“Up in box five I blinked in surprised amusement. That was a new one! Little Giry should be writing Gothic novels, not prancing around the stage dressed as a water nymph!”

Personal inscription on a copy of Mother Goose in Prose (1897) which he gave to his sister, Mary Louise Baum Brewster, as quoted in The Making of the Wizard of Oz (1998) by Aljean Harmetz, p. 317
Letters and essays
Context: When I was young I longed to write a great novel that should win me fame. Now that I am getting old my first book is written to amuse children. For aside from my evident inability to do anything "great," I have learned to regard fame as a will-o-the-wisp which, when caught, is not worth the possession; but to please a child is a sweet and lovely thing that warms one's heart and brings its own reward.

On her attire during live performances, Billboard https://books.google.com/books?id=gA0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA135&dq=I+wore+a+dress+that+was+so+restricting+and+shoes+that+were+five+inches+high,+I+could+barely+stage-dive,+Then+I+got+the+best+write-ups,+for+being+feminine,+I+guess.+I+couldn’t+move+well+and+I+was+restrained,+which+equals+great+review.+That’s+pretty+horrid+Read+more+at+http://www.nme.com/list/courtney-love-30-of-her-most-candid-quotes-1309%233eCzLehAzLfAYAW2.99&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiHoYHrgbfSAhUDOSYKHeg-DR8Q6AEIGjAA#v=onepage&q=I%20wore%20a%20dress%20that%20was%20so%20restricting%20and%20shoes%20that%20were%20five%20inches%20high%2C%20I%20could%20barely%20stage-dive%2C%20Then%20I%20got%20the%20best%20write-ups%2C%20for%20being%20feminine%2C%20I%20guess.%20I%20couldn’t%20move%20well%20and%20I%20was%20restrained%2C%20which%20equals%20great%20review.%20That’s%20pretty%20horrid%20Read%20more%20at%20http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nme.com%2Flist%2Fcourtney-love-30-of-her-most-candid-quotes-1309%233eCzLehAzLfAYAW2.99&f=false (30 March 1996)
1996–2005

Interview with Don Swaim (1986)
Context: I write short stories. They may appear big in size, but when you consider it, they're four or five novels in one. … In return for picking up one of my books, I'm trying to give them value for their money. … the goal of writing any book is to create the illusion that what you are reading is reality and you're part of it.

"Mary Tyler Moore" Interview by Diane Werts at Archive of American Television (23 October 1997) http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/mary-tyler-moore

On Genesis I as his favorite opening passage.
New York Times (June 2, 1985).

The Vices of Morality: Immoral Amorality (p. 109)
Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals (2002)

Stephen King, in Matthew Lewis The Monk (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002) p. vi.
Criticism

The Chinese Novel (1938)