Hollie spoke to Ali Smith ahead of the publication of her new novel, Gliff.
Your new novel Gliff nods to dystopian fiction - is there something in our current climate that inspired this?
Er ... how could there be? Everything is such sweetness and light nationally, internationally, geopolitically and climate-wise and right now, and the future looks ever rosier! I'm clearly being ornery on purpose for some dark personal reason writing something mildly dystopian... but between you and me, there's very little, in fact nothing, in this book (except for a creaky (literally) metaphor involving red paint) that isn't already happening somewhere in the world.
Is there anything you can tell us about the connection between Gliff and its companion novel Glyph (coming 2025)?
Forgive me, I can't. If I do, the unwritten book will run off like a creature in the wild that's seen me see it.
The Accidental is one of my favourite books of yours, what do you think is the biggest thing that’s changed about your writing since it was published?
Thank you. I've no idea. I try not to think about it, because the more conscious you are if you're writing fiction, I find, the less the un- and sub- consciousnesses necessary can find their way through the tough hide of the conscious.
How do you structure the layout of a story? Do you write with an outcome in mind?
Never. What would be the point of writing something if you already knew what happened?
Favourite bookstore moment?
When Euan, one of the booksellers in the Portobello Bookshop in Edinburgh, said I could have his spare ticket for one of the Taylor Swift concerts if his brother in law didn't want it or couldn't make it. As it happens, his brother in law did want it and could make it. But even the thought of the offer moved me, which is why the latest book is dedicated to that independent bookshop and its marvellous booksellers (and by extension to all marvellous booksellers, as a model of their typical generosity).
What author or book is a recent discovery for you?
Joanna Kavenna. What a writer. Check out her story, The Beautiful Salmon, in a recent Paris Review.
What is your favourite snack to enjoy while writing?
Grapes.