INTERVIEW WITH TRACY CHEVALIER (PART ONE)

We are very pleased to include a two-part interview with Tracy Chevalier as part of the Blake TV podcast series. Tracy is the best-selling author of novels including "Girl With A Pearl Earring" and "Burning Bright", which features William Blake as one of its characters. She was interviewed over the telephone by Jo Beggs. The illustration accompanying the interview is by Stuart Madden.

Name
- Tracy Chevalier

Current job
- Author

Did you go to University or any other higher education institution? If so, where and what did you study?
- I graduated with a degree in English literature from Oberlin College in the
US. My career previous to writing was in publishing: I was an editorial
assistant for a year on Macmillan's Dictionary of Art project, then was
literary editor for St. James Press, a reference book company, for 5 years.
There I edited encyclopedias on subjects such as children's writers, poets,
and contemporary world writers.

In 1993 I left publishing to do an MA in creative writing at the University
of East Anglia. From 1994-97 I worked part-time as a freelance editor and
wrote part-time. Once The Virgin Blue was published I began to write
full-time.


Download the first part of the interview with Tracy Chevalier