Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 365

What Next For Bryant & May?

In ‘Bryant & May and the Invisible Code’, due out on August 2nd, two small children play a game called ‘Witch-Hunter’, and place a curse on a young woman taking lunch in a church courtyard. Then they wait for her to die.

An hour later the woman is indeed found dead inside St Bride’s Church, [...]

When Fans Turn Scary

Is Will Self God?

Er, no. But, like the Bible, I find his books a struggle to get through. And the real God smote down his house earlier this week. But Self does have a book club of Self cargo cultists who think he’s a god, apparently.

Here’s a quote from the Sovereign Grand Quiddity Inspector General [...]

The Battle For Light

Growing up in a Victorian house with relatively small windows, thick brick walls and lots of shadows, in a country known for its low light levels can be a depressing thing, both physically and mentally.

England’s rows of terraced Victorian houses have lasted far longer than anyone could have imagined. They’re still the most striking feature [...]

Good Advice

Neil Gaiman on writing – inspirational stuff.

What’s A Library Without Good Ideas?

I’ve spent the last couple of evenings in two very different libraries. The low turnout figures in summer make you feel that this is a bit of a waste of time. You usually only get a handful of people coming along, and they’re predisposed toward libraries anyway, but it’s important to connect with readers at [...]

It Came From Behind The Shelf No. 3

The Madame Tussauds Chamber Of Horrors Guillotine has been stuck behind my books in various locations since my father helped me to paint it in 1964, and it still works. The head is held on with a little peg that the blade hits, knocking the prisoner’s head into the wicker basket.

This was part of the [...]

Why Londoners Love The Double Decker Bus No.1

Sometimes they looked like faces on wheels. There you go, changed from ‘Routemaster’ (mistake acknowledged!)

Why Londoners Love The Routemaster Bus No.1

Sometimes they looked like faces on wheels.

If You Liked ‘Paperboy’, You May Like ‘Film Freak’…

When I delivered ‘Paperboy’ to Simon Taylor, my editor, he took it on the chin very bravely – I had just jumped genres yet again to turn out something entirely unexpected – a biography about a would-be writer growing up in a house without books.

Much to my surprise – and everyone else’s – the book [...]

The Emperor’s New Clothes

It had to happen. The Hayward Gallery, itself no stranger to the world of fatuous modernity, is about to ask punters to shell out eight quid a ticket for ‘invisible’ art from Yoko Ono, Yves Klein and Andy Warhol.

Art about the Unseen 1957 – 2012 opens on June 12 and includes an empty plinth, a [...]