A Handmaid’s Tale, your other futuristic novel has been made into both a film and now an opera. Can you envisage the same fate for Oryx and Crake? If so who would you like to see paying the leading roles?

There’s already been some film chat. The best people to play the leads would of course be some absolutely fabulous actors that nobody’s ever heard of, but that scenario is not too likely. As for an Oryx and Crake opera, the idea is delicious, but you’d have to have an entire chorus willing to take off all their clothes and paint themselves blue. Sort of like a return to woad.

What is your advice to a young writer setting out on a career?

Advice? Read, read, read. Write, write, write. Get some ice packs to put on your arms. Don’t be mesmerized by anything outside your book (good reviews, bad reviews, what your mother will think, etc.) . The best advice about Fame is in Chaucer’s House of Fame. If you go on a book tour, always know who to call if the plane is late or they’ve forgotten to book your hotel. Both of these things will happen. Don’t take them personally. Never check luggage.

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