Alex Garland Quotes

I'm a writer. I never expected to be recognised on the street. I never expected to get that kind of coverage, good or bad. I never expected to sell as many books as I have.

I don't aspire at present to be king of the hill in American literature.

I haven't been the kind of writer about whom book-length academic studies have been written.

Whenever anyone calls me 'The new J..K. Rowling,' I think, 'What's wrong with the old one?'

I've been very lucky with prizes. But the thing about prizes is that, when you talk about a prize-winning author, you can be talking about one that is well-regarded but doesn't sell any books.

Writers are not celebrities, so you don't expect to walk down the street and hear, 'Oh my God, there's Sylvia Day.' You prefer to be anonymous.

After a while, when the writer is mature, it doesn't really matter - not because of finances but because of reputation. It doesn't really matter how many awards you get.

It's a strange failure of the literary world that Updike never quite received his due. Despite winning two Pulitzers and two National Book Awards and countless other awards and honours, he was denied the Nobel.

One of the things I liked about writing for a magazine was a kind of anonymity. When you do books, it's different than magazine pieces because you become a 'figure.'

The bewildering success of my books continues to surprise me.

I didn't care where my works were published.

Is the prestige conferred by the Man Booker prize for the book or me? I would prefer it on the book and for me to be treated ordinarily.

Saul Bellow never took my advice when he was my friend.

There are writers who go their whole lives and never hit that No. 1 spot.

One man is as good as another until he has written a book.

You can't be admitted to the ranks of writers of importance unless you have sales.

I'm sure I wouldn't have been asked to judge the Man Booker if it weren't for 'Downton.'

I wanted to see my name on the cover of a book. If your name is in the Library of Congress, you're immortal.

Authors should be honored only for their works.

I imagined being a famous writer would be like being like Jane Austen.

Making the best-seller list is a big deal; it's like being nominated for an Oscar. Hitting No. 1 is like actually winning the award. It's very gratifying.

When I got my very first phone call that I'd hit the 'New York Times' list, I had a small rush of 'I've made it!' But the next morning, it occurred to me I didn't know what it was, so I called my agent and asked what being a 'New York Times' bestselling author really meant. He informed me that I was now a thousand pound gorilla.

I am happy because I am no longer an author.

Many readers know my work first through 'Housekeeping,' simply because it was my only novel for a pretty long time.

I never set out to do this - getting to No. 1 in the 'New York Times' bestseller list wasn't even a pipedream.