I thought it was amazing to work with authors, to get a manuscript and try to make up a cover for it.

I want a nice picture book with 12 pictures - I do my best with that format.

When I make a book, I make it for the child and not for the parent - no jokes in it for the parents!

Each book first begins with a little idea.

Now, I had been drawing all this time - especially in France of course - so, when I came back, my father gave me the chance to do a cover for one of the books he published.

I did about 2000 covers altogether, for all sorts of books - from Shakespeare to James Bond - and I always had the idea that I must give 100%, no matter who the author was.

I have been drawing all my life.

I come from a family of business people, but I had the idea I wanted to become an artist.

I thought it would be very nice to become Picasso or Rembrandt, or a van Gogh.

But we discovered that, although I liked publishing, the commercial side meant nothing at all to me.

My father realised that for me to become a publisher in his firm would have been the end of the firm!

It's wearying, like Caliban buttonholing you in hell and telling you the struggle he's having getting along with himself.

I never give up hope.

I conclude that there is as much sense in nonsense as there is nonsense in sense.

My mom was Sicilian, my dad was Sicilian. Mom was a great cook, but all the women were.

You can put things off until tomorrow but tomorrow may never come.

People start to talk about post-racist, post-feminist. What does that mean? We're clearly not post either. Would you say post-democracy? Clearly we haven't reached true democracy yet.

Be amazing. Be everywhere. Be real

I always have the idea in mind that when Botticelli was an old man nobody cared about him because he was out of fashion. Imagine, Botticelli was out of fashion!

Men do not believe in the power of education. We do not think we can speak to divine sentiments in man, and we do not try. We renounce all high aims.

The great irony to Dirk [Gently] is that he sees connections in everything, but the one thing he fails and struggles with most is connecting with other people.