So I don’t know how much time I’ve spent on each, but I would say that my historical novels probably take a bit more time to write than my contemporary ones. Then I go back and do more research during the writing process as questions arise. Hard to quantify, because I get ideas for moments, scenes, or even entire subplots of the novel while I’m in the middle of doing the research, so by the time I start actually drafting, I have already done much of the imaginative work of writing. How long do you spend on research before you begin writing? Let me reverse that question: why do so many writers limit themselves to the historical era they were born in, when they probably wouldn’t dream of restricting their fiction to the place in the world where they live? Why do you like writing historical fiction?

She is currently working on the screenplay of Room ( which will be filmed in this autumn) and her first children’s book. These days she lives in London, Ontario, Canada with her partner and two children. Her books include fiction both historical ( Frog Music, Astray, The Sealed Letter, Life Mask, Slammerkin, The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits) and contemporary ( Stir-fry, Hood, Touchy Subjects, Landing, and the international bestseller Room). She did a PhD in eighteenth-century literature at Cambridge University. )īorn in Dublin in 1969, Emma Donoghue is an award-winning writer of fiction, drama and literary history. Here is the original url: I am c&p the entire text below.

An edited version has been published in today’s print edition. ( My interview with Emma Donoghue was published in the Hindu Literary Review online edition yesterday.

Emma donoghue music