216 Quotes by John Boyne

I wrote my first book at 20, but my whole focus from about the age of 12 was to be a writer.

Children's authors don't talk down or patronise their younger readers.

Throughout my teenage years, I read 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens every December. It was a story that never failed to excite me, for as well as being a Dickens enthusiast, I have always loved ghost stories.

It's not easy making a living as a writer, and for many years I worked at a Waterstones in Dublin. It was a good environment for an aspiring writer, with lots of events and authors appearing.

I can remember being eight, and I like writing about that age of innocence when children still have a sense of wonder.

I don't buy into the idea that an Irish writer should write about Ireland, or a gay writer should write about being gay.

I suppose books are my real passion in life.

People try to glorify war, particularly those who aren't actually fighting in them. People tend to make heroes of those who are fighting in them.

Unless you're very boring, I think most people who've lived long enough have something in their past which will never go away.