On January 26, 2020, during the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia “Ghost Wall”, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux was announced to the 2020 Listen List. In honor of this recognition the author Sarah Moss was interviewed:
When did you first realize you wanted to be an author?
When I learned to read, about 5
What inspires you as a writer? Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
Most of my books start in museums. There’s something about the materiality of objects with stories, the way they invite narrative and speculation, that sets me off.
What is your favorite genre to read, and why?
I read literary fiction, often in translation. I’ll read almost anything for beautiful sentences and well-crafted paragraphs, and I look for books that open up the world for me with unfamiliar voices and settings.
What did you learn when writing this book?
A whole lot about Iron Age archaeology!
Was the character inspired by a real person?
No, they never are
What do you think happened to the characters after the book ended?
They grew up. Silvie became a social worker but never learned to trust people enough to have the kinds of relationships she’d like. Molly works with kids in museums, has four children in a big messy house and grows fruit and vegetables. The boys learnt to think about masculinity and now model better ways of being men to their friends and sons, and they still sometimes wake in the night and berate themselves for not intervening when they should have.
Hear the 2021 Best of during the Book & Media Virtual Ceremony on Thursday, February 4, 2021 @ 3:00pm Central. Registration is open and free!! Visit here to register