Now on bbc news talking books. Welcome to hay festival, now celebrating its 30th year. Hay brings together scientists, historians, novelists, musicians, all of them here to discuss their latest ideas and stories. Today im interviewing the multi Award Winning author elizabeth strout. Her six novels, all of them have received critical acclaim, but it was Olive Kitteridge that received the prestigious pulitzer prize. Born and raised in small towns in New Hampshire and maine, her latest book Anything Is Possible explores a cast of extraordinary characters and their own small town lives. Applause i stand to be corrected, but i think it was chekhov who was asked by, i think his brother, it was a hint about writing, and he apparently said, you know, the thing about writing is find the small detail that reveals the big story. I think elizabeth strout, if i may say so, follows in that tradition because what she does is tell the story of small individual lives and yet they seem to reveal a massi