing else I could do and even when I was very young, eight or nine years old, I was making up stories. It horrifies me that I’ve now been writing for over forty years but at the same time the ideas keep coming. And I’m still no good at anything else.
- At 68 you are a person remarkably young at heart. Do you think you would ever write a non-genre novel that taps a darker vein of life?
Absolutely – I have three novels in my head that go very much to the dark side. It’s just a question of finding the time. I’m also moving away from YA fiction, partly because I’m feeling the gap between myself and my audience. My crime novels have a serious side to them and my third Bond novel, With a Mind to Kill, was pretty dark!
- How indebted are you to British (or other) folklore and history- across the length and breadth of your work?
I’ve always loved myths and legends…I’ve even written a collection of them. I grew up fascinated by the Trojan War, the travels of Odysseus, the heroes and the gods. I love English folklore too, the idea that there are stories attached to places, to rivers and lakes, to old village names, to a rock or any geological peculiarity. I spend a lot of time in a place called Orford (Suffolk) which is steeped in legends old and new. Everything from the strange creature known as the merman to the UFO that supposedly landed in nearby Rendelsham Forest.
- You said once that it was technology that killed the good old whodunit. How are you- old fashioned in that regard- faring against the blast of technology that threatens literature?
I’m not sure that technology is threatening literature. After all, Kindle will now place almost any book in the world in my hands in about ten seconds. In my view, the biggest threat to literature, art and drama (at least in the UK) begins with the number of schools that don’t have libraries and an educational curriculum that doesn’t put enough emphasis on reading. But it’s also true that social media in one form and another is a sort of technological bindweed that is spreading through society and causing damage in many different ways. I gave up Twitter – or X – as my New Year’s Resolution and I can tell you I feel wonderful!
- What have been landmark writings after 2019? Do you feel you made any breakthroughs in mystery or fantasy hence?
Since 2019, I’ve been writing adult murder mysteries and I’d like to think that in my own way I’m bringing new ideas to the genre. The Hawthorne novels (in which I appear as a character) effectively turns the old-fashioned whodunit upside down and Magpie Murders – now a TV series on BBC and PBS in America – was something of a game changer for me.
- What magical work can we look forward to read in the future?
I’m currently writing the third book in the series which began with Magpie Murders and I’m planning to write twelve Hawthorne novels in total. Then there are the ideas that I’ve mentioned in earlier answers. I do hope all these books will have a spark of magic in them. The older I get and the less time I have left, the more passionate I am about my work.
Thank you for these very enjoyable questions.
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