Magic in the Hands of the Reader

Jonathan Stroud and Michael Pryor discuss the world of the darkly magical Bartimaeus trilogy. Their 50-minute conversation focuses on this bestselling trilogy, comparing it to other works in the fantasy and magic genres.

Discussion covers traditions in fantasy literature, Stroud’s influences including childhood reading, the development of the Bartimaeus trilogy and the characters involved.

Read the discussion transcript >

	Format	Length
Listen to the entire lecture [~18.1MB]	mp3	52m 50s
Listen to the lecture - part 1 [~5.9MB]	mp3	17m 22s
Listen to the lecture - part 2 [~5.1MB]	mp3	14m 38s
Listen to the lecture - part 3 [~7.15MB]	mp3	20m 49s

Jonathan Stroud worked as an editor in children's book publishing after leaving university. He has published six novels, all of which have received positive critical attention. The Amulet of Samarkand (Random House) is the first book in the Bartimaeus trilogy. The other books are The Golem’s Eye and Ptolemy’s Gate. Jonathan Stroud lives in Hertfordshire.

Michael Pryor is the co-creator (with Paul Collins) of the Quentaris series (Lothian). His books include The House of Many Rooms, The Mask of Caliban and Blackout (Hodder). In 2006 Michael will launch The Chronicles of Krangor series (Random House). Michael lives in Melbourne.

This event was organised by the Library's Centre for Youth Literature.