Tell us what you really think – we find out what makes these cult figures tick

Evie Wyld's  first novel, After the Fire, a Still Small Voice, was shortlisted for several prestigious awards, including the the Orange Prize for New Writers, and in 2011 she was named as one of The Culture Show’s Best New Novelists. Earlier this year she was included in the Best of Young British Novelists issue of Granta and her second novel, All the Birds, Singing, is out now. She runs Review, a small independent bookshop in Peckham, south-east London, where she also lives.  

Fashion matters because it is just another art form. Which isn't to say I'm any good at fashion. I can't draw but I still appreciate drawings.

When I want to relax, if I'm feeling a bit frantic and overwhelmed, I listen to birdsong while I'm on the Tube.

Success for me is not an attainable thing. I think if it was I would give up. Work I do never turns out how I want it to – the frustration of this is a good thing.

Failure feels like something that's not as bad as people make out. We all fail – it's fine.

The best place for me to write is anywhere that I can become invisible. Chain cafés are good.

My favourite part of the day is the early morning – before it's become clear I won't accomplish much.

South London is my home because I like being around the place where I grew up. There's something nice about being feeling nostalgic on your own doorstep.

Love is the ability to survive arguments. And the need to tell a person the very dull details of my day.