Q&A with past pupil Kevin Smith

Former Reuters journalist talks about his latest novel, Injury
Time, and the joy of school dinners

Tell us about your new novel, Injury Time

It’s a dark post-Brexit comedy about a wealthy Northern Irish businessman
whose life starts to unravel as his finances dwindle and a possible scandal
emerges from his past. Although it’s never actually named, the setting is
Holywood, where I grew up. There’s even a scene in the Sullivan assembly hall,
and another depicting a fight in the school toilets.

This is your third novel, what were the other two about?

My first one, Jammy Dodger, is a satire about a literary hoax in the Belfast arts
world of the 1980s. It’s also a coming-of-age novel celebrating being young and
invincible. The second, The Voyage of the Dolphin, is a historical romp that sees
three incompetent students set off on an expedition to the Arctic to recover the
bones of a legendary Tyrone giant (I know!).

Did you always want to be a writer?

English was my favourite subject at Sullivan, and I had a fantastic teacher, Miss
Gibson. I was also encouraged by the late, much-missed John Young. So I
always knew that whatever I did for a living would involve words. After
university I worked in newspapers, and was a correspondent in Romania for a
few years following the revolution, before joining Reuters in Dublin.
Journalism is fun and I had some marvellous adventures, but writing novels, for
me, is better.

What were the highlights of your time in journalism?

The best of it, probably, was making travel programmes for radio – I got to go
to far-flung places and meet fascinating people and eat weird food. Covering
Paul McCartney’s wedding in County Monaghan in 2002, in a scrum of global
media, also stands out for the sheer chaos.

What advice would you give to pupils thinking of pursuing a journalistic career?

Well, the game has changed radically over the last few years – we’ve witnessed
an almost total re-wiring of the way news is transmitted and received – but I’d
say: achieve a good journalism qualification and try to get into a solid, trusted
news organisation at any level. Getting in the door is the thing. Experience will
follow,

What are your best, and worst memories of your time at Sullivan?

I loved my schooldays. I remember laughing a lot – that forbidden, unstoppable
laughter in the classroom that is almost unbearable.There were quite a few
clowns and characters in the Class of ’81! And I have very fond memories of
school dinners. When I was in fifth form the quality of food suddenly improved
dramatically – the school must have hired a new team of cooks – and my mates
had a kind of gourmet dining club with silly rituals and traditions, so every
lunchtime was a treat (the roasties were outstanding). I wasn’t so keen on diving
for rubber bricks in the ice-cold swimming pool. Many forged excuse notes
were offered up to the long-suffering Mr McKinney.

What were you like as a pupil?

I’d like to say diligent, punctual, well-groomed, and respectful.

How would your teachers describe you?

I suspect, the opposite of the above.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Stop acting the maggot and knuckle down!

Tell us something about yourself that few people know?

I’m frightened of vegetables.

What is your philosophy on life?

I’m not sure I have one, as such. Though I’ve always rather liked that Oscar
Wilde line: ‘The first duty in life is to assume a pose. What the second is, no
one has yet discovered’.

Injury Time is published by Lilliput Press on September 18 th and available for
pre-order

Pre-order now!