Every Friday, we meet a member of the BFS and peer deep into their soul (or, at least, a form they filled out). Want to be featured? Email us: online@britishfantasysociety.org
Name:
Andrew Knighton (he/him)
Which region are you based in?
Yorkshire
If you write, which genre:
Scifi, fantasy
Are you drawn to any specific SFFH sub-genres?
At the moment, most of what I write is somewhere between high fantasy and grimdark. I like a good adventure, but I also enjoy the bite of cynicism. If characters’ flaws aren’t on display then I have trouble believing in them.
Your influences
Tell us about the book/film/thing that got you into SFFH: What was it? How old were you? What impact did it have on you?
I started young, because my dad was into scifi and fantasy. He read me The Hobbit around the time I started school, then Lord of the Rings, and took me with him to see the first two Star Wars films in the cinema not long after Return of the Jedi came out – I loved them, but I wasn’t old enough to sit through all three.
We watched Doctor Who and Star Trek, read stories set in Narnia and Barsoom. By the time teachers introduced me to The Dark is Rising and Earthsea, I already knew that this was my thing.
It’s hard to describe what impact it had on me, because these stories are so foundational to my tastes. I have no idea what I would be like without them – bored, possibly.
How does that early influence show up for you (in life/writing/agenting/publishing/editing/reading) now?
It’s there in the joy of spectacle, whether I’m writing about a fist fight on the back of a dragon or an actor metamorphosing on stage. But it’s also in my tendency to write stories about big political struggles, often punctuated with battle scenes. Star Wars is a story about rebellion against an Empire, while Lord of the Rings is structured around a struggle between nations, so I tend to default to those sorts of plots and the characters swept up in them.
Where do you draw your creative inspiration from?
Anything and everything. My notebooks are full of things I’ve scribbled down when looking at art, reading books, watching TV, or just walking from one place to another.
That leaves me with far more fragments and ideas than I can deal with, so I need something to provide focus when I sit down to write, and that’s where the big themes come in. I use fiction to explore ideas that I’m grappling with in my own head, whether that’s the contradictory role of tradition (Ashes of the Ancestors), the problems with looking for a saviour figure (Forged for Destiny), or how we face death (All That is in the Earth). I pull together notes I’ve made that feel like they’ll fit that theme and use them to shape a story.
(Pictured: Andrew finds inspiration in art, among other things)
Who do you look to as a genre hero? Why?
Terry Pratchett (pictured). He combined amazing creativity with a solid work ethic, and wrote stories that were endlessly entertaining while making important ethical points. He shaped my morality as much as my writing. GNU Terry.
Your Work
You’re stuck in an elevator for 60 seconds with that hero, and they want you to describe your work. Give us the pitch.
The pitch: Flawed characters flail around in fantastical worlds, struggling to do the right thing.
But realistically, I’d be too excited talking about his work to even mention mine.
What are you working on right now?
A fantasy novel in which the riders of the apocalypse try to fix the world they’ve broken. It’s about facing your own guilt and mistakes, about shared responsibility and, to steal a line from folk singer Grace Petrie, about building something better from the parts.
There are also a bunch of hobbit-ish farmers, half of whom are living their best post-apocalyptic cottage core lives, while the other half perpetrate blood magic. Once I started, this one got pretty weird pretty fast.
Thinking about all the stories/work you’ve done, what sticks out most in your mind? Why?
The Executioner novels that I’m writing for Northodox Press. Those stories came out of another project falling apart, and they’ve turned into my favourite thing to write. I love the central character’s combination of outward grumpiness and reluctant idealism, as well as the opportunity to create an ongoing world that grows with each book. It’s a great space for me to explore my obsessions, from the politics of heresy to what it would be like to ride a dragon.
Where and when do you create/are you at your most creative?
At the moment, it’s the mornings. I try to write a chapter of my own work first every day, then shift to the freelance writing that pays my bills. Coming to the stories fresh really helps.
But I know this routine will only work for so long. Changing up my working patterns every so often is part of how I keep myself from getting complacent about how I write.
What’s the best advice you’ve received about creativity?
There’s no such thing as perfection. Create the best version you can right now, then move on to the next thing.
What’s your writing soundtrack?
It’s different for planning and for doing the actual writing.
For planning, I have playlists themed around the stories, full of music whose lyrics or atmosphere fit what I’m thinking about. This is the one for my fake chosen one novel, Forged for Destiny, and it gets pretty angsty.
But when I sit down to write, it’s usually music without lyrics, so other people’s words don’t distract me from my own. That often means instrumental jazz like Miles Davis or Brad Mehldau, but there’s also a lot of post-rock like Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky, and occasionally a soundtrack from a show I’ve enjoyed, most recently Dark and Andor.
The Quick-Fire Round
Sci-fi, fantasy or horror?
All of the above, but most often fantasy.
Quiet or loud?
Loud! Let’s have fun!
Dark or light?
Both, for contrast.
Strict lines or genre blend?
Blend. That’s where the novelty is.
Awards or bestseller?
For my books, bestseller – I’ve got bills to pay. To read, I’ll go to the awards list.
Fiction or non-fiction?
Like I can tell the difference anymore.
Pictured: Andrew’s books, in miniature form 😍
Poetry or prose?
Prose, but I’ve been getting more into poetry lately, so maybe there’s a sonnet to come.
Plotter or pantser?
Plotter. I have spreadsheets.
Reading or listening?
Reading.
Notebook or computer?
Computer.
Favourite SFFH book of all time?
Small Gods by Terry Pratchett – funny, moving, makes its point.
Last book you read?
The Devils by Joe Abercrombie. I love Abercrombie’s characters.
Any SFFH author on auto-buy?
- Lucy Holland
- RJ Barker
- Charlotte Bond
- Juliette McKenna
- I would say Adrian Tchaikovsky (pictured), but he writes so many I can’t keep up.
Favourite podcast?
Writing Excuses – I’ve learned more about writing from them than any other source.
The Home Stretch
What’s the best thing about being part of the SFFH community?
The lovely people.
Time to plug your stuff! Where can we find you and your work? What have you got coming up? Consider this your advertising space.
The easiest place to find me is my website, which has links to my books, occasional blog posts, and a flash story once a month – https://andrewknighton.com/
For social media, I’m most active on Bluesky, where I’m aknighton.bsky.social.
I’ve currently got two series of fantasy books coming out. There’s Forged for Destiny, a trilogy about a fake chosen one leading a rebellion again oppressors – the second book is out in August, links to find the first one are here. And there’s the Executioner series, high fantasy murder mysteries in which a grey-haired woman fights for justice in a city where monsters go to die. The second book in that series is coming in November, and you can find the first one here.
And I have a novella, Walking a Wounded Land, coming out as part of the Duos series from Wizard’s Tower Press. It’s a story about grief and our relationships with the landscape, the most grounded thing I’ve written so far. That one shares its covers with The Sheltering Flame by Ruthanna Emrys, a wonderful fantasy story about community and obligation. The book is coming out at World Fantasy Con, so watch out for the Wizard’s Tower book launch event there.
