The Flame Alphabet: Ben Marcus in conversation with Christian Lorentzen

'Early on, a big interest of mine was to make impossible things seem believable. I just wanted to be better at believability.'

Ben Marcus talks to Christian Lorentzen about his novel The Flame Alphabet, as well as previous works The Age of Wire and String and Notable American Women. Topics covered include online fiction magazines, mathematics, creating a religion, why writing courses are unfairly criticised, the influence of Borges, encyclopaedias as a source of literary delight and ‘Reader’s Cream’, a lotion Marcus is developing to improve reader sensitivity. Marcus’s latest book is Leaving the Sea.