The enthusiasm, reverence and passion which writers feel for other writers and the great literature they admire is the subject of this month's New Writing focus - Building Books. Three writers, two novelists and a critic, explore their passion for books and writing through analysis of their own work and the writing of others that speaks to them in important and profound ways. Character, plot, biography and style are scrutinised alongside the way in which writers play and experiment with their work, find their inspiration and reach the cross-over point between fact and fiction.

Julian Barnes's piece 'The Case of Inspector Campbells's Red Hair' draws upon the challenges he encountered when turning a real-life event into a piece of fiction for the Man Booker short-listed novel Arthur & George. With an engaging wit, Barnes discusses the integrity and responsibility of the author, the author as real-life detective and the issues he faces when a descendant of his character pops up on the scene.

Alasdair Gray's novel extract 'The Posthumous Papers of John Tunnock' is a funny and absorbing mystery with a post-modern twist where the author makes an appearance in his own fiction. It also draws on Scottish literary traditions, is surreal and bold in style and playfully invites the reader into a world of publishing and editing that offers the unlikely promises of fun and intrigue.

In his essay, 'Shelf Doubt: The Intimate History of Bookshops' Boyd Tonkin's enthusiasm for the romance of bookshops and the possibilities held within draws readers deeply into a world that has seen a huge shift over recent years. However the potential hidden within dusty walls still exists for him, and his gentle and nostalgic writing evokes a genuine passion.

Alasdair Gray

Born in Glasgow 1934, since 1981 Gray has written, designed, illustrated 7 novels, 3 short story collections, 3 political pamphlets, 2 verse books, a play and The Book of Prefaces, A book about his art, A life in Pictures, and a novel, Men in Love, will be published in late 2007.

Julian Barnes

Barnes is the author of nine novels, including Metroland, Flaubert's Parrot, A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters, England England, and Love Etc., and two collections of short stories, Cross Channel and The Lemon Table.

Boyd Tonkin

Boyd Tonkin is the Literary Editor of The Independent. Before joining the newspaper in 1996 he wrote for 'The Observer', was Literary Editor of the 'New Statesman', Features Editor of 'Community Care magazine', and has also taught literature in higher education. He has judged the Booker Prize, the David Cohen Prize, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and re-founded the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize for literature in translation. Books to which he has contributed range from the Oxford Good Fiction Guide to Reading the Vampire Slayer. He has appeared on a wide variety of broadcast arts programmes, and has reported on literary and cultural matters from countries including India, Brazil, Ukraine, Cuba, Finland and Greece.

Illustration © Maurizio Marmorato