Philip Pullman writes books for children. His best known is probably the His Dark Materials trilogy,

and

. His most contentious probably

. He writes not so much to explain as to allow the reader’s own imagination to work on his words. The same purpose is at the core of his belief in the value of public libraries. The debate on the role and future of public libraries in the UK was marked by the accusation that authors had their own interests in mind when they objected to library closures. Philip Pullman leapt to the attack. This is an edited version of his mauling of Oxfordshire County Council.