"In Writing Life, fifty celebrated authors reveal surprising truths about what it means to be a writer, and about the sparks that can result when life and writing intersect - and sometimes collide. Provocative, candid, often very funny, personal, and passionately engaged, this inspired collection will take readers deep into the heart of the writing life." "Margaret Atwood revisits how she came to write five of her novels; Russell Banks reveals why he doesn't do research; John Berger and Michael Ondaatje discuss gatecrashing characters and the magical instant when a work begins; Joseph Boyden takes time out from promoting his first novel to go moose-hunting; Margaret Drabble considers the "wickedness" of stealing material from real life; Howard Engel describes the stroke that took away his ability to read, and where that left him as a writer; Yann Martel reflects on the impossible, necessary challenge of writing about the Holocaust; Lisa Moore shows how crucial the mess and vitality of family life are to her writing; Alice Munro shares why she might "give up" writing; Rosemary Sullivan negotiates the risks and responsibilities that come with telling the story of a life; Susan Swan wrestles with historical fact, fiction, and Casanova. Book jacket."--BOOK JACKET.