How to Write a Book: Daniel Hahn

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Editor and translator Daniel Hahn takes us on an entertaining journey round the art of translation. We discover that it's a rarefied experience to write a book that already exists, but also that writing other people's books makes you better at writing your own. Daniel is the author of The Tower Menagerie and translator of José Eduardo Agualusa's The Book of Chameleons. In this series of The Essay, recorded in front of an audience at the 2017 Hay Festival, five writers offer a personal guide to 'how to write a book'. Where do their ideas come from? Do they stick to a regular writing plan? Are there times when they just want to give up? Join them as they dispel some of the myths and share some of the secrets of getting to the final page. The writers in the series include the new director of the Royal Institution and expert on ageing Sarah Harper, the international lawyer Philippe Sands, novelist Scarlett Thomas and historian Martin Johnes. Part of Radio 3's week-long residency at Hay Festival, with Lunchtime Concert, In Tune, Free Thinking, The Verb and The Listening Service all broadcasting from the festival.