What are you most looking forward to at the 2016 Festival? A week of complete, uninterrupted bookiness. Reading books, talking about books, meeting lovers of books. Books, books, books. When did you realise you wanted to be a writer? I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to write. I’ve been scribbling stories in notebooks for as long as I can remember. Luckily, the quality has improved with time. What books do you find yourself re-reading most often? The funny ones! If I’m ever feeling grumpy I cure myself with a bit of book therapy. I can always rely on Sue Townsend’s The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 and Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens to cheer me up. Life is best when it’s spent laughing. If you weren’t a writer, what would you be? I spent my childhood determined to be an astronaut, an author or a Jedi Master. The Jedi thing looks quite dangerous, but I’d still love to go to space, so if the writing doesn’t work out, I might give NASA a ring. And finally, we have a number of aspiring writers attending the Festival. What one piece of advice would you give them? Write! And enjoy it! Being an author is the most fantastic job in the world.