ONE MINUTE WITH…

Monica Ali, author

Where are you now and what can you see?

I’m in Marrakech, teaching on a creative writing retreat, and I can see olive trees, palm trees and a swimming pool.

What are you currently reading? I’m reading for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. We’ve selected our longlist and now all the judges are reading or re-reading for the shortlist. It is a fantastically diverse range of books that encompasses historical fiction, science fiction, coming-of-age stories, comedy, tragedy, intimate domestic dramas and novels that work on a big canvas, and novels that take us into all corners of the world, from Sri Lanka to the Middle East, Australia to Korea.

Who is your favourite author and why do you admire them? Impossible to pick just one.

I love Tolstoy, Jane Austen, VS Naipaul, Graham Greene, Beryl Bainbridge, Penelope Fitzgerald… and so many more. They are authors I admire for their style, the way they create characters and their understanding of the human heart.

Describe the room where you usually write…

I write in my study at home in London, a room filled with books. There’s an upright piano in the corner that only gets played when my son comes home. It overlooks a small park, so when I get stuck I like to look out of the window and contemplate the duck pond.

Which fictional character most resembles you?

The first time I read Pride and Prejudice, in my teens, I really identified with Elizabeth Bennet, especially because of how embarrassing she finds her parents. Sadly, I don’t think my repartee is as sparkling.

Who is your hero from outside literature?

All mothers, everywhere, who do the most important and challenging and necessary work in society, and do it unsung.

Monica Ali is the chair of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2024. The shortlist will be announced on 24 April and the winner on 13 June (womensprize.com)