Author(s): Philip Pullman

Literature

In over 30 essays written over 20 years, one of the worlds great storytellers meditates on story-telling. Warm, funny, generous, entertaining and, above all, deeply considered, they offer thoughts on a wide variety of topics, including the origin and composition of Philips own stories, the craft of writing and the storytellers who have meant the most to Philip. The art of story-telling is everywhere present in the essays themselves, in the instantly engaging tone, the vivid imagery and striking phrases, the resonant anecdotes, the humour and learnedness. Together, they are greater than the sum of their parts: a single, sustained engagement with story and story-telling.

Review: "These essays cast a spell. . . . To read them is to be invigorated by the company of a joyfully wide-ranging, endlessly curious and imaginative mind." -The New York Times Book Review

"Inspiration can be hard to come by, but on the pages of this essay collection, you can find it in long, deep, refreshing draughts. . . . The essays brim with joy and curiosity-about literature, storytelling, music, science, the universe, and humanity itself." -Laura Miller, Slate

"A splendid collection . . . literary insights that will enrich and inspire." -The Wall Street Journal

"[Daemon Voices] reads as if you're having a highly illuminating conversation with a genius about how the storytelling sausage is made. It's a portrait of a writer turned inside out, and anyone involved in the same endeavor will feel slightly less insane for having read it." -Santa Fe New Mexican

"Remarkably astute. . . . A wonderful distillation of decades of writing and thinking about what goes into storytelling. Like his best books, it has a richness of ideas in its wide breadth of topics and illuminating conclusions."-The A. V. Club

"Pullman offers meaty but always lucidly argued ruminations on the nature of story. . . . Infused with abundant wisdom, provocative notions, and illuminating insights." -Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"Pullman addresses 'the business of the storyteller' with the quiet confidence of a master craftsman sharing the tricks of his trade. . . . The essays delineate and defend the real work of fiction to nourish imagination, shape moral understanding, and, above all, delight. . . . The book is a toolbox stacked with generous, sensible advice." -Publishers Weekly

Author Biography: PHILIP PULLMAN is one of the most acclaimed and best-selling writers at work today. He is best known for the His Dark Materials trilogy: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, which has been named one of the top 100 novels of all time by Newsweek and one of the all-time greatest novels by Entertainment Weekly. In 2004, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He lives in Oxford, England.