Describe your latest book.
Prima Facie is my debut novel. The story formed in my mind while grappling with criminal law while I was a young law student, then coalesced into something that needed to find its form and voice while I was a lawyer interviewing hundreds of women who had been survivors of sexual assault. I then found the right time and place and wrote the play of
Prima Facie; with Jodie Comer playing the one-woman role of Tessa on the West End and Broadway, it won so many awards, including the 2023 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Play and Best Actress in a Leading Role. Jodie also won the 2023 Tony for Best Actress.
I felt that there was more to say in this story — one about a defense barrister who had worked with those accused of sexual assault who then finds herself being sexually assaulted and in court as a witness. The book allows me to dig deeply into the psychological and inner voice exploring much more of the character’s background, family, and story. It illustrates how challenging it was for a young woman from a working-class background to end up as a barrister, and then how the very grit that found her climbing the legal ladder was ground down by the unwinnable process of giving evidence in order to prove her own rape case.
What was your favorite book as a child?
My favorite book as a child was
The Velveteen Rabbit. An old British tale about a toy rabbit that learns the only way you can become real is to be loved. When a child brings him into his life and loves the rabbit so much it is all the worn bits and broken parts that show that the rabbit has indeed become real. As a child, this story destroyed me each time I heard or read it. I didn’t come from a family of books, so this book was very precious to me.
When did you know you were a writer?
I always wrote stories — in fact, a friend recently sent me a copy of a page from my elementary school magazine where at five I wrote a story that was published. I don’t even remember writing it. But I knew for sure that I was going to pursue writing when at high school a visiting English teacher of renown plucked me from the group and went to great effort to encourage my writing. She laughed at what I wrote that was funny and took great interest in reading anything I gave her. This was the first time that I felt that really exciting feeling that another person was investing in the characters I was creating. She was a generous, smart teacher, and while she was only with our class for a short while, she had a huge impact on me.
This was the first time that I felt that really exciting feeling that another person was investing in the characters I was creating.
|
What does your writing workspace look like?
I love my writing space. I have a medium-size desk that is probably not big enough as I have piles of paper on each side, but it feels lucky to me and even though the handles fall off the drawers and I always bang my knee on a certain corner, I feel very connected to all the works I have written on that desk. On one side of the desk are French doors that lead out into a garden, and all about my study are shelves and shelves of books — all the way to the ceiling with a ladder to reach the ones on the top level. Behind where I sit is a fireplace that is awesome in winter, and on the mantel above the fireplace sits all sorts of trinkets that have sentimental value to me. My father’s three-sided ruler for calculus, and my mother’s magnifying glass, photos, and rocks or shells from my travels. Photos and some of my awards. On the floor there are piles of projects that are orderly to me but appear wildly messy to others.
Could you describe your writing process?
It always starts with a concept that feels paradoxical or like a puzzle to me, then I interrogate that concept and ask myself over and over what it is that I am wanting to say. I walk my dog Luna, I spend hours thinking, and then when I nail what the nugget of the story is, I have the great joy of finding the character that I think best illustrates what I am trying to say. I love writing from character and find that the happiest I am in my life is when I am in the ‘zone’ where time is standing still. I can sometimes come up for air and realise I have been writing for eight hours or so.
Introduce one other author you think people should read and suggest a good book with which to start.
Anna Funder — read
Stasiland or
Wifedom. Anna is an Australian writer, a brilliant friend, and a feminist and writes with great agility and authenticity. She weaves herself into her work in a unique fashion and is a beloved and much prized writer in Australia and Britain. We often take long walks and talk about writing at length.
What section of a bookstore do you visit first?
Literature, always. I can spend hours there opening pages and flicking through. The next section is theatre, then poetry. I also love a philosophy section and then the visual art section.
What is your most memorable or formative experience in a bookstore or library?
When I was around twelve living in Australia, the local area opened with much fanfare a new library. I had never been taken to libraries other than school libraries as a child, so riding my bike to check out this new building was an adventure. When I made my way inside, it was a new, orange, and red, modern and welcoming space. I couldn’t believe I could borrow so many books, that I could linger there all day. I was in awe, and then came back after school most days to do my homework and on weekends to not only do homework but get lost in the row upon row of books. I often dream of a time like that where I can just linger in a library when I am not doing any other research or work, and just read what I fall upon. I still work in local libraries around the world, some favorites that I have been a member of that I write in are the London Library — a private library where the smell of old books and the very feel of the space is exciting. The other library I adore is the New York City Library.
I often dream of a time like that where I can just linger in a library when I am not doing any other research or work, and just read what I fall upon.
|
Besides your personal library, do you have any beloved collections?
The London Library has the most incredible stack of books to wander around amongst.
What’s the strangest or most interesting job you’ve ever had?
As a university student there were summer jobs in factories on offer. One of the ones I had for a few weeks was the most bizarre job of all. I was given the job of gluing the soles on Australian Ugg boots. These are a special type of boot made of sheepskin that are not always the most attractive footwear, but they are iconic Australian products. In the factory, I was told if I did a good enough job that eventually I would be promoted to the upstairs position where you would sew up the backs of the souvenir koalas (made from the same sheepskin). I was never good enough to be promoted so just kept gluing soles onto boots!
Have you ever made a literary pilgrimage?
No, but I would love to make one to Thomas Hardy’s country or a tour of Irish writers’ areas.
Who would play you in the bio-pic adaptation of your life/career? Who would be on the soundtrack?
I can’t help but think Jodie Comer — who I adore and how has acted in my shows and now has read the audiobook for my novel — would be the person I would most want to play me. As to the soundtrack, I love pop music and classical.
What scares you the most as a writer?
Not having enough time to write all that I want to write, and the anxiety of redrafting where I am afraid of taking something apart in case I cannot put it back together properly again.
Not having enough time to write all that I want to write, and the anxiety of redrafting where I am afraid of taking something apart in case I cannot put it back together properly again.
|
Offer a favorite sentence or passage from another writer.
“But a chair, sunlight, flowers: these are not to be dismissed. I am alive, I live, I breathe, I put my hand out, unfolded, into the sunlight.” Margaret Atwood in
The Handmaid’s Tale
Have you ever considered (or daydreamed about) writing outside of your current genre?
I currently write in prose, theatre, film, television, and opera; but I have a desire to write poetry and also a humorous memoir. I have had a strange background where, despite not knowing much about musical stars, I was what I call the ‘Accidental Rock Chick.’ I never recognized anyone famous and, possibly because of that, I ended up in the lives of many famous musicians before I realized who they were! As a twelve-year-old, I lived near a TV studio and would often be part of the studio audience with my cousin Jenny (a year older), who knew who all the musicians were, and I would come to realize later that that weekly recorded show was an iconic music show with the top talent; later I ended up living with various musicians of well-known bands in London, and also lived in the Bay City Rollers’ house — a Scottish boy band who were famous in the 70s. I had so many funny things happen in my life and it would be fun to write about them… Eventually!
Is there a book that you absolutely hated? How come?
I really can’t read pulp fiction, I don’t want to name anything particular, but I find myself feeling very anxious about the writing when it is bland or without finesse.
Describe a recurring or particularly memorable dream or nightmare.
I have two: one is that I am about to go on stage (and I am a writer, not an actor), yet I realize as I am about to go on that I forgot to learn any of the lines, and I desperately try to read them and memorize them in the wings. The other is probably quite common — that I discover that there is a subject at university that I have not sat the exam for and must go back and sit it ‘tomorrow,’ and I only have the one night to revise.
Do you have any phobias?
Having grown up in Australia, I have a mega-phobia about snakes and sharks. Most people talk about the spiders in Australia, but I have never worried about picking up a spider and popping it outside — my husband can’t believe it — yet a snake freaks me out.
What do you do to relax that might surprise people?
I love to dance, and I love to paint. I also indulge in cutting up fabrics and making vintage style quilts. I’m not great at the sewing, but I love to mix the fabrics in ways that are exciting — like old Japanese silks, or a series of market-found vintage fabrics, textured pieces against contrasting ones.
Beyond other authors and books, where do you find your inspiration?
I read
The Atlantic and the
New Yorker, and various newspapers. I also am a theatre writer and go to the theatre often, which allows me to draw on new ways of structuring or be inspired by something that touches me. I have to say that anything that lingers with me for a few days is something I most certainly pay attention to. Film is a great source of inspiration, as are galleries. I also am attracted to stories where something really gets under my skin and makes me grapple with a new way of seeing.
I also am attracted to stories where something really gets under my skin and makes me grapple with a new way of seeing.
|
Where is your favorite place?
There is a beach in Australia an hour north of Sydney, in Killcare, where there is a surf beach, a massive rockpool, and the most beautiful white sand. I have spent hours there with friends, my husband, my children, and our dogs — we’ve made so many memories and I’ve walked the length of that beach on so many occasions. It is a happy place for me, filled with memories of long lazy summers. We would all meet with friends from the area at around 8 a.m. each day at the beach, spend a few hours swimming in the pristine waters, exploring the sea life in the rock pools, play beach cricket, then leave before it became too hot. We would all return home for showers and relaxing, then meet up at the local pier for fish and salads. The children and animals would all run in and out of the water while the adults all read books and chatted. We would all then go home for long siestas and reading before meeting up for dinner at one of our shacks or heading into a local pub for something fresh. Early to bed and all again the next day.
Top five books with great female characters that make you feel deeply for them:
Anagrams by Lorrie Moore
To the End of the Land by David Grossman
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright
÷ ÷ ÷
Suzie Miller is a contemporary international playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. Based in both London and Sydney, Australia, Miller has had her work produced around the world, winning multiple prestigious awards, including for her smash-hit one-woman play
Prima Facie, which ran a sold-out, critically successful season on London’s West End, winning the Laurence Olivier Awards for Best New Play 2023 and Best Actress 2023; followed by a critically successful season on Broadway, receiving four Tony Award nominations and a win for Best Actress 2023. Miller is educated in science and law, with a doctorate in drama and mathematics. She practiced human rights law before turning to writing full-time and is currently developing major theater, film, and television projects across the UK, USA, and Australia, including feature film adaptations of her plays.
Prima Facie is her first novel.