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Colm Tóibín on the Net Book Agreement, labelling authors, and writing as a career

Apr 2009

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Colm Tóibín talks to Lisa Dwan about labelling 'authors', the Net book agreement, and the hard work involved in writing. Tóibín believes that the background of an author - sexuality, nationality etc. - is not important when it comes to reading their books, as literature is supposed to open our minds and transport us to another world. He also discusses the Net Book Agreement (NBA) - a law regulating the price of books, widely applied in Europe - and why it should be reintroduced to Britain. Tóibín laments the lack of translations in English literature and suggests that the NBA might help to bring through a new generation of young British authors. Finally, Tóibín discusses how, even for an author, writing is not always pleasurable.