Chris Riddell

The Deckchair Interview

By Sarah Hutchings

Chris Riddell

Courtesy of Macmillan Publishers

Political Cartoonist and Children's Book Illustrator, Chris Riddell answers our questions...

How did you get your first break?
A London publisher visited Brighton Art College and saw me at my desk and commissioned my first book.

Could you describe your working day.
Unremmitting, relentless backbreaking toil involving goblins, cute furry animals and the occasional politician.

How does an idea become a novel?
All my ideas start as sketches in my notebook.

Which book do you wish you'd written?
Harry Potter and the Spanish Inqusition.

As a reader, do you always finish a book you've started?
No, sometimes I leave them in hotel rooms.

Describe your perfect day.
Tony Blair resigns in the morning and is impeached in the afternoon. In the evening George Bush chokes on a pretzel.

What keeps you awake at night?
Urban foxes' mating calls.

Why did you choose to live in Brighton and Hove and what keeps you here?
Because I went to art school here and it's much nicer than London.

How does living here inspire your work?

I get my best ideas walking over the Sussex Downs, the most beautiful landscape in Britain.