All prizes have a role, if they are run with integrity and with a clear focus on reading and quality writing. I don't think any of them is necessary, but they all play an incredibly important role in building a body of literature, in introducing new authors to new readers, and extending reading.

For when all else is done, on­ly words re­main. Words en­dure.

History is written by the victors, the strongest, the most determined. Truth is found most often in the silence, in the quiet places.

I read a lot of thrillers, especially American crime novels.

We are who we are, be­cause of those we choose to love and be­cause of those who love us.

Do you believe you can change your destiny?' he (Sajhë) said, seeking an answer. Alice found herself nodding. 'Otherwise, what's the point? If we are simply walking a path preordained, then all the experiences that make us who we are - love, grief, joy, learning, changing - would count for nothing.

The dead leave their shadows, an echo of the space within which once they lived. They haunt us, never fading or growing older as we do. The loss we grieve is not just their futures but our own.