STUART WILSON’s The 113th Assistant Librarian 2: Lost in a Book is the highly anticipated sequel to The 113th Assistant Librarian. Read on for a Q&A.
What’s new for Oliver in The 113th Assistant Librarian 2: Lost in a Book?
After the calamities that befell him in book 1, things seemed to have calmed down for Oliver. The library is even lucky enough to receive the extensive book collection of Phillip Thomas, deceased bibliomaniac, who crammed every corner of his house full of books. As Oliver and Agatha add items to the inventory, however, they notice that some of the books diverge from the library’s copies: a murder mystery has a different culprit, a cookbook has different ingredients. Worryingly, A History of the Alpine Conflict by M.W. Ebberdew deviates significantly, and could have serious ramifications for both the Kingdom of Hallarum and the neighbouring Shrouded Alps. As a returning antagonist from book 1 sets her sights on this unique edition, Oliver goes on a magical journey to get to the bottom of the mystery before the two countries are plunged into war.
What inspired the idea of a mysterious, magical library staffed by assistant librarians?
I pitched the original book as Inkheart meets The Name of the Rose. Libraries are such unique places – anyone can enter for free, and spend hours within their walls studying, reading, listening, watching – and no one tells you to pay up or leave. There’s something magical about that already, and there certainly aren’t any other comparable institutions. So the act of making it literally magical only required the smallest step.
How did you approach building the magical world and library of your story?
As this is a cosy fantasy, I wanted to focus on the everyday characters in a magical world. Not the mages or the explorers, but the people who work a 9 to 5 job in a city filled with firedrakes, magical books and invisible burglars. This means that the main characters don’t have enormous strength or powerful spells at their disposal – they’re not heroes in the traditional sense. Unfortunately for them, however, they can still be the target of mighty and unpredictable magics, as happens in this book.
Were there any elements that came from real-life libraries or librarians you’ve known?
Librarians have an important job in managing their collections – how do they choose the books that will be on the shelves? Do they stock what they think people should read, or what they want to read? What about inaccurate books, or even deliberately misleading books? These are the types of questions which provided the inspiration for Lost in a Book specifically.
When it comes to the Blackmoor-upon-Wyvern public library, the bats that patrol the building at night (keeping the bookworm population down) were inspired by the Joanina Library in the University of Coimbra, Portugal. It too features bats that swoop down every night to eat insects that would otherwise damage the books.
What first inspired you to become a writer?
I’m a writer for the same reason I’m a reader: I want to know how the story will end! Writing a book gives me the same buzz as reading: following the characters, gleefully anticipating plot twists and being surprised when the rug is pulled from beneath my feet.
What do you hope readers carry with them after reading your book?
The fact that the most unassuming of occupations are critical to a functioning society (let’s hear it for the school crossing guards, the convenience store workers and the garbage collectors!) and most importantly a new-found, or perhaps renewed, respect for librarians and the power that books hold.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stuart Wilson lives in Naarm/Melbourne with his wife and son. He is the author of The 113th Assistant Librarian and the Prometheus High books. Quite the oxymoron, he can frequently be found lost in a book.
Read another Q&A with Stuart Wilson
0 Comments