The Library of The Unwritten and The Archive of The Forgotten are some of my favourite reads from this year. I was happy to get the chance to chat with A.J Hackwith about the funny and interesting characters she’s created, interpretations of the afterlife, plus she was also nice enough to give us a little teaser about the final book!
Thank you so much for doing a Q&A with us! Can you tell us a little about yourself and the Hell’s Library trilogy for those that aren’t yet familiar with it?
What happens to the stories you never get to tell, the books that are never written, the art that’s never made? Perhaps they still exist in some sort of library, a library just adjacent to Hell. Stories are restless things—of course there are runaways. That’s the premise of the Hell’s Library trilogy of books. The trilogy starts with THE LIBRARY OF THE UNWRITTEN, in which we follow the Unwritten Wing’s head librarian, Claire, her assistant, the ex-muse Brevity, mentor Andras, and a junior demon courier named Leto as a simple runaway fictional hero retrieval sets them on a crash course with Heaven in pursuit of the codex gigas, the Devil’s Bible. It’s a trip that will tromp across several realms of the afterlife, explore our relationships with stories, and reveal the nothing is ever so simple in the Library.
The sequel, THE ARCHIVE OF THE FORGOTTEN, examines the fallout of winning the battle, and the problems that arise when a Library keeps secrets even from its own inhabitants. THE ARCHIVE OF THE FORGOTTEN is out on Tuesday, October 6th.
The book features muses, whose job it is to carry and bring inspiration to the humans. What inspired you to write this trilogy?
I started writing this when I was an unwritten (and unpublished) author myself. Any author will tell you that the struggle to finish a novel will conjure up all sorts of emotions and doubts. I had a lot of time to think about (think, here, meaning angst eternally) about what happens to stories that don’t get shared. I liked to imagine there was a library for them, since libraries are one of the most comforting inventions humans have come up with.
And, well, it made sense it would be in a kind of purgatory Hell.
That may sound straightforward, but ideas are a bit like ants in your kitchen. One day they’re not there, the next you turn the light on and BOOM—idea ants. You’re not sure where they came from or what bit of brain crumbs drew them, but it’s your job to deal with them. So after a lot of thinking about stories and hell librarians and demons and regret and the afterlife, I got to writing.
The Unwritten Wing in The Library of The Unwritten is where all the unwritten and unfinished books go, and the arcane wing is for darker objects. Do you like collecting anything?
I am guessing that ‘books’ doesn’t count as a collection. I do have a rather embarrassing collection of fountain pens and fountain pen ink. I don’t add to it often, as it’s a rather expensive collector hobby, but it’s an amazing feeling to hold a writing instrument that had the same thought and craftsmanship put into it as a piece of art would. I’ll be honest, the presence of the mysterious ink in THE ARCHIVE OF THE FORGOTTEN gave me a great excuse to indulge in my nerdy love for fountain pens and ink.
Both The Library of The Unwritten and The Archive of The Forgotten are told from multiple points of view, but which character was your favourite to write?
I don’t think I’ll surprise anyone here if I say Hero’s POV was the most fun to write. He’s the kind of character that is dying to flavor a story with his side of things. That might be why I resisted and didn’t let him have a POV in the first book, THE LIBRARY OF THE UNWRITTEN—he would have carried away the show. In the sequel, he has an extensive arc of his own to go through, so I got to turn him loose on the page.
If you had to go on a road trip, would you rather go with Claire, Brevity, Rami, or Hero as your companion?
What a tough choice! Hero certainly wouldn’t let things be boring, but Rami would be the best designated driver and insist on regularly mandated rest stops and care maintenance—he’d never let the gas dip below half a tank. Brevity would be the best at roadside tourist attractions—Carhenge, giant ball of twine, whatever the attraction Brevity would love it and absolutely force everyone to spend way too much time exploring the gift shop.
I might have to go with Claire, though, because she would maintain a very sensible schedule and let us all stop at one of the good hotels for a solid night’s sleep.
I really enjoy your interpretation of different realms, like Valhalla in The Library of The Unwritten, and Chinvat Bridge in The Archive of The Forgotten. Did you have to do much research for this or is it something that interests you?
Mythology and various afterlife interpretations has always interested me! However, I am very aware that sometimes I am writing of afterlives that are part of active practitioner’s belief systems today, and I want to treat that with respect. I do as much research as I’m able—talking to members of that faith, if I can—but ultimately I hope it comes across that the afterlife realms of the series’ world represent popular concepts, non-canonical religious interpretation—Valhalla is a much more pop culture take on the realm than traditional Norse mythology—so any errors or failures are my own.
You also write romance as Ada Harper. Are there any other genres you’d like to try?
I would love the chance to write a YA series, in particular, and as a fan of video games I’ve always had an interest in writing interactive fiction. In grad school I actually did my research on how the medium of something effects the message (or in this case, the story) so I’d love the chance to play with media. Right now, however, I have enough adult fantasy ideas to last me for quite a few books!
What do you think a Hell’s Library film or TV show would look like? Is this something you would want for your series?
I don’t know many authors who haven’t imagined what their future Netflix/HBO/etc. series of their dreams could look like. The ultimate reality is, however, that if it does happen, I’ll have very little artistic control over the end result. Still, I’d love to see Claire and the gang introduced to wider audiences someday, because so many of the book series themes about stories and humanity apply to other mediums too. If it ever happens, I hope it retains the hopefully, found family emphasis of the books, and the cast remains just as diverse, and just as queer.
Are you able to tell us anything about what we can expect in the final book?
In no particular order, there is fire, water, fancy parties, dealings with the devil, spilled tea, and TROUSERS. Claire’s nightmares, basically. Readers will probably appreciate the return of a couple familiar faces. And we finally get to spend more time with other library Wings and librarians! Disaster always brings a family together.
What’s next for you?
More novels, with any luck! I am working on a new fantasy that I’ve shorthanded as the shrinepunk heist book. There are small gods, jazz age chaos, tattoo magic, good tailoring and angry women, as you might expect. If I manage to convince someone to publish it, I will be excited to tell you more.
Of course, we have to ask a bookish question! Have you read anything amazing recently? Who are some of your favourite authors?
Right now, I am 60% of the way through Naomi Novik’s DEADLY EDUCATION, and I am delighted by it while simultaneously happy I am not living in a magical school that is trying to kill me. Before that, I absolutely devoured Rebecca Roanhorse’s BLACK SUN, and ACROSS THE GREEN GRASS FIELDS, Seanan McGuire’s latest book in the Wayward Children, which is a series dear to my heart. Sadly, that still leaves me approximately five thousand thirty-teen books behind all the greatest new releases. We’re really blessed to have so many great fantasy books releasing in such a hard year.
