David Almond Interview

Monday 20th April 2009 - 11:00:00

We spoke to author of children's book Skellig, which has recently been transformed into a Sky TV special

What have you been up to recently?
Well I was at the Skellig premiere on Wednesday evening at the Curzon in Mayfair, so that was very good fun.

So did you get to meet with all of the cast and crew?
I did – they were all there – John Simm was there, Kerry Macdonald, Bill Milner. Tim Roth wasn’t there; he was tied up with something else so had to stay in L.A.

What is it like to watch one of your books on the big screen?
Well another book, Clay, was turned into a film last year by the BBC, but Skellig has also appeared in various forms - now it’s a film, it’s fantastic.

There’s just something about this story that just keeps on moving and changing and people keep wanting to try new things with it. They’ve done a fantastic job with this film, I’m really pleased.

How much involvement did you have in the making of the new film?
I was working closely with them at the start but it’s been going on for almost nine years now. When the director Annabel Jankel came to me years ago we talked how it would transfer to the screen - what kind of things would have to be retained and what could be changed.

But then there comes a point where you just have to say “ok, off you go,” because, you know, I needed to get back to writing books. That’s what I do.

So you were happy for Annabel to take creative control and run with her own ideas?
Yeah I think so. I think what you’ve got to do is work with people you really trust, and also, you trust your own story.

Now let’s talk about you – how did you get to where you are today?
Doggedness and thick skin I think! It’s usually the same story. I was writing for years and years never really expecting to end up writing for children, but then I found myself writing Skellig. About fifteen years later I became an overnight success; I’d been waiting for the review that’d do it and finally it came and I thought “ahah!”

But you do it because you love it and because you’re driven to do it. You go through lots of difficulties, lots of rejections; I wrote a novel that was rejected by every single publisher. You just have to keep on going.

Had it always been a dream of yours to be a writer?
Well as a kid I would write stories and jot down ideas; I just never stopped really – just kept on going - - it’s what I’d always wanted to do, even. As well as to play for Newcastle United…

Every young boy’s dream…
That’s right; maybe not for Newcastle mind you!

So what do you think inspired you, even as a child, to want to be a writer?
I had an uncle who wrote poetry – he was never published – and I remember being really charged by the fact that I had an uncle who was a poet. He was also a printer; he printed the local newspaper, so I think my attachment to print was there from a young age.

I remember going to the library which was just across the street from where I would play football. It’s just tiny things like that just build up; it doesn’t take huge forces.

And do you think elements from your own childhood games and experiences have been an influence on your characters and stories?
They have been, yes – a massive influence really. It’s strange because I began to use my own childhood around the time that I started writing Skellig, and I realised it was like a whole undiscovered country really; something I could use and explore.