Q&A w/ Emma Chapman
Emma Chapman, the Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow at Imperial College London’s Blackett Laboratory, joins us for a brief exchange. She authored First Light: Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time (Book of the Month: April 2021).
Are there one or two authors that have had an outsized influence on your work overall?
As a teenager, the physicist and popular science author Brian Greene led me to understand how physics is frontier science, not dusty labs and chalkboards, particular his book The Elegant Universe. Secondly, and quite oddly, Bill Bryson. I have always loved his books and the way he conveys information while retaining his wonderful sense of humour is something that I hope comes through a little in my work.
Do you have a favorite novel or novelist or fiction genre?
What a question! I like most genres, science fiction and Japanese literature probably the most. My favourite book shifts, but it is usually something by Murakami or Ishiguro.
Can we expect more books from you in the future?
Absolutely, my proposal is finished and finding a publishing home now!
