Loving the 'conversation' between writer and reader

“The craft of writing is all the stuff that you can learn through school; go to workshops and read books. Learn characterization, plot and dialogue and pacing and word choice and point of view. Then there's also the art of it which is sort of the unknown, the inspiration, the stuff that is noncerebral.” – Garth Stein

 

Born in Los Angeles on this date in 1964, Stein is the author of The Art of Racing in the Rain, which has sold more than 4 million copies in 35 languages, and spent more than three years on the New York Times bestseller list.    

 

Stein’s career actually began in films where he was a documentary filmmaker directing, 
editing and/or producing several award-winning films, including The Lunch Date and The Last Party.   

 

Also co-founder of the nonprofit Seattle7Writers – dedicated to energizing readers and writers and their communities by providing funding, programming and donations of free books – he has written several novels and children’s books as well as more screenplays.  His latest novel is A Sudden Light.

 

“I'm a writer because I love reading,” he said.  “I love the conversation between a reader and a writer, and that it all takes place in a book – sort of a neutral ground.  A writer puts down the words, and a reader interprets the words, and every reader will read a book differently. I love that.”