'The food bank of the brain' - Top crime author champions libraries on visit to West Bromwich - video Dailymotion

Lee Child, who grew up in nearby Handsworth Wood, visited West Bromwich Town Hall as part of the Sandwell Libraries Literature Festival

Transcript

00:00Well, Lee, welcome to West Bromwich, or should I say, welcome back. You grew up not far from here,

00:08Stone's Throw in Hansworth Wood, I believe.

00:10Yeah, that's right, and I had many friends here. I was here a long time ago, but I was here lots,

00:16and saw my first football game at the Hawthorns. It was all part of my life.

00:21Yeah, and you're here for a talk on your books, obviously, a stellar writing career,

00:27which started in 1994. What do you think you're going to cover with the sold-out audience today?

00:34Well, I'm here really in support of the libraries in this ward. I'm in favour of libraries everywhere,

00:40but particularly around here, because they're what created my whole life, really. They enabled it,

00:46they created it. I'm a writer today, because I was a reader when I was a kid, and I was a reader

00:52because of libraries. We couldn't afford books, and the idea that you could go to a place,

00:57where they would give you any book you wanted, was just fantastic to me. So, yeah, I'm here in

01:03support of the library. I understand that finances are tight, of course, local authorities everywhere

01:09are strapped for cash, but libraries should be there on the list, because they're like a food bank

01:15for the brain. They're a place where people can get what they're not getting elsewhere, so that's why

01:22I'm here, just to say libraries are important. Let's keep them going.

01:25And I guess plenty of your novels have been stocked in the libraries in Samwell and elsewhere. You're

01:31famous, obviously, for the Jack Reacher series. How did that come about in terms of an idea?

01:39Well, I was working up in Manchester for ITV, for Granada Television, and I lost my job. It was that

01:46simple. What was I going to do next? And I felt that British TV was on a decline, because they were

01:53getting rid of not just me, but hundreds of people like me. So I thought, what else can I do? And I

02:00thought, well, I've spent 20 years dealing with an audience. I know what audiences like. I know what

02:05they respond to. So how can I use that knowledge? And I thought, well, try writing a book. As I said,

02:11I'd read plenty, so let's try writing one. And it certainly took off from there. It's

02:16been good. Yeah, yeah. I was very lucky. Yeah. Are you working on anything at the moment in

02:20particular? I'm supposed to be retired, but that means I'm working on about five things

02:25at the moment, yeah. And just back to the football theme, you might have seen your first game

02:30at West Brom, but you're known for being a Villa fan. How's that doing at the moment?

02:35Well, yeah, no, the Villa will always break your heart. It's always an up-and-down experience,

02:39and we've had a few good seasons, and with a bit of luck, we'll get a decent one this

02:43year. And good luck to the Baggies as well. Thank you, and enjoy the talk. I know there's

02:48plenty of people waiting to see you with bated breath. Cool. Thanks.

03:03We stand well and welcome to Jackie Hawkins and Rachel.