Authors this Autumn: Part 1

This autumn, we wanted to give you guys an insight into the minds of the authors we publish and how they were inspired by the books around them. So, in true BKMRK style, we asked them some VERY bookish questions. Here are some of their answers to our first (very important) one…

What is the ONE book that has inspired your voice as an author?

Cat Clarke (author of We Are Young): Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson was one of the first YA books to truly blow me away. It made me realize how powerful young adult literature can be. It inspired me to work as hard as I possibly could to try to create something even half as good. (No idea whether I’ve succeeded or not!)

Nikesh Shukla (author of Run, Riot): It was Spider-Man comics, which I found funny and incredibly thrilling. They helped me develop my ear for zippy comedic dialogue and told brilliant tense stories about a teenager with the weight of the world on his shoulders (and the proportionate strength and speed of a spider).

Taran Matharu (author of the Summoner series): Perhaps it’s cliche, but JK Rowling’s voice in Harry Potter is brilliant, and one I have attempted to emulate. I’ve always found her style to be one of easy-reading fluidity; rhythmic and lyrical with a pacing that pulls the reader along. I can’t claim to have achieved the same, but it’s certainly what I aimed for when developing my own voice.

Are there books that have inspired your voice? Share these with us on our social channels!