During the many wars that he has lived through, Qais and his family travelled around their country in order to stay alive. Sometimes their intention was to leave their homeland; sometimes it was only to escape from the violence that broke out to safety nearby.

In these maps, you can see his home and the paths of his family's journeys.

Kent Haruf's novels Plainsong, Eventide and Benediction are set in the fictional Holt County, Colorado, based loosely on the area where Kent grew up. Though he says the landscape hasn't shaped his literary style, you can see Kent's fictional world in every one of these pictures.

All images (c) Max Liu

James Salter and George Saunders will be reading from, and discussing, their latest work.

Huge Kent Haruf fan and journalist Max Liu went out to Colorado Springs to meet the author and explore the world of his novels with him. Here, Max recounts his trip.

Every time I write for the Picador blog I seem to be admitting to gross omissions in my reading. Whilst this makes for embarrassing moments in editorial meetings, it does also herald the promise of truly brilliant reading experiences. 

For 24 hours only, we're offering a 30% discount on Helen Oyeyemi's novels White is for Witching and Mr Fox and Sunjeev Sahota's debut novel Ours Are the Streets.

It’s a bright afternoon in 1938 and Mary Foxe is in a confrontational mood. St John Fox, celebrated novelist, hasn’t seen her in six years. He’s unprepared for her afternoon visit, not least because she doesn’t exist. He’s infatuated with her. But he also made her up.

“You’re a villain,” she tells him. “A serial killer . . . can you grasp that?”

Will Mr Fox meet his muse’s challenge, to stop murdering his heroines and explore something of love? What will his wife Daphne think of this sudden change in her husband? Can there be a happy ending – this time?

Get 30% off Mr Fox