Award-winning British novelist Claire Fuller has identified a diverse range of books and authors that have influenced her development as both a reader and a writer, tracing a literary journey that spans childhood curiosity, teenage discovery and decades of creative practice.

Speaking about her earliest memories of reading, Fuller recalled regularly travelling to school by coach from her Oxfordshire village when she was five years old. One of her first reading experiences involved repeatedly reading a metal safety notice fixed to the coach seat, an everyday moment that introduced her to written language before she began exploring books more widely.

Among the works that captured her imagination during childhood was Phenomena by John Michell. Fuller said she spent hours reading its accounts of unusual and unexplained events, including stories about spontaneous human combustion, stigmata and other mysterious phenomena. The mixture of fact and folklore encouraged a fascination with the possibility that the world contained extraordinary experiences beyond everyday life.

A significant turning point came during her teenage years while participating in a school production of Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. Cast as Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard at the age of 14, Fuller said performing Thomas’s lyrical language revealed the emotional power of literature and demonstrated how carefully crafted writing could evoke profound feelings.

Fuller also highlighted Learning to Love You More, created by Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher, as a work that challenged her thinking. Built around a series of creative assignments ranging from simple observational tasks to more demanding public exercises, the project encouraged her to embrace experiences outside her comfort zone. Although some activities initially felt intimidating, Fuller said completing them proved rewarding and influenced her willingness to pursue unfamiliar creative challenges.

The novel that most inspired her to become a writer was Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Fuller explained that it was the first book she consciously analysed from the perspective of a writer, paying close attention to Jackson’s construction of the central character, Merricat, and the emotional impact of the novel’s narrative voice.

Her appreciation for American author Denis Johnson developed gradually. After initially feeling unconvinced by Angels, Fuller later read Train Dreams and Jesus’ Son, experiences that transformed her opinion and established Johnson among her favourite authors.

While working on her own fiction, Fuller keeps Richard Ford’s novel Wildlife close at hand. She said she frequently rereads short passages while writing as a reminder of the literary qualities she hopes to achieve in her own work.

Not every favourite book is one she intends to revisit. Fuller praised Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove but acknowledged that its considerable length makes rereading unlikely, given the number of other books she hopes to explore.

In recent years, Fuller has also begun reading literary classics she missed earlier in life. As part of that personal project, she started with Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, describing the experience as thoroughly enjoyable.

Alongside her own writing career, Fuller runs a book club at the Cabinet Rooms in Winchester. Among the group’s selections is Stephen King’s The Stand, which members are reading gradually over the course of a year. Fuller said she continues to look forward to returning to the novel between discussions.

Reflecting on the books that have remained important throughout different stages of her life, Fuller’s selections reveal influences drawn from poetry, literary fiction, psychological suspense, creative experimentation and classic literature. Together, they illustrate how reading experiences accumulated over decades continue to shape both her personal outlook and her approach to writing fiction.

An author has described how reading and storytelling became a source of personal freedom during a childhood marked by bullying, shaping both their relationship with literature and the themes explored in their fiction.

According to the author, childhood experiences often left them feeling constrained and unable to experience the sense of ease and security they sought in everyday life. They said that books provided an alternative space in which they could exercise imagination, process difficult emotions and engage with experiences that felt inaccessible in their immediate surroundings.

The author said reading offered opportunities that extended beyond entertainment. Through stories, they found what they described as freedom, allowing them to explore emotions and perspectives that were difficult to express elsewhere.

Literature became a place where they could confront the effects of bullying and reflect on the fear those experiences created.While acknowledging the negative impact of being bullied, the author said those experiences also prompted them to seek broader intellectual and emotional horizons.

They noted that bullying narrowed aspects of their world by creating fear and limiting confidence, but at the same time encouraged them to pursue new forms of connection and understanding through books and storytelling.

“Being bullied forced me to find ways to make my world bigger,” the author said, describing reading as a means of expanding opportunities for imagination and self-discovery.The experience has continued to influence their professional work.

The author said their writing is informed by the books that provided comfort during challenging periods of their life. They aim to create stories that offer readers a similar sense of support and encouragement, particularly those who may be facing difficulties of their own.

According to the author, an important objective in their fiction is to produce narratives that balance realism with optimism. They said they understand the significance of finding books that connect with readers’ experiences while also providing reassurance and hope. That perspective has become a guiding principle in their approach to storytelling.

The author’s latest novel, described as a contemporary retelling of Little Women, provided an opportunity to explore themes related to family life and motherhood. Through the process of developing the novel, they examined their own ideas about parenting and family relationships, using fiction as a framework for reflection.

They said imagining and fictionalising what motherhood might feel like proved to be a significant creative experience. Writing allowed them to engage with questions and possibilities that had not been available to them in childhood, offering a space to explore different aspects of domestic life through narrative.

The author characterized the process as personally meaningful, explaining that fiction enabled them to revisit forms of imaginative play that had been difficult to access when they were younger. Storytelling, they said, created opportunities to engage with family dynamics and personal relationships in ways that extended beyond their own lived experiences.

According to the author, one of the defining qualities of fiction is its ability to create encounters with different people, perspectives and communities. Through writing, they said they are able to inhabit a variety of worlds and experiences, broadening their understanding of human relationships and social realities.

This capacity for exploration remains central to their understanding of literature. The author suggested that stories serve not only as vehicles for entertainment but also as mechanisms for connection, empathy and discovery. By creating fictional characters and settings, writers are able to investigate experiences that may differ significantly from their own.

The author’s comments highlight the role literature can play in helping individuals navigate difficult circumstances. Reading provided a means of coping with feelings of isolation and fear during childhood, while writing later became a way of transforming those experiences into creative work.

In both cases, stories functioned as a means of expanding possibilities rather than accepting limitations.The relationship between personal experience and creative expression is evident throughout the author’s account.

Experiences of bullying shaped the search for refuge in books, while those same experiences later influenced the desire to write stories that offer encouragement and understanding. The progression from reader to writer reflects an effort to recreate for others the sense of possibility that literature once provided.

The author emphasized that stories have the ability to meet readers at particular moments in their lives. For individuals facing uncertainty, loneliness or adversity, books can provide both recognition and perspective. That belief informs their commitment to producing fiction that is accessible, uplifting and rooted in human connection.

Their latest work continues that approach by examining themes of family, care and belonging through a contemporary adaptation of a well-known literary text. By reimagining elements of Little Women, the author sought to engage with enduring questions about relationships, identity and the meaning of home while also incorporating their own reflections on motherhood.

Throughout the creative process, the author said fiction offered a space where imagination and personal experience could intersect. Through storytelling, they were able to revisit aspects of childhood, explore alternative possibilities and engage with lives beyond their own.

For the author, that process represents one of literature’s most enduring strengths.The author said that reading first provided the freedom they struggled to find elsewhere, while writing later became a means of extending that freedom through stories designed to offer comfort, understanding and hope to others.