A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.

When you're writing for the screen you're really thinking all the time of what you have to do to make sure that they have the information that they need, that the emotional thread is not snapped, that the story moves at the right speed, to keep the audience hopefully sitting on the edge of their seats or else weeping or laughing.

The PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award is a way of spotlighting individual cases. If you look at the history of the award, the freedom rate is very high: a very high percentage of people who receive those awards are freed in the next six months to a year. The only weapon there is attention, but interestingly it works.

Self-censorship is a lie to yourself; if you are going to be trying to seriously create art, to create literary art, and you decide to hold back, to censor yourself, then you are a fool to yourself and it would be better that you kept your mouth shut and did not speak.

It's obvious that I come down on the side of free speech for anybody's work.

It is often said by religious people that without its framework, there is no sense of right or wrong. My view is that religion comes after ethics.

It may be argued that the past is a country from which we have all emigrated, that its loss is part of our common humanity.