Victoria Hislop was born in London. She studied English Philology at Oxford and worked in publishing, PR and as a
journalist before becoming a novelist. Inspired by a visit to Spinalonga, she wrote "The Island" in 2005. The book has
sold over 6,000,000 copies and has been translated into 38 languages, and became a series on Greek television in 2010.
She was the Newcomer of the Year at the British Book Awards and she received many awards in France. Moreover, her
novel "The Thread" was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. Her next books reached No. 1 on the SundayTimes list.
The author divides her time between England and Greece. In September 2020 she received the honorary Greek
citizenship for the world promotion of the monument of Spinalonga and the promotion of modern Greek history and
culture. Her books "Those who are loved" and "The Island" are also published by PSYCHOGIOS Publications.
For more information you can follow the author at Facebook/OfficialVictoriaHislop and Twitter @VicHislop or visit
its website www.victoriahislop.com
How did you decide to write books about Greece?
It probably sounds strange – but I didn’t “decide”. I think that’s the nature of inspiration. A decision is an intellectual
event – the arrival of inspiration is something different – something that is involuntary, something that the brain is not
responsible for.
It was never my intention to write fiction up until 2001, when I first went to the island of Spinalonga (the subject of my
first novel). I was a journalist up until that point. I was writing about places/travel (amongst other things) but very
much from a factual point of view. My visit to Spinalonga touched me on a very emotional level and I knew immediately
that I wanted to write something about the people who had lived there. It could not be journalistic because I didn’t have
access to the facts of their lives – only how I imagined they might have been. And this is why I wrote the novel, “The
Island”.
Where do you get your inspiration from and what is its main source?
Since writing The Island, Greece has continued to be a source of inspiration to me – specifically the 20 th century – the
history of which I think of as being within the reach of my imagination. Greece has been through very turbulent times
(more than the UK, the country where I was born and grew up) and the way in which people have survived and even
grown stronger is a source of inspiration to me.
A few words about the last project of yours…
My current project is working on an adaptation of my novel “Cartes Postales from Greece” for Greek television (ERT). I
have been working with four scriptwriters to adapt it – it’s a really fascinating process to turn words that are written for
the page into something three-dimensional! And then when you add the perspective of a Director – and the actors – it
takes on several more dimensions.
What are your favorite books and authors from Greek and world literature?
My favorite authors are Ian McEwan and Kazuo Ishiguro – they are the best writers in the English language, I think!
Both of them write very simply – there is nothing pretentious about how they write, but the prose is perfect and there is
always plenty beneath the surface. My favorite Greek writer is Ioanna Karystianni – and her book “Back to Delphi” is
incredible. My Greek is not yet good enough to read a whole novel of hers cover to cover so I had to rely on a translation
– she writes very well about emotion. It’s not easy to do. I am also reading (in Greek) a book by Alki Zei «Πόσο θα ζήσεις
ακόμα, γιαγιά»– it’s a huge pleasure, even though I am slow!
What is the most beautiful thing in a writer’s life?
That’s a lovely question! In one word: Freedom! To travel in your mind and to express your feelings and thoughts. And
if there is a reader out there who enjoys what you do, then that’s a bonus.
What would be your most valuable advice to a young writer and a young reader?
To a young author-Always carry a notebook and a pencil and jot down thoughts and things you notice – it’s amazing how
easily you can then write a story (it doesn’t have to be a long one) based on the little things that interested you.
To a young reader – read! Put your smart phone away, or your tablet – and dive into the pages of a book. It’s the best
kind of escapism. I know a lot of writers – and ALL of them are avid readers too.
