OXFORD, England (AP) 鈥� Fans of have been waiting almost five years for the final instalment in the author鈥檚 sextet of books about his intrepid heroine Lyra and her adventures in multiple worlds. They won鈥檛 have to wait too much longer.
Pullman says he has written 500 pages of a 540-page novel to conclude the 鈥淏ook of Dust鈥� trilogy, and it should be published next year -- though he still doesn鈥檛 know what it鈥檚 called.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 got a title yet,鈥� Pullman told The Associated Press in his home city of Oxford, where he was honored Thursday with the Bodley Medal. 鈥淭itles either come at once or they take ages and ages and ages. I haven鈥檛 found the right title yet 鈥� but I will.鈥�
The medal, awarded by Oxford University鈥檚 400-year-old Bodleian Libraries, honors contributions to literature, media or science. Its previous recipients include World Wide Web creator Tim Berners-Lee, physicist Stephen Hawking and novelists Hilary Mantel, Kazuo Ishiguro, Zadie Smith and Colm T贸ib铆n.
Pullman, 77, was recognized for a body of work that includes the 鈥淣orthern Lights鈥� trilogy and its sequel, 鈥淭he Book of Dust.鈥� The saga is set in an alternative version of Oxford -- ancient colleges, misty quadrangles, enticing libraries -鈥� that blends the retro, the futuristic and the fantastical. In Pullman鈥檚 most striking act of imagination, every human has an inseparable animal soul mate known as a daemon (pronounced demon).
The stories are rollicking adventures that take Lyra from childhood into young adulthood and tackle humanity鈥檚 biggest questions: What is the essence of life? Is there a God? What happens when we die? They are among the most successful fantasy series in history. Pullman鈥檚 publisher says the first trilogy has sold 17.5 million copies around the world. A BBC- and HBO-backed TV series that ran for three seasons starting in 2019 won even more fans.
Pullman says the next book will be his final foray into Lyra鈥檚 world -鈥� though he also said that after the first trilogy, only to be tempted back.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 see myself coming back to it,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are other things I want to do,鈥� including a book about words and images and how they work together on the imagination.
Pullman is an atheist, and his unflattering depiction of organized religion in the novels, which feature an authoritarian church body called the Magisterium, has drawn criticism from some Christian groups. His books have been pulled from some Catholic school library shelves in sa国际传媒 and the United States over the years.
Yet Pullman has fans among people of faith. Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who once led the world鈥檚 85 million Anglicans, acknowledged at the medal ceremony that 鈥渨e鈥檙e not entirely of one mind on every subject.鈥� But he praised Pullman鈥檚 鈥渆xtraordinarily comprehensive, broad imagination.鈥�
鈥淚 have a strong suspicion that the God Philip doesn鈥檛 believe in is the God I don鈥檛 believe in either,鈥� Williams said.
Pullman says he doesn鈥檛 mind being banned -- it鈥檚 good for sales 鈥� but worries there is a growing censoriousness in modern culture that tells authors they should only 鈥渨rite about things that you know.鈥�
鈥淲here would any literature be, where would any drama be, if you could only write about things you know or the people you come from? It鈥檚 absolute nonsense,鈥� he said. 鈥淭rust the imagination. And if the imagination gets it wrong, well so what? You don鈥檛 have read the book, just ignore it, it鈥檒l disappear.鈥�
Jill Lawless And Hilary Fox, The Associated Press
