THE NUMBERS

22 – how many years have passed since the release of Northern Lights, the first His Dark Materials book. 40 – the number of languages Pullman’s bestselling books have been translated into. 17 MILLION – how many copies of Pullman’s books have been sold worldwide. 2007 – the year the movie The Golden Compass – based on Northern Lights and starring Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Ian McKellen – was released. It did badly at the box office and was panned by critics, which explains why there’s been no attempt at a sequel.