David Mitchell

In his only Melbourne appearance, acclaimed author David Mitchell reveals himself to be an enthusiastic, gregarious and self-effacing guest, in conversation with Melbourne Writers' Festival programming manager Jenny Niven at the Athenaeum Theatre.

The lanky Englishman begins with a reading from his fifth novel — last year’s The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet — before embarking on the story of that book’s genesis and its ‘uncool protagonist’.

Other topics discussed include:

• Mitchell’s writing process, including his early drafts and his ‘laughable’ and ‘awful’ Moleskine notebook;

• writing historical fiction;

• balancing authenticity with readability;

• researching and resisting the urge to show off;

• the structure of his novels;

• adapting Cloud Atlas for film;

• his fear of being boring;

• the loneliness of writing, although he rejects self-pity about the writing profession.

David Mitchell appeared as a guest of The Wheeler Centre and Melbourne Writers' Festival.