By Victoria Barker

BRITISH cult writer Neil Gaiman - best known for his works like The Sandman, Stardust and Neverwhere - is a celebrity in  Singapore.

Tickets to the three events starring Gaiman at the Singapore Writers Festival last weekend were snapped up quickly,
proving that he is indeed a hot commodity.

Not to mention that the movie Coraline, based on his graphic novel, opened in Singapore last week to rave reviews.

The fantasy and children's books author - whose most recent work The Graveyard Book spent over 54 weeks on the New York Times- children's bestseller list - was in town with his  33-year-old girlfriend, musician and composer Amanda Palmer of Brechtian punk cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls.

The two have produced a photo book, Who Killed Amanda Palmer?, which was published last year.

Gaiman, 48, met the press yesterday at the Arts House.Here are some excerpts from the session:

When it comes to collaborations, how do you decide which projects to explore?

The great thing about collaborations is that (in order for them to work) they are always coincidental and always organic. I?m hoping to work with (musician) Stephin Merritt, who did an off-Broadway adaptation of Coraline recently.

Would you work with Amanda again on future projects?

It would have to be on the right project. We work really well when we have assigned functions. A few months ago, I shot a silent movie... I cast and directed her, and it was great. It is also wonderful having her there as somebody I trust.

In your opinion, how have new mediums like electronic books and Twitter changed the publishing industry?

The Web is the best communication tool that humanity has ever come up with, but it has a huge number of drawbacks.

It has an enormous potential for miscommunication but, if I were a young writer wanting to put myself out there, I'd just hit the Web. I don't plan to write a book on Twitter or Facebook, but I think you could create art
on them. You could Twitter or LiveJournal a novel.

vbarker@sph.com.sg

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