Books are the air I breathe, so I don't notice the seasons.

He [Ma's Tooth] was part of her a minute ago but now he's not. Just a thing.

Maybe I’m a human, but I’m a me-and-Ma as well.

I wrote the novel [Room], and then I thought, "This could work on film, and I want to be the one to do it." So I went ahead and drafted it.

Something we do know is that review coverage does go to male authors more than women authors. That's a fact. I think it's one of those examples of unconscious bias: If you hire a lot of male journalists, they're more likely to pick up the latest Ian McEwan novel than the latest A.S. Byatt novel.

I'm a huge planner, more and more so as the years go by.

With a time-based medium like theater or film, you can't have the audience getting restless in their seats. They're stuck there on their bums; you have to pay enormous attention to pace and you can't lose your way.