WATCH: John Banville and Georgina Godwin in Conversation
At the Hay Festival Winter Weekend
The Hay Festival, now in its 21st year, brings writers and readers together in a free digital space of thoughtful conversation, storytelling, comedy, and family fun. This year, the Festival has been streamed live with a star-studded line-up of speakers and performers, and is currently available for public viewing.
Below, John Banville, the 2005 Man Book Prize winner, joins radio and TV presenter Georgina Godwin in conversation about his latest mystery novel, set in a 1950s Catholic Ireland.
Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945 and is the author of 15 novels including The Sea.
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From the video:
John Banville: I started writing the crime books in the way I write my other books—with a fountain pen. But it was too slow, so I wrote them directly onto the screen. And that’s the right speed. For my other books: the action of the narrative against the paper dictates the speed at which I write. So they are two entirely different ways. What I always say about my mainstream books is that it’s what you get as a result of extreme concentration. What you get with the crime books is a whole host of spontaneity.
For access to the Festival’s full archive, please visit hayfestival.org/hayplayer, and support their work at hayfestival.org/support-us.
