Terry Pratchett

You can read the full interview in The Independent 29 November. What follows is Terry hitting the nail on the head...

'He is often asked if he really believes that his novels are suitable for young readers, and even sometimes whether the books he writes especially for them have entirely suitable themes.

"My advice is this. For Christ's sake, don't write a book that is suitable for a kid of 12 years old, because the kids who read who are 12 years old are reading books for adults. I read all of the James Bond books when I was about 11, which was approximately the right time to read James Bond books. So you work out this kind of little equation in your head and you think, yeah, like Nation – the one that's just come out – that's a book for kids. And people will say: 'Well it covers very adult subjects ...' Yeah, that's why it's a book for kids. Because you want kids to grow up to be adults, not just bigger kids."