Neil Gaiman

Katherine Lanpher has moved on from MPR, but before she left she helped broaden the vistas of the Talking Volumes radio book club by getting Neil Gaiman, who perhaps may not draw the same crowd as Anna Quindlen. Gaiman, who will discuss his recent kid-lit creeper Coraline, is best known for creating the nineties graphic-novel series Sandman, which made him cock of the walk for smart, edgy writers in the contemporary fantasy genre. He has also written and illustrated children’s books, mature novels, screenplays, and even rock songs…why can’t we be more like that Gaiman guy? And he’s still only in his early forties! While Oxbridge graduates like Martin Amis, Tina Brown, and Nick Hornby hog all the headlines, Neil Gaiman is probably the only Brit Pack literary figure likely to be remembered in thirty years. Gaiman hasn’t sold out: It’s not his fault that Norman Mailer hosannaed him by saying, “Along with all else, Sandman is a comic strip for intellectuals, and I say it’s about time.” Nor can we blame Gaiman for Tori Amos choosing to sing about him repeatedly on her albums.
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