A: Honestly, I never think in terms of genre. I go where I think the best story is. Invariably it involves a premise that has an irresistable pull on me: It might involve something thrilling or fantastical, or involve a setting I find particularly inspiring like a giant airship or a massive train. What my books have in common is that most of them are adventure stories at heart. People have often told me “your books are so different” and they cite all the different genres they occupy: animal fantasy, steampunk, sci-fi, gothic -- to add on to your list! I take it as a great compliment because I would hate to write books that were similar; it would be boring, and I’d feel like an actor performing the same role in movie after movie. I would rather be a “character actor” than a “movie star” who’s known for only one mode.

Q: From almost the beginning of your career, you’ve carved out a niche as one of the best-known, most successful kidlit writers of this generation, and you’ve won almost every award connected with children’s literature. What personal attributes have contributed to this ongoing success, and what aspect of your career gives you the greatest satisfaction?
A: Well, I started writing young, and got lots of practice! I am pretty driven when it comes to my interests. I essentially wrote fan fiction: Star Wars stories, sword and sorcery stories (based on games of Dungeons & Dragons I’d played) -- and later a story inspired by my favourite video game (Asteroids) that became my first published book. I decided at thirteen I wanted to be a writer and didn’t waver from that desire. I was also extremely lucky to get a first book published when I was leaving high school -- which gave me confidence, and a sense of possibility that writing might be an achievable career.
The greatest satisfaction for me is conceiving and bulding a story. I still get a tingly feeling when I have that first glimmer of a promising idea. I love daydreaming about it, brainstorming it, imagining all the places it might take me. Writing sentence by sentence is much harder!

Q: In 2000, you and Tim Wynn Jones were selected to “open” for JK Rowling’s reading at Toronto’s Skydome (which set a Guinness World Record for largest audience at a book reading). Please share some memories from that event, reveal how you and Tim were chosen, and reflect on why you think two male authors were tapped for the job.
A: It was 16,000 people! It was a mind-blower. As a literary reading, it was certainly atypical, since we were on a stage usually occupied by rock stars. It was surreal because the lights directed at us prevented us from seeing the audience, apart from the first few rows; we had earbuds in, so we could only hear the sound of our own voices. It was a bit like standing on the edge of the universe reading into the void. But it was wild. (We opened for JK Rowling!). Why were Tim and I chosen? You’d have to ask Greg Gatenby, the former director of the International Festival of Authors. They set up the event and chose the performers.
Greg Gatenby replies just for YAdudebooks.ca: “Over several months I asked everyone and his grandmother associated with children’s lit for their suggestions of two names for me to consider. I must have spoken to over a hundred specialists, and two names kept coming to the fore: Tim and Kenneth.”

Q: You’ve written for a variety of age groups, including YA and MG. What draws you to this age group, and do you have a preference between YA and MG?
A: These distinctions didn’t used to exist. I’ve been writing long enough to remember a time when it was all classed as “juvenile fiction” or “books for young readers” or “children’s books.” I’m not a fan of these categories because, although they help publishers market books, and bookstores and libraries shelve them, they often aren’t that helpful in connecting a book with a reader. Silverwing has been read and enjoyed by kids seven to seventeen (and beyond); same with Airborn, and I hope my other books. It depends on the interest and reading level of the individual, much more than their raw age. I think my books have probably often straddled MG and YA, and I’m happy with that -- although I think publishers nowadays are not so happy about that.

Q: What can Kenneth Oppel fans expect from you in the coming years? Particular ambitions, long-term goals you can share?
A: Thrive, the third and final book in my Bloom trilogy comes out May 4th. After that, my readers can look forward to a ghost story set around a haunted lighthouse -- and a graphic novel of Silverwing; I’ve been seeing all the artwork come in, and it is beautiful!