“My whole theory of writing I can sum up in one sentence. An author ought to write for the youth of his own generation, the critics of the next, and the schoolmasters of ever afterward.”

“If I could sum it up in 50 words, I wouldn't have needed to write a whole novel about it.”

“I can still remember the miraculous feeling of writing a sentence, then more sentences, telling a story. The first thing I wrote was a one-page summary of Robinson Crusoe and I am so sorry I do not have it any more; it was at that moment I became an author."[As quoted in the author biography on Mankell's official website.]”

“The Circle... Ted Dekker is my inspiration, my favorite author, and my hero, so it should come as no surprise that my writing is consistently compared to his. What if I told you that the reason I picked up his books is because my writing was compared to his?”

“If I can write one sentence, simple and true every day, I'll be satisfied.”

“No, writing has not changed me for the better at all; I have merely used up part of my restless, conscienceless youth. What value to me will these discontented pages be? The book, the vow, are worth no more than one is worth oneself. One can never be sure of saving one's soul by writing. One may go writing on and on with a soul already lost.”