In this specially-commissioned anthology, sixty accomplished authors share secrets and insights into their writing lives: on their inspirations, methods, wild ideas and daily routines; on the pleasure and the pain in achieving their literary goals; on how they started out and how they hope to continue. They outline some golden rules for staying on track and talk candidly about what goes wrong as well as right. We hear from novelists, poets, biographers, and children's writers; illustrators, campaigners, teachers, mothers, husbands, an entrepreneur turned surfboard shaper, a quantum physicist, an opera librettist, and a Laureate who loves dragons. All writers.

We have emerging talents in our team alongside much-loved authors whose books have sold in millions. Each reflects in their own way on the creative process and the compulsion to write. How to find inspiration? How to get the words right? How to cope with writer's block? How to handle bad reviews? How to become a better reader? Pencil or computer? Inside or out? And where do the good ideas really come from?

Swallowed by a Whale includes contributions from: Philip Ardagh, Tracy Chevalier, Cressida Cowell, Lev Grossman, Matt Haig, Joanne Harris, Jan Morris, David Mitchell, Chris Riddell, Francesca Simon, Helen Stephens, Colin Thubron, Irvine Welsh and many more.