I will just take the chance that the language will still be relevant in 100 years, which is something we cannot take for granted with a language that is spoken by 330,000 people.

What literature brings to our times is always the fact that literature refuses to bring any simple or easy answers.

The option is always on the table. When we [with Bjork] were starting as creative kids in the Eighties, we found each other. I was 19, she was 16 and a friendship was made.

Literature acknowledges that life is complicated.

All authors secretly hope that their works will be read in 100 years' time and 200 years, and that they will somehow survive into the future.

Much of my time is taken up by reading, researching and trying out ideas.

Paul Beatty for "The Sellout" sounds like a relevant story for our times. It's playful, uses deep thought and seems to be taking advantage of everything literature can do when tackling difficult issues.