An Interview With David Sedgwick

We managed to grab a quick word with David Sedgwick, author of Pironi: The Champion that Never Was‘ and  ‘The Power and the Glory’  for a short interview…

1. Have you read anything that made you think differently about motorsports?

Niki Lauda’s autobiography ‘To Hell and Back’ was a wonderfully candid view
of F1, not romanticized in the slightest, refreshingly blunt in fact.

2. The Power and the Glory is your second book, what did you learn after publishing Pironi?

I understood more than ever the importance of cultivating a social media presence. It doesn’t matter how good your book is if nobody knows about it. Anticipation is the key. I know some excellent authors who believe their work is done at the last page. It isn’t – unless you are Stephen King.

3. Do you have any sports writers that inspire you?

My first motorsport book was written by Nigel Roebuck. Through his work I began a lifelong love affair with motorsport, especially Formula One. I can still recite some of his passages to this day, thirty years after first reading them.

4. What is the most difficult part of being a sports writer?

Firstly, finding a subject that truly inspires you to write and thereafter finding something extra in that subject – a unique selling point. I’ve read a few motorsports books (and others) that seem to be ‘going through the motions’ and it shows.

5. Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

Hmm . . . that would take enormous self-control! As an author one naturally wishes to inform and stimulate the readers, rather than reader. I do occasionally drop a hint or suggestion and invite the reader to draw their own conclusions.

About David Sedgwick

David Sedgwick is a university lecturer and freelance writer. In his role as theatre critic he covers the Merseyside region for The British Theatre Guide. He also contributes articles to a number of websites including Motorsport.com, Flux Magazine, Comment Central and Theatre Professional.

Pironi: The Champion that Never Was, (available herehis first motorsport book, relates the remarkable story of motor racing’s forgotten man, ex-Ferrari F1 driver and offshore powerboat racer, Didier Pironi. The Power and the Glory(available here) takes for its topic Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost’s great F1 rivalry of the 1980s and early 1990s.