In the publishing world, most editors are probably women. So I don't see the publishing world as a male-dominated one, especially within fiction.

I've been in a long and happy relationship for 22 years and it's never inspired me to write anything. It's too good - nothing to say. Problems, conflict, that's what makes for good stories.

Writing is nearly always a matter of finding whatever your brain needs to trick it into being creative, and in my case, a tiny little bit of fact just seems to work.

When I was a little kid I thought like a little kid, but now I'm five I know everything

I guess the feminism in "Room" springs to mind most.

The great thing about a short story is that it doesn't have to trawl through someone's whole life; it can come in glancingly from the side.

In the world I notice persons are nearly always stressed and have no time...I don't know how persons with jobs do the jobs and all the living as well...I guess the time gets spread very thin like butter all over the world, the roads and houses and playgrounds and stores, so there's only a little smear of time on each place, then everyone has to hurry on to the next bit.