William Boyd

William Boyd presents his novel "Restless"
Photo © 2007 by Mark Zanzig/zettpress

One of the leading contemporary writers was visiting Munich to present his latest novel "Restless" at the English Hugendubel Bookshop. Guess what? I was the only photographer that evening, and right before the reading started, I asked Boyd to do a quick shooting in one of the corners of the bookstore, where they keep the old books. At first, he looked very serious (if not grim), but after a few shots he warmed up and finally - smiled! :-)

When Boyd introduced himself to the audience, he explained how and why he started to write: "I realized that I just could not do a proper job", he said, and so he started to write. And he pointed out that it takes "a lot of hard work" to make a living as a writer, and that he reached his achievements evolutionary, taking one step at a time.

At least there is some hope for me. :-)

Wikipedia Entry for William Boyd
Writer's lives: William Boyd (Telegraph.co.uk)
Hugendubel English Language Bookshops in Munich and Frankfurt
All William Boyd Photos at Zettpress