Image source, BBC/Adam WalkerImage caption, Barnes said he didn't want to continue writing novels "if I didn't do it with full conviction"ByKatie Razzall Culture and Media EditorPublished14 January 2026 Julian Barnes is sitting at an ancient electric typewriter in his study in north London. "A hum that says, 'I'm here when you need me. Just alerting you to the fact that I'm turned on and ready,'" is how the acclaimed novelist describes it. The typewriter "suits the way that I think as a writer", he adds, and he starts to bash the keys. There's a reassuring clacking as the individual letters hit the blank white page in quick, noisy succession: The author in his study, writing on the trusted typewriter on which he would write the first drafts of his novels
Published: January 14, 2026 5:00 pm
Source: BBC — Read original