Yann Martel is the author of Self, The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios and The Life of Pi. He's the winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2002, the UK's best know literary award, for The Life of Pi.
He joined us in the FictionAddiction.NET chat room just days before he won the Man Booker Prize to talk with other writers as well as his fans. The following is a chat transcript directly from this special event:
[MOD-CINDY] ***Yann Martel was born in Spain in 1963. Since then he has spent much of his life traveling the world, from Alaska to France to India. Currently he makes his life in Montreal. His book, "Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios" is winner of the Journey Prize, and his current book, "Life of Pi," is winner of the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction 2001 and is shortlisted for two prestigious awards, the 2001 Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction and this year's Man Booker Prize, the UK's best known literary award. ***
[MOD-CINDY] *** "Life of Pi" is an enchanting book that the flyleaf claims will make you believe in God. This meditation on religion and zoology tells the story of a young boy, Pi, who is trapped on a boat in the middle of the ocean with several animals, including a Royal Bengal tiger named Robert Parker. ***
[MOD-CINDY] * * * FictionAddiction.NET is pleased to welcome author Yann Martel. Welcome! * *
[YannMartel] Hello, folks. Greetings from Germany! Glad to be with you all.
[fiction] Hello!
[MOD-CINDY] * * * * OPEN FLOOR FOR QUESTIONS * * * *
[fiction] ?
[YannMartel] Hello, hello. Do you receive me. I cant believe I'm doing this from Germany
[MOD-CINDY] Go ahead, Fiction!
[fiction] Congratulations on being up for the Man Booker Prize. What can winning an award like this do for a writer's career?
[tgh] ?
[YannMartel] Everything. It means money, fame, booksales, etc. It can also corrupt you, of course.
[YannMartel] But I'll deal with the corruption when I meet it.
[MOD-CINDY] <grin> Go ahead, tgh!
[MOD-CINDY] * * * If you have a question for Mr. Martel, please type a question mark, such as ? When it's your turn to ask a question, you will be "called on" so please have your question ready. * * *
[tgh] Since you've published both short stories and novel-length fiction, which do you actually prefer writing and why?
[YannMartel] I started writing short stories because they seemed more manageable. I learnt how to write as I wrote them. But I feel more naturally a novelist.
[tgh] ?
[MOD-CINDY] Go ahead, tgh.
[YannMartel] The short s. format is actually technically very difficult, unforgiving. Every word counts.
[tgh] What's the most common mistake you see writers making in today's fiction?
[fiction] ?
[YannMartel] Mistake? Too long. Too much emphasis on style and not on story and content. Too much fiction doesn't strike me as vital, as coming from a place deep down.
[MOD-CINDY] Go ahead, fiction.
[fiction] I'm an aspiring writer in search of an agent. How do I go about getting one?
[YannMartel] Getting back to the ? about short s and novels, I prefer the leisurely development of the novel, as opposed to the tight twists andd sudden revelations that are the modus operandi of short s.
[YannMartel] Write to them with a sample, I guess. I think things are probably a lot more competitive in the US than in Canada. I met my agent at a party after having won a contest for best Cdn short story. I think a lot depends on luck.
[MOD-CINDY] * * * If you have a question for Mr. Martel, please type a question mark, such as ? When it's your turn to ask a question, you will be "called on" so please have your question ready. * * *
[rtrdogs] ?
[YannMartel] I started by publishing stories in literary mags. That got me attention in a fairly closed circle, but one well connected. Then this prize I mentioned got the ball rolling for me.
