I can't bear literary snobbery.

It is through our extended family that we first learn to compromise and come to an understanding that even if we don't always agree about things we can still love and look out for each other.

I always thought that bagels and lox was my soul food, but it turns out it's sushi.

Something I notice speaking to writers from south of Hadrians Wall is that the culture is different. At base, I think Scotland values its creative industries differently from England.

I jealously guard my research time and I love fully immersing myself in those dusty old books and papers. It's one of the most enjoyable parts of my job.

The sky was a sparkling succession of black diamonds on black velvet made crystal clear by the blackout.

I believe the era of the militant lady is back.

Without archives many stories of real people would be lost, and along with those stories, vital clues that allow us to reflect and interpret our lives today.

Research material can turn up anywhere - in a dusty old letter in an archive, a journal or some old photographs you find in a charity shop.

Writers of novels live in a strange world where what's made up is as important as what's real.

Books have a vital place in our culture. They are the source of ideas, of stories that engage and stretch the imagination and most importantly, inspire.

We must be truthful and fair in the ordinary affairs of life before we can be truthful and fair in patriotism and religion.

Sometimes one has the feeling of an almost supernatural character to the shifts and changes in our national mood. They appear beyond the prose of cause and effect.

Every day I wear my Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth medallions around my neck. When I think I'm having a bad day, I try to think about their day, and I get up.

Sentimentality is the respect the cold-hearted pay to feeling.

Only when we're broken are we whole.

Real love changes and grows with time and discovers new ways of expressing itself.

I'm a working-class kid from a blue-collar New England family.

I don't follow any system. All the laws you can lay down are only so many props to be cast aside when the hour of creation arrives.

The sharing of food is like breaking bread, it's very symbolic.

Confidence gives a fool the advantage over a wise man.