Daemon Voices: On Stories and Storytelling

‘Without stories, we wouldn’t be human beings at all.’ - Philip Pullman

In over 30 essays, written over 20 years, one of the world's great story-tellers meditates on story-telling.

Warm, funny, generous, entertaining and, above all, deeply considered, they offer thoughts on a wide variety of topics, including the origin and composition of Philip's own stories, the craft of writing and the story-tellers who have meant the most to Philip.

The art of story-telling is everywhere present in the essays themselves, in the instantly engaging tone, the vivid imagery and striking phrases, the resonant anecdotes, the humour and learnedness. Together, they are greater than the sum of their parts: a single, sustained engagement with story and story-telling.

James Daunt, Managing Director, Waterstones: “The importance of Philip Pullman to the cause of reading cannot be overstated. The generations still in their first quarter century read first Harry Potter, then the complex, gripping and provocative His Dark Materials. Other books, other authors, make claims and bring huge rewards, but these two imprint on everyone who calls themselves a reader, and it is Philip who cements the sophisticated, unique pleasures of reading. As we account for the vigour of reading in a digital age, we need look no further.