Or maybe youve followed his best-selling series of Peter Grant novels, which keep threatening to come to television?
Youve done this book for Cityread: perhaps start with what that is?
Our latest is Slough!
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Yeah!
One of the upcoming detective stories were doing is going to be set in Slough.
Its got to be done!
So the idea is that its library-based.
There are a lot of reading groups, library-based reading groups.
For example, this year it wasProphecy.
And thats an Elizabethan murder mystery, thats set in London.
They lowered the tone with me.
They have plays, libraries in all the boroughs put on events.
People put on shows.
Its all good stuff, and the idea is to promote the idea of reading.
People have a tendency to take libraries for granted.
My colleague wrote aheartfelt, wonderful pieceon libraries, and the sanctuary they offer.
My dad taught himself German in Whitechapel Library.
Which I think is very impressive given that I struggle to learn French!
Its really hard too, by the way, to try and teach yourself a language!
So how did Cityread and your writing come together?
Was it with your first novel,Rivers Of London?
Id never heard of them before!
And they said We want your book!
and I said Why?!
and they said Because its got London in the title!
They liked it because it was accessible.
London in the title was useful, but its very London-based.
My publisher has the crack cocaine theory of publicity.
They give away enough of the first book, enough will buy the second.
Whether they buy the third…?!
Its worked out, though!
Its not like Im not doing very well out of the books!
Then they said Do you want to be involved further?, because I really enjoyed it.
I went to every borough in London and gave a talk at each library.
Id forgotten, which is really strange when you consider there are 33 boroughs.
I did two libraries a day for about three weeks.
I went in all Ill stand at the back, and by the end Id lost my stage fright.
I can now go out in front of lots of people and talk with no stage fright at all.
It got worn away!
I got to see every borough [of London], which is not something people really do.
And every single borough had something of interest.
I was making notes, chatting to people, and I found that incredibly useful for work.
A very interesting thing to do, and such a huge city.
There are rivers, little marketplaces, things that just appear!
A village pops up and you go AH!
I found it very, very interesting.
I thought I can get behind this.
London and libraries, two of the things I like, so Im now on the board!
[The next Cityread] is next April.
Getting people into reading in cities, then.
Its you and Dolly Parton!
[Laughs] Yes, yes.
Its an odd Venn diagram, but there you go!
Ive never been in a Venn diagram with Dolly Parton!
Theres a first time for everything!
Im going to go and draw the diagram.
Lets look at the Peter Grant stories, then.
Im a few books behind myself at the moment, I should confess…
Get the audio books!
Ah, thats one of the things I wanted to talk to you about.
Youve been backing audio books for some time…
I was desperate to be on an audio book, and I thought you were supposed to!
They were like, no, you have to earn a certain number of sales.
The production costs by definition are actually higher.
The crucial thing is the calculation has changed.
Before, you were going to have to physically dish out some discs.
Libraries still get the CDs.
Everyone else in the entire universe downloads it.
You produce the physical discs for libraries now, but you dont have to produce them in quantities.
The production costs are no longer so high.
CDs are still expensive to press, relatively!
Which explains the different packaging you get for audiobooks in libraries?
Now they come in one jewel case.
It went back to that in the period Ive been writing the books.
Which is good news for actors, I would have thought!
Now, books that formerly wouldnt have got Audibles will get Audibles.
I think were heading for an equilibrium between paper, ebooks and audio books.
With Terry Pratchett, I always used to get his book three ways!
I paid three times!
I think the next change will be when you buy the hardback, youll get the ebook free.
Theyd do it now, but I think its technically quite difficult to do.
Not everyone has a Kindle!
I also think that ebooks have led to the rise again of the novella.
And not the novella as a niche thing either.
Youve got one yourself coming out this year?
That was the first novella Ive ever written.
And theyre very tasty for an author.
Also, its quicker to write.
you might fit them in.
I write them between trips.
I think books are going to shorter.
I dont want George R R Martin books to get shorter…
We just want those to get finished!
Some people arent suited to short books.
I like reading big pages of description from Peter Hamilton because hes got an interesting brain.
I like them, and didnt used to.
Its been a conversion for me.
Does it change how you write?
Knowing that your text will also become an audio book?
Is that something youd be interested in?
Theyre giving it away free.
They pay me to do it, and I pay Cityread, and Audible gives it away free!
Its nice publicity for Cityread, and its set in the British library.
And it has librarians in it.
Thats how that came about.
I did it as a fun thing.
Ive always done short stories, for Waterstones special editions.
They ask for an essay, and I hate essays, so I wrote a short story.
Now Im stuck with that!
Especially for non-British people.
Someone pointed this out to me, as then you might hear when hes being sarcastic!
German, though, is a wonderfully ironic language.
Im just getting to grips with it!
No, no really.
Theres bound to be an interaction.
I listen to them, to confirm I like them.
Most of my characters tell me how theyre written though, rather than the other way around.
I dont have a choice, they make all the decisions!
Back in 2014, there was talk of a television version ofRivers Of London.
Is that still happening?
Television is where it always is.
I love watching television, I really do.
Im watchingAmerican Godsat the moment.
But I dont know.
You never know, it could go tomorrow.
Or it might never go.
Thats the thing with television, its either in a tearing hurry or freezeframe.
There is no slow methodical progression towards being made.
One day, you just scramble.
So you never know whats going to happen.
Was that your choice or someone elses?
I knew that Rona Munro would come back from the classic series.
That made total sense to me.
I never thought itd be me returning!
Did you want it to be?
But theyre not going to.
They dont dislike or like me or anything, its just the way that television works.
Im not in the television loop.
Im not a television writer anymore, so Im not going to be considered as one.
Id be terrified to write for it now: 45 minutes, and youre up against some stiff competition!
Theres almost universal love forRemembrance Of The Daleks, your firstDoctor Who.
The only person Ive ever come across who really doesnt like your other one,Battlefield, is you!
You give a very damning DVD commentary.
I didnt like it, because my main complaint withBattlefieldis the mistakes I made as a writer.
Ones you dont know about because you werent there when I was making it!
For you, you’re able to enjoy it.
For me, Im sitting there going WAAAAAAAAAAAAH why did I have too many characters?
Why do some of them disappear half way through?
What did I do that?
Oh god, that didnt work!
As far as Im concerned, I didnt have the necessary experience.
But I didnt know how to do that because I was, what, 25?
Remembrance had been written in a mad flash of inspiration and not knowing what you couldnt do.
Then you find out, maybe script two or three, that maybe youre not.
Do you share that with your work?
Oh god.Rivers Of London.
There are some howlers in there.
Theres some stuff in there that Id like to quietly go back and rewrite but Im not going to.
I dont believe you should do that.
Whats next for you, then?
I know about the novella later this year, but is it more Peter Grant books after that?
What that will be will depend.
If not, then I may write something else.
I may do another novella then, Ive got it banked.
Break glass in case of script lateness or something!
Most of its going to be Peter Grant unless something else comes up!
Ben Aaronovitch, thank you very much.
All proceeds from the project are donated to CityRead London.
The audiobook is free to download atwww.audible.co.ukfor a limited time.
