Hannah Kent

I always knew I wanted to be a writer. I just wasn't sure what I wanted to do as a money-making job. ”

I had an interest in Scandinavian countries because I'd never seen snow. ”

People speak of the fear of the blank canvas as though it is a temporary hesitation, a trembling moment of self-doubt. For me it was more like being abducted from my bed by a clown, thrust into a circus arena with a wicker chair, and told to tame a pissed-off lion in front of an expectant crowd. ”

Most writers are drawn to what is unknown, rather than what is clear in any tale. ”

I really hate the term 'historical novel' - it reminds me of bodice-rippers. But I'm hooked on research, and I really, really enjoy it. ”

I have a deep and ongoing love of Iceland, particular the landscape, and when writing 'Burial Rites,' I was constantly trying to see whether I could distill its extraordinary and ineffable qualities into a kind of poetry. ”

There are secrets at the heart of every story; there is something that must be uncovered or discovered, both by the reader and by the characters. ”

I used to have 20/20 vision, believe it or not; that's gone because of all the reading I did when I wasn't supposed to, reading in the back of a car, waiting for each street light to go past so I could grab another sentence. ”

In Iceland, you can see the contours of the mountains wherever you go, and the swell of the hills, and always beyond that the horizon. And there's this strange thing: you're never sort of hidden; you always feel exposed in that landscape. But it makes it very beautiful as well. ”

I was a very imaginative child, and my parents were very encouraging of that. My sister and I would put on plays; I would write my own stories. ”