Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 184

My Obituary

So they’ve closed their doors after 26 years. The Independent on Sunday was conceived as a writers’ paper, but over its 26 years it built a reputation for its strikingly individual tone and balanced liberal stance. It was the first quality Sunday to go compact in 2004, but even before that it was at the […]

Toward A Ballardian Future

The problem with J G Ballard, from a filmmaker’s perspective, is that he does not tell stories. He suggests futures and new psychologies. His characters are ciphers, his plots are liminal and his prose is exquisite, none of which makes him easy to adapt. Spielberg made a fine job of ‘Empire Of The Sun’, although […]

Why I’m Following In The Footsteps Of Dracula

Bram Stoker’s novel has somewhat paradoxically become one of the most influential novels of the last century, considering it was written as a melodrama and went head-to-head with Richard Marsh’s ‘The Beetle’. ‘The Beetle’ was a bizarre hybrid novel of supernatural romantic mystery published in 1897, the same year as ‘Dracula’, and initially it […]

Why Would You Want To Be A Writer?

A recent poll showed that the No.1 most desired job in the UK was ‘writer’. Really? When I read that I tried to imagine what those polled thought being a writer was like. Here are a few pointers to the current status of the wordsmith, and bear in mind they’re not complaints, merely facts. Writers […]

Finally, A Fairytale With Teeth

Last year I planned to write a book of strange fairytale variations, having been commissioned to write such a tale for a new collection, which I enjoyed immensely. After suffering through Kenneth Branagh’s ghastly ‘Cinderella’ for research purposes my intention was to return to the roots of tales and darken them, keeping the strange logic […]

Genre-Blenders

I’ve championed Pogo here often for his brilliant blends of cinema and sound, scratch-cut into mash-ups that create new music, a form of creative recycling that’s genuinely innovative. But there are many other types of genre-blending that can be found on online sites, and they’re moving in on the mainstream. DJ Zebra is a French […]

JG Ballard’s Psychotic London

When you think of London books, a familiar list at first appears; Dickens for ‘Our Mutual Friend’, ‘Oliver Twist’ and ‘Bleak House’, Virginia Woolf for ‘Mrs Dalloway’, George Gissing for ‘New Grub Street’, George Orwell for ‘Keep The Aspidistra Flying’, Monica Ali’s ‘Brick Lane’, Colin MacInnes for ‘Absolute Beginners’, Patrick Hamilton’s ‘Hangover Square’, to which […]

Writing Lessons: Finding The Idea

Writing is like cooking. When you love both, you quickly notice the similarities. They involve assembling the ingredients, tasting the concoction, trying it on friends, offering it to a wider audience. The difference is the imposition of the publisher in the process of writing, who helps to refine the recipe. But in cooking you don’t […]

Heading For Huddersfield

Huddersfield is the city mostly closely associated with Harold Wilson, PM, of course, and has an astounding lineup of events currently unfolding at the 2016 Literature Festival, with authors like Irvine Welsh, Rupert Thomson, Joanne Harris, Michael Billington, Michael Stewart, Ben Miller and Claire Harmon hosting events. I’ll be in conversation with Joanne in Saturday […]

Great Thriller Soundtracks: ‘Wait Until Dark’

I’m thrilled that Ennio Morricone finally got the recognition he deserved with his first Academy Award after six nominations and 500 films – at the age of 87 – and he’s still touring Britain with his orchestra! Geezer! He made me think about my favourite soundtracks to thrillers. Here’s one by Henry Mancini, accompanying opening […]