Much loved around the world for his writing prowess, his imagination and his advocacy for reading and libraries, a reviewer once wrote of Neil Gaiman that he is “god in the universe of story”. This is no more evident than in the recently published The Neil Gaiman Reader, which brings together 50 of his short stories and novellas, interposed with excerpts from his five novels for adults Neverwhere, Stardust, American Gods, Anansi Boys and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Marlon James says of it, “This collection is [like] the Beatles’ White Album: massive in size and scope, with individually brilliant pieces presented together because the only context they need is how good they are.”

Spend an hour in the company of the author of an illustrious array of titles from first outing Ghastly Beyond Belief to his very latest, the children’s book Pirate Stew, as he speaks with Nic Low.