Interview With ‘Junk’ Author, Melvin Burgess
Melvin Burgess is the award winning author of over 30 books, including Junk, The Lost Witch and his latest release, Three Bullets. Born and raised in Britain, the writer grew in popularity after his hard-hitting and authentic portrayals of drug problems amongst teens on the streets of Bristol struck an unexpected chord with his readers.
I invited Burgess to discuss his attitude to writing, the challenges he has faced, and what readers can expect to find in his latest release…
When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer, Melvin? What inspired you to take that path?
I think I must have been about thirteen. The truth is I wasn’t much good at school — far too dreamy and busy gazing out the window thinking of other things. But I was always good at reading and writing and had a vivid inner life going on. So I started to dream that I might do that one day, but I didn’t really start taking it seriously until I was in my early twenties.
Your work is often geared towards younger readers — I’m curious to know if you ever found it challenging finding ways to communicate effectively to a younger audience? Did it come naturally to you?
I’m very well suited to writing for younger readers, because I love simplicity in writing — I want most of the meaning to be below the surface, so my prose style is simple and clear but there’s more going on to meet the eye if you want to find it. I love stories. I’m attracted to high stakes and marginalised people — all things that I think young people are also attracted to. And finally, I never write to tell but to question and examine, which I think many of them find a huge relief in a world is never stops trying to turn into something it approves of.
Your award winning book Junk, about teenagers addicted to heroin, was an astounding success when it was first released in 1996. How did that feel, receiving that kind of reception? No writer can ever predict how a book will be received, so it must have been an amazing feeling?
Yes, we had no idea it was going to be as successful as it was. I think most people in the industry thought it was just linger on the shelves, untouched by human hand. The thing really lifted off when it won the Carnegie Medal that year — suddenly the papers were full of it, it was on the news, everyone was talking about it. I found myself being ferried around from interview to interview, attacked in one newspaper, lauded in another. It was great!
How did Junk come about — what is it about that subject matter that resonated with you?
It came about originally because my publisher, Klaus Flugge, suggested it might be a good subject for me. My earlier books, which were for younger people, maybe aged about 11 or 12, had been controversial in a much smaller way in their day because of their tough story telling. I thought it over carefully before I got up and had a go. Obviously a book about drugs and drugs’ culture wasn’t really going to be for people so young, so I sat down and wrote the book I wish I had read when I was sixteen. When I was that age, recreational drugs were a new thing. The Beatles and Stones all seemed to be having a good time taking them, but all our elders were fulminating on how dangerous they were …. Of course we were all keen to try them … so I felt as though I knew what I was talking about.
You’ve re-released a 25th anniversary edition of Junk this month. Can readers expect to find anything added/different to this latest version?
It’s more or less the same, except for a foreword by Malorie Blackman. I prefer to leave things as they were. Actually, it’s set in the 80’s so it was a period piece even when it came out in 1996. No one had any problem with it then, and although times have changed, the fundamentals are still the same. And the scene the characters are involved in — sex, drugs, music and ideas — it’s the same now. Different music, different drugs (sometimes). Same ideas. And sex, of course, is always with us.
What was it like revisiting the project after all that time?
I pop in and out of Junk all the time — it keeps flying, people keep asking me about it. So it wasn’t like I had to get to know it all over again.
You have a new book out, called Three Bullets. It’s been described as quite a hard hitting read. What can you tell me about it?
Three Bullets is set in the UK during a civl war, where the regime is a far right, white supremicist, Christian organisation, who believe the Second Coming of Chirst is just around the corner. The heroine is Marti, and all she wants to do is escape to live the life of decadence and pleasure she imagines she wants in Amsterdam. But when she discovers that her Dad, an activist, has been imprisoned in a camp where there are trying to re-write the brains of the inmates with their own dreadful ideas, she decides she has to try and deliver some very important software to the camp, to try and set him free and give him his identity back. But given that Marti is a mixed heritage trans girl — everything the regime hates — this is very dangerous to say the least.
The book is one of three novels, all set in the same world but written by three different authors — a triptych of novels. My co-writers, Pete Kalu and Tariq Mehmood, have books in the pipeline called One Drop and 2nd Coming. It’s been the most exciting project I’v e been involved in for a very long time.
It’s early days, but what’s the response been from readers so far?
So far, pretty good. Writing a Black character was a challenge, but Peter and Tariq have been all over the book. They are two very radical, thoughtful people, so if that doesn’t work, nothing will. The trans side of things has also been read by a number of trans folk and so far, the response has been really positive — they’ve loved it. I’ve seen a few reviews where people have taken against it — apparently its the worst book some one has ever read — ever! Marti isn’t immediately likeable — she’s very gobby, and has decided that to get by in such an incredibly hostile land, she needs to be an ice cold, rock hard bitch. But in the end … well, maybe that would be giving too much away!
Do you get nervous when you release new books?
It depends on the book. This one has been very exciting to write, and there’s been a lot of help and enthusiasm behind it. You never know how a book will be received. You always have high hopes, which aren’t always realised. This one’s bit of adventure, and there’s always a fission of nerves behind that.
Looking over the span of your writing career so far, it’s impressive how many titles you have had published — over 20! Which of your books are you particularly fond of, and why?
Over 30, actually! Well, The Cry of there Wolf was my very first, so I love that. Junk, obviously. That was my breakout book and made my name. I loved Bloodtide because I love the Norse myths so much. Lady’ My Life as a Bitch was an exciting book to write. I’m very proud of Nicholas Dane. And I’m very proud of this one. It’s been such learning curve — loved doing it!
What do you find the most challenging aspect to writing novels?
Spending a year or so doing one and realising that it’s all rubbish and needs to be scrapped.
Are you working on anything new at the moment/or have any plans to?
At the moment, I’m having a break.
Where can people find out more about you and your work?
You can find out more about the Triptych on ruledbritannia.net, or on our Ruled Britannia facebook page — https://www.facebook.com/RuledBritannia/. You can check me out personally on melvinburgess.net, or on my fb page — https://www.facebook.com/MelvinBurgess/
Did the Covid pandemic have a big impact on your work at all?
None whatsoever.
Finally, who are your own favourite authors and books?
In YA — Danielle Jawando — I’m really looking forward to her new book. Alex Wheatle. There’s so many wonderful Black writers who’ve turned up and really enriched the whole genre. Also, Kevin Brooks, David Almond. There so many great writers out there!
