Interview with Philip Pullman (from 2004)

I interviewed Philip Pullman back in 2009, before I started work on my book, Dark Matter: A Thinking Fan’s Guide. It was an interesting experience, partly because I’d had car problems on the way there and arrived a little flustered. Looking at it again now, there are some ways in which I don’t think I handled it all that well. If I’m honest, I guess I was somewhat intimidated. Anyway, here it is, for what it’s worth (it’s also available on the Culturewatch site, where it’s been since 2004). With news today of his forthcoming book, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, it seemed a good time to repost it [...]

Another article on Pullman’s next book

Canongate to publish Pullman on God

07.09.09 Catherine Neilan

Canongate is to publish “a remarkable new piece of fiction” by famously atheistic Philip Pullman, in which he challenges the events of the Gospels, and puts forward his own “compelling and plausible version”. Publisher Jamie Byng acquired world rights to the book, for an [...]

Philip Pullman’s next book is a reworking of the story of Jesus. And a denial of the truth of Jesus.

Children’s author Philip Pullman says Jesus wasn’t the Son of God
by Tom Kelly

Bestselling children’s author Philip Pullman has provoked more anger from Christians with a new book denying that Jesus was the son of God.

The book, due to be published next Easter, accepts there was a holy man called Jesus but says the idea of [...]

Mini interview on Publishers Weekly

As well as reviewing Dark Matter, Publishers Weekly also conducted a short email interview with me which was published in Religion BookLine. Here’s an extract:

. . . rather than a screed against Pullman’s books—which portray the Church as a corrupt corporation and God as a sick old man whose place has been taken by an [...]

Review of Dark Matter: A Thinking Fan’s Guide to Philip Pullman

My Review of Dark Matter: A Thinking Fan’s Guide to Philip Pullman has now been published in the USA by IVP. Publishers Weekly, a major trade publication for the book world, has published a favourable review:

‘Philip Pullman’s acclaimed His Dark Materials trilogy, a sweeping retelling of Milton’s Paradise Lost and The Fall , has caused [...]

Dark Matter

Dark Matter: A Thinking Fan’s Guide to Philip Pullman was published on 22 September 2004. Response has been very positive from readers and the few reviewers who ever saw a copy. Unfortunately, it fell foul of major changes in the way Damaris books were published and distributed so it had virtually no marketing. You can [...]

A few useful websites on Pullman

There’s stacks of stuff on His Dark Materials on the web. What I’ve realised during my research is that a lot of it is recycled endlessly round loads of sites – including mistakes. Some of the stuff around is innacurate or poorly thought out, some just trivial. And some is fabulous! These are a few [...]

More on the book

Here’s an outline of what the book will include:

Part 1: Chapters about Philip Pullman, the influences on him, etc., and chapters about the three volumes of His Dark Materials.

Part 2: Chapters about the big philosophical and theological themes which Pullman explores.

Since it’s a ‘thinking fan’s guide’ it will be both enthusiastic about the trilogy and [...]

Philip Pullman book

True to my word, here I am telling you a little about the book I’m writing on Pullman. The focus, of course, will be on his magnum opus, His Dark Materials. It will be the second in a series of ‘thinking fan’s guides’ from Damaris Publishing. I was a contributor to the first book, Matrix [...]