Tim Lott is the author of seven novels and a memoir, The Scent of Dried Roses, which won the PEN/J.R. Ackerley Prize. White City Blue won the Whitbread First Novel Award and his young adult book Fearless was shortlisted for the Guardian Children’s Book Award. Tim regularly teaches and hosts lectures at the Idler Academy and his online course Beyond Mindfulness is available to purchase by clicking HERE. He will be in conversation with Sheldon Solomon at the Idler Academy on Wednesday 22nd July, to book click HERE.

1. Are you happy?

There are times when I’m happy and times when I’m not and times when I’m neither. On the whole ‘cheerful’ is not one of the first adjectives people who know me well use to describe me

2. What are you reading at the moment? ‘

The Sportswriter by Richard Ford

3. What was your worst job?

Working in my dad’s greengrocer’s shop. Me and manual labour don’t get along. And my customer relations skills are weak. And I don’t like vegetables.

4. How many hours do you work each day?

Three.

5. Town mouse or country mouse?

Neither. City.

6. Does love bring happiness or misery?

Romantic love, misery for the most part. Familial love, happiness for the most part.

7. Mp3 or vinyl, real or e book?

Mp3, real.

8. What are your three greatest pleasures?

Talking in front of an audience, preferably about me, being with my kids, eating fish and chips cooked in beef dripping.

9. Do you believe in the nap?

Devoutly.

10. What advice do you have for young people?

It gets better.