Philip Pullman has said that the true subject of his work is human nature and its relation to the universe, and he has found the greatest exponent of that subject to be William Blake. He will talk about his influences and inspirations, very much including Blake, and describe what he thinks is happening when he is writing a story. He has always been more fascinated by story than by purely literary qualities such as style, though he does think that literary values are important as well. He has found the conversation of psychoanalysts and psychotherapists fascinating, and (where stories are concerned) is willing to steal from anyone.

Philip Pullman CBE FRSL was born in Norwich and educated in Norfolk, London, Zimbabwe and Australia before his parents settled in Wales, where all his secondary schooling took place. After reading English at Oxford he taught in middle schools for twelve years. He published two adult novels before writing several plays for his pupils to put on. He enjoyed the experience of writing for children so much that he never stopped, though his later books have gathered an adult audience as well.

His books are too numerous to list, but the trilogy His Dark Materials is most acclaimed. Some of his prizes are: the Carnegie Medal; the Carnegie of Carnegies; the Guardian Children’s Book Award; the Eleanor Farjeon Award; the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award; and the Whitbread Book of the Year.