A hatful of facts about… P.D. James

1) Last week, P.D. James was awarded the Theakstons Old Peculiar Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award. James has been publishing for fifty years. Her first novel, Cover Her Face, appeared in 1962. Her most recent work, the non-fiction book Talking About Detective Fiction, was published in 2009. Speaking recently to the BBC, James hinted that she was working on something new: ‘I am still writing, but something very different; something shorter and something which I’m keeping very secret at the moment.’ She later admitted that it did not feature her long-time detective, Adam Dalgliesh.
 
2) P.D. James is one of the oldest writers still putting pen to paper.
She turns 91 this year. Speaking about being in her nineties, James told the Guardian: ‘At my age the reality is that you just don’t know what is around the corner. Once you are over 90 it is a bumpy ride.’