Q&A Michael Morpurgo


losing funding and closing down—what are your thoughts on that? I think it’s awful short-termism. We seem to forget that stories, poems, books, are our national heritage and the right of every child to have. It’s also immensely hypo- critical because every government will say education is a priorit but if you close the libraries, you shut off the oxygen which the communit needs to become engaged with its literature and, therefore, its cultural heritage. It’s completely wrong for the government to abandon libraries, but I think everyone else has got to pick up the ball and run with it, which means support- ing those libraries that are there, working to stop them being closed down and encour- aging our education establishments to put libraries at the centre of schools.


You do a lot of work with children, including the Farms for City Children charity, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. Why did you set it up, and how is it going? I set it up because of my wife. She had a suburban childhood but her dad decided to take her down to Devon for a week to stay with a friend of his, so as a seven-year- old she discovered the countryside. Since this affected her so much, and similarly, my life had been touched by growing up on the Essex coast, the two of us decided it every child in this country should have that opportunit—particularly those in the cities who don’t have a connection with the coun- t ys de. So


tryside. So I have been close to children all of my writing life, listening to them, observ- ing them, reading t a great help.


ave bee c ose to c d e a v-


ing them, reading to them, and that’s been a great help.


them, and that’s been


Are you working on anything at the moment? There are a couple of books t is a retelling of


king on anything at the moment?


There are a couple of books to mention. One is a retelling of The Wizard of Oz. That is with HarperCollins, with a wonderful illustrator HarperCollins, with a wonderful illustrator called Emma Chichester Clark. As ever knows, there’s a dog called T o; my new book [with HarperCollins Children’s] willl perspective. It was a lot


z. That is with 4


called Emma Chichester Clark. As everyone knows, there’s a dog called Toto; my new book [with HarperCollins Children’s] wil be told from Toto’s perspective. It was a lot of fun, I enjoyed doing that.


of fun, I enjoyed doing that.


I was also asked by Coram House, an orphanage set up in the 18th century by a man called Thomas


orphanage set up in the 18th century by a man called Thomas


Coram, to write a story about one of the orphans. So I worked on an idea: that one of these kids from the streets of London spent a week with


aged eight, and the st


about the effect they had on each other’s lives. I’ve called Lucky Button


y about


one of the orphans. So I worked on an idea: that one of these kids from the streets of London spent a week with Mozar Mozart when he visited England aged eight, and the story is about the effect they had on


ed England y is


it Lucky Button, and it will be 19 5


364,413 copies sold


404,889 copies sold


FIVE TITLES SINCE RECORDS BEGAN


MICHAEL’S TOP


1


880,525 copies sold


The stage adaptation of War Horse helped the novel become Morpurgo’s top seller to date


published by Walker Books. It’s the weaving of centuries, of classes, of cultures. I really loved making that.


You wrote The Fox and the Ghost King about the ghost of Richard III helping Leicester City Football Club to its historic Premiere League win last year. What do you think about the club’s performance at the moment? It is dire. I think at some point someone must’ve gone to see the tomb of Richard III and called my story a “lot of rubbish”. I bet he was absolutely furious about that and thought, “Now I’m going to put a curse on the football team!” I want the team to stay up and then go and talk to Richard and apologise. It’ll be fine then. ×


2


513,476 copies sold


Michael Morpurgo’s Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz (HarperCollins Children’s Books) will be published on 7th September. Lucky Button will be issued by Walker Books on 2nd November


3


448,853 copies sold


Data source: Nielsen BookScan UK


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40