Reading stars

Philip Pullman - author

"If you do want to know what your daemon is likely to be, the best way to find out is to ask your friends to tell you - anonymously."

Philip Pullman has written a wide variety of books for adults, teenagers and younger children. In 2001 he won the Whitbread award for The Amber Spyglass, the last in the His Dark Materials trilogy. It was the first children's book ever to have won the coveted award. Here he talks about the influence of books and reading on his life:

"Stories are important because they entertain and teach; they help us both enjoy life and endure it. After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the things we need most in the world. without stories, we wouldn't be human beings at all.

If I think of my audience at all, I think of a group that includes adults, children, male, female, old, middle-aged, young - everyone who can read. If horses, dogs, cats or pigeons could read, they'd be welcome to it as well. I don't want to shut anyone out.

My favourite book as a child was Norman Lindsay's The Magic Pudding."

Read the full text of the interview with Philip Pullman

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"Without stories we wouldn't be human beings"
Philip Pullman