Steven Amsterdam, whose fantastic Things We Didn’t See Coming is going strong on the VCE English reading list, has an article in today’sThe Age Education Supplement.

Steven discusses his experience of school visits, and muses over the two-way street that is education. He explains why talking to students has taught him as much as it has taught them, and more importantly, why this is a good thing.

“So what do I say to 10 rows of keen students, looking to me for comprehension? I start out by telling them that a book is a dream and I don’t have all the answers. I only wrote the thing. They’re the ones who’ve read the book, so they have a certain authority on it, too.

This probably agitates the more concrete thinkers in the crowd, but I like to think it starts to explain the strange co-operative work that is fiction. Then I trace the various strands from outside and inside my head that led me to write the book. These titbits may not be so useful for those cramming for an exam, but again, I hope they provide more insight into the creative process and ease the way towards understanding the book.“

You can read the full piece online at The Age.

Steven’s latest novel, What The Family Needed, will be released bySleepers Publishing with a launch at Trades Hall on November 3.