Beginner's pluck with Karl Geary

A dyslexic, who was terrified of books, Karl left school without exams. Leaving Dublin for New York at 16, he started reading, loving the vibrant arts scene in East Village.

“When you need to fill gaps in your education, you over-compensate,” he says. “I became voracious about books.”

He wrote his first novel at 22. It didn’t work, but the dialogue was good, and it was turned into a successful screenplay.