British writer Frances Hardinge is living proof that books for kids can be as good as books for adults: her last YA novel, The Lie Tree, won the Costa Book of the Year in 2015, beating out serious science biographies, acclaimed poetry collections, a novel by Kate Atkinson and more. Kiwi writer and Hardinge fan Elizabeth Knox leapt at the chance to interview her ahead of her appearances at the Auckland Writers Festival on 20 and 21 May. Frances Hardinge in her signature black