Room
Winner of the 2011 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize regional prize; made into a major motion picture. More
Cathy Marie Buchanan
I write because I’m compelled to create and writing is the act that best satisfies the itch. More
Lauren Oliver
I read so that I can learn and I write so that I can explore. More
The God of Small Things
Winner of the 1997 Man Booker Prize, making Roy the first Indian woman to receive the award. More
Lauren Weisberger
A book that influenced me and why . . . Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume was incredibly influential to me as a child. More
The Hours
Winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize and PEN/Faulkner Award; made into an Oscar-winning film. More
Heather O’Neill
A book that influenced me and why: A Season in the Life of Emmanuel by Marie-Claire Blais More
The Stone Diaries
Winner of the 1993 Governor General’s Award (Canada) and the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. More
The Shipping News
Highly acclaimed international bestseller; winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. More
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Why do I read? Seriously? I’m supposed to provide an intelligent answer? More
People of the Book
Winner of the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year 2008. More
Rosemary Sullivan
I write out of compulsion. “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner,” as Alan Sillitoe remarked—the exhilaration and discipline of the run; the finish line unknown until you get there. More
Cecelia Ahern
I write because I feel compelled to. More
Emma Donoghue
Like many teenagers, I spent more of my summer holidays than I probably should have immersed in the world of The Lord of the Rings. More
Barbara Taylor Bradford
When I say I have the need to write, I do mean need. More
The Book of Negroes
A milestone in Canada’s understanding of black history and one of the bestselling books in Canadian publishing history. More
Karthika Nair
Books that influenced me: Haroun and the Sea of Stories. More
Caroline Overington
I read to observe the world as it is seen by others; to walk the planet as strangers do; to breathe a story that is not my own. More
Barometer Rising
The first novel by MacLennan, one of Canada’s most significant novelists of the mid-twentieth century. More
Pilgrim
A finalist for the Giller Prize and a Canadian bestseller that surpassed the author’s own impressive sales records. More
A Woman of Substance
With her unforgettable heroine Emma Harte, Bradford popularized the rags-to-riches family saga. More
The Corrections
Winner of the National Book Award in 2001 and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2002. More
Michele A’Court
I read because I want to live more than one life. Books take us out of ourselves into a whole other world. More
Tracy Chevalier
I read because I want to know what it’s like to look at the world through someone else’s eyes, and reading is a remarkably efficient and vigorous way of doing that. More
