Conversation: Author Neil Gaiman

"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife." That is the very scary first line of the book that's just won the "Newbery Medal":http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberymedal.cfm, the highest honor for children's literature. Author "Neil Gaiman":http://journal.neilgaiman.com/ is a man of many genres: science fiction, graphic novels -- some of you will know his "'Sandman'":http://www.dccomics.com/vertigo/graphic_novels/?gn=6109 series -- screenplays, adult fiction, as well as books for young readers. His Newbery winner, "'The Graveyard Book,'":http://www.thegraveyardbook.com/ is the story of an orphaned toddler -- that 'knife' in the first line dispatches the rest of his family early on -- who is then raised by a community of ghosts in a graveyard. Neil Gaiman grew up in England and now lives in Minnesota. One of his novels for young readers, "'Coraline'":http://www.coraline.com/ is just being released as an animated film. He joined us from Los Angeles, where he is promoting that film: You can watch Neil Gaiman read "The Graveyard Book" in its entirety "on his Web site":http://www.mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx.