When Eloghosa Osunde was working on her debut novel, VAGABONDS!, she learnt that writing it was the easy part: ‘Writing a book changes you. At the idea stage of any work, there are all these plans you have for what you will do with a story—all valid!—but I’ve learned that every piece of work I see to completion has its own intentions for me, too.’
First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing.
Our questions are italicized.
What books or kinds of books did you read growing up?
Growing up, books were my most reliable way to get Somewhere Else, and Somewhere Else is where I wanted to be a lot of the time, so I read way too many books to count. I preferred reading to watching anything, so I missed out on films and tore through adventurous books about escape, with stubborn protagonists, worlds far away from my life: everything by Jacqueline Wilson, Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, Lemony Snicket, Louise Rennison, Judy Blume, Ann M. Martin, Mallory Blackman, the Archie Comics, Bible stories, etc.
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