Marry someone who flatters you. Because I've written 80 books since 'War Horse' but when my wife reads one, all she says is, 'It's quite good, but it's not as good as 'War Horse, ' is it?'

Stories make you think and dream; books make you want to ask questions.

Read a lot - poems, prose, stories, newspapers, anything. Read books and poems that you think you will like and some that you think might not be for you. You might be surprised.

There's a nobility in his eye, a regal serenity about him. Does he not personify all that men try to be and never can be?

It's the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom.

Don't worry about writing a book or getting famous or making money. Just lead an interesting life.

Always write your ideas down however silly or trivial they might seem. Keep a notebook with you at all times.

Animals are sentient, intelligent, perceptive, funny and entertaining. We owe them a duty of care as we do to children.

Live an interesting life. Meet people. Read a lot and widely, learn from the great writers

Encouraging young people to believe in themselves and find their own voice whether it's through writing, drama or art is so important in giving young people a sense of self-worth.

Being his real brother I could feel I live in his shadows, but I never have and I do not now. I live in his glow.

Do you see how much power you have when you act without fear?

Creation pulls something from an abyss of nothing. Startups take the something & give it to those in the dark, at first, perhaps, for nothing.

Whenever an individual or a business decides that success has been attained, progress stops.

Catcher in the Rye had a profound impact on me-the idea that we all have lots of dreams that are slowly being chipped away as we grow up.

A place has almost the shyness of a person, with strangers; and its secret is not to be surprised by a too direct interrogation.

I just had a baby girl. My daughter weighed 27 pounds. She was 3 years old. She was delivered to me by way of the court system and a blood test.

I like the idea that when a guy comes over to the house, I get to say I wrote the book.

If the work is poor, the public taste will soon do it justice. And the author, reaping neither glory nor fortune, will learn by hard experience how to correct his mistakes.

At the start of any program, asking questions is the most important part of the process. If you get [the customer's] requirements wrong, then you don't have a successful product.

A lot of people have been overexposed. Where people are fed up. I pray that that never happens with me.