Behind the Scenes with Dan Santat
What book feels like home to you?
“Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. I study that book constantly. I want to emulate it in every way.”
Which living author do you most admire?
“Oh, I’m perfectly happy just being me. If I could be me with Dav Pilkey money then I’d want to be that. I really admire Dav Pilkey, though. He and I have become pretty good friends over the years and he’s the kindest human being who just gives his all to everyone around him and to his fans.”
What’s the first thing you do after finishing a draft?
“I’ll go for a jog because I’ve probably been so focused on writing that I’ve ignored my personal health.”
What is your favourite word to use in prose?
“’Sigh.’ I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite word but looking back I feel like my characters are always sighing.”
What moment in your life felt straight out of a novel?
“I’ve had quite a few wacky adventures. There was a time I played soccer at a British Pop Star’s home, Robbie Williams. Another time I got lost in the jungles of Hawaii for 12 hours with my father-in-law and best friend trying to find our way back to civilization, and in the end, it turned into a real bonding experience for all of us. Another time I was in Singapore for a book festival and suddenly got invited to Uzbekistan by the first lady to speak at a UNESCO conference and had a whirlwind adventure which ended up with me having a one-on-one lunch with the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Kailash Satyarthi.... Honestly, my whole life has felt like a novel, and all I can say is grab every opportunity in life you can.”
If you could swap places with another author, who would that be?
“Miles Finch, the fictitious author played by Peter Dinklage in the movie Elf. Call me elf one more time!”
What emotion do you find hardest to write about?
“I don’t know if you would call this an emotion, but I’m writing about my parents for another memoir and that can get very complicated emotionally. The most important thing is to find the truth and be compassionate and unbiased. If you achieve that, the whole experience can be tremendously therapeutic.”
Which book is your most treasured possession?
“I taught myself to draw from a copy of How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way from my school librarian in third grade. The book taught me how to draw and basically changed my life.”
Who are your favourite writers?
“David Sedaris, Malcolm Gladwell, Michael Chabon, and Donna Tartt.”
What’s the strangest thing in your workspace?
“You’re going to be grossed out by this, but my mom got a whole molar pulled from her mouth with the root intact. My mom was a tiny woman who was barely four and a half feet tall, and yet this tooth is huge and it looked like it came from a horse. It’s in a small little plastic case and it’s the only thing that I have from her after she passed away in December.”
What was your favourite book as a child?
“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett.”
