Page 2 of 3 Interview with Paul
Kearney By Patrick
(2006-03-08)
Given the choice, would you take a New York
Times bestseller, or a World Fantasy Award? Why,
exactly?
PK: I'll take the bestseller - I'm
not proud! As O Brian's Jack Aubrey says passionately at
one point; 'I have always been poor, and I long to be
rich!' Every author wants to be read - more than good
reviews or literary prizes, he want to see people buying
his book - and dare I say it's not just for the sake of
filthy lucre - it's for the satisfaction of
communicating your own vision of the world to others.
Sounds pretentious, but in essence I think it's what
lies at the heart of writing. The money, well that's a
nice little fringe benefit.
Honestly, do you believe that the fantasy
genre will ever come to be recognized as veritable
literature? Truth be told, in my opinion there has never
been this many good books/series as we have right now,
and yet there is still very little respect (not to say
none) associated with the genre.
PK: Yes and no. In some respects
we're halfway there already. Tolkien is literature, as
is C S Lewis. I believe John Crowley is literature, and
James Blaylock and Graham Joyce and half a dozen others.
But I think the multi-volume series is what anchors
fantasy firmly in the literary gutter (and I should
know, since I've been churning it out with the best of
them!)
No matter how good the series is - and I agree that
there are some spanking good ones out there at the
moment - it will still be dismissed as a Tolkien clone.
I think the most inventive books in publishing are in
the fantasy and sci-fi genres at the moment. Look at
what is published these days - crime thrillers,
chick-lit, celebrity tie-ins. And then there's the
Booker stuff, which in a way is as formulaic as anything
else, since it's written with such self-conscious
cleverness. At least fantasy still has blood in its
veins, enthusiasm, vigor - and that's something to be
thankful for. On the other hand, there is a hell of a
lot of crap out there too? I doubt if that answers your
question, but I'm in two minds about it myself. I read
something like Deadhouse Gates, and am filled with
optimism, then catch sight of Eragon, and realize
there's a long way to go.
Now that you are at Bantam, are there any
plans to re-release your older novels? The Way to
Babylon, A Different Kingdom and Riding the Unicorn are
all well-regarded critically but have been out of print
for many years, and the earlier Monarchies of God books
also seem to be out of print as well. And do you still
plan to bring out a revised edition of Ships from the
West?
PK: Gollancz at one point promised
to bring out an omnibus edition of the Monarchies, but
truth to tell, the logistics of getting all five books
into one volume are pretty formidable, so they gave up.
Bantam have expressed an interest in reissuing all five
books (with the last one revised) as soon as the rights
lapse from Gollancz, which will be another year or two.
So they will see the light of day again. As far as my
first three books go, I doubt they'll be reprinted,
which is a shame, as Kingdom is the best thing I've ever
written. But business is business.
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