Maylis Besserie on the art of the Author Interview

Series: Biblio File in France

Maylis Besserie is a French radio broadcaster. She works for France Culture, the French national cultural radio station of the Radio France group, where she has produced documentaries and live programming about cultural issues since 2003. Over the years she has interviewed many artists and authors. She currently produces a summer program called la grande table d’été. 

I met Maylis at her home in Paris. We talked, among other things, about the perfect author interview, pre-packaged answers, specific questions about the text, the writing process, life habits, finding out what moves a writer, how success changes authors, Michel Houellebecq, dead words, special connections, noticing details in the writing across different books, Oliver Twist, the ability of writers to see, immersing yourself in the authors's words and work, using your emotions, provoking; Irish writers, asking about other arts, dealing with who you are, using surprise; voice and emotion, writer problems, lists of key words, being alive and intense, avoiding personal questions, appearance, pregnancy, audience feedback, and the skill of putting into meaningful language things that readers can't.