"Transworld novelist Caitlin Kiernan was the first author to be interviewed via Second Life for a national television programme. This groundbreaking interview is a first for British television and heralds a new way for programmes to talk to stateside authors.
"On Saturday 17th November, BBC Two's The Culture Show broadcast a unique interview with Caitlin Kiernan, whose novelisation of the new Robert Zemeckis’ film Beowulf, has recently been published by Transworld.
"The interview was part of a film in which Tim Samuels examines the enduring power of the Anglo-Saxon poem 'Beowulf'. Meeting poets, translators, and stars of the new Robert Zemeckis film, he also interviewed award-winning dark fantasy writer Caitlin Kiernan, via the online society, Second Life.
"Keen to have the US-based author involved in the programme but faced with the complication of organising a crew to fly out to film her at home in Atlanta, The Culture Show came up with the idea of interviewing Second Life veteran Kiernan in the 3-D virtual world.
"Caitlin Kiernan says: 'Frankly, I rather dislike doing face-to-face interviews, and so I was surprised to find the 'Beowulf' interview within Second Life was actually a lot of fun.
"'Rather than merely sitting somewhere dull answering a lot of questions or, worse yet, answering questions over the phone, I was able to sit in the virtual world of New Babbage, in the laboratory of my alternate-history 19th-Century time-travelling alien alter-ego, typing out my answers on a portable difference engine!
"'The mundane was made extraordinary, allowing the interview itself to take on many of the dynamic aspects of storytelling. For the first time ever, I think I was actually disappointed when an interview was finished.'"
The Culture Show was broadcast on BBC TWO at 7.00pm on Saturday. Beowulf by Caitlin Kiernan, based on the screenplay by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary, has just been published in Bantam paperback, price £6.99 and is available from all good booksellers, including amazon.co.uk
source: 'UKSF booknews'