books
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Locus awards go to Ann Leckie, Naomi Novik and other starsPrestigious science fiction and fantasy prizes also honour work by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman and George RR Martin -
Dystopian Ukraine novel, written on Facebook during protests, gets English translationKaharlyk by Oleh Shynkarenko, a novel that began as Facebook posts to evade censors, tells story of man whose brain is controlled by Russian army
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Tristimania by Jay Griffiths and Mad Girl by Bryony GordonTwo depression memoirs aimed at different readerships both offer optimism and enlightenment -
A Grief Observed by CS LewisThis powerful study of loss asks: ‘Where is God?’, and explores the feeling of solitude and sense of betrayal that even non-believers will recognise
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Success can be as fracturing to your self as failureAfter her debut novel, The Miniaturist, became a bestseller, the author experienced extreme anxiety – a struggle reflected in her new book, The Muse
news
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Stand up for the arts in schools, say children’s laureatesObserver cartoonist explains the need for action by writers and illustrators for children
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The 1,000 causes of BrexitThe dog-whistle call of Nigel Farage’s racism and the lies of Boris Johnson are the final act of a tragedy that began 70 years ago
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Abiola Oni announced as winner of the BAME Short Story prizeNigerian-born author from London wins £1,000 award for warm and clinical vision of dystopia
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regulars
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Top 10sTop 10sTop 10 books about the BeatlesPaul McCartney’s biographer picks out the best work in a field that has often been marked by ‘leaden paragraphs overstuffed with show-offy facts’
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Reading groupReading groupRussian literature webchat – post your questions nowConcluding our look at The Master and Margarita, we will be joined by Hugh Aplin on Wednesday 29 June at 1pm to talk about translating Bulgakov’s novel and how to read Russian literature
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100 Best Nonfiction Books of All Time100 Best Nonfiction Books of All TimeThe 100 best nonfiction books: No 22 – A Grief Observed by CS Lewis (1961)This powerful study of loss asks: ‘Where is God?’, and explores the feeling of solitude and sense of betrayal that even non-believers will recognise
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PodcastPodcastMigration: Ali Smith, David Herd and Wolfgang Bauer listen for the true story – books podcastAs the UK adjusts to life outside the European Union, we ask if literature can get to the heart of an issue that dominated the referendum campaign
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Climbing Days by Dan RichardsDorothy Pilley’s memoirs set her great-great-nephew on a beguiling quest to follow in her footsteps – up a mountain
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Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian JungerJunger’s lament on the failings of modern western communities suffers from a surfeit of nostalgia and disregard for historical fact
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Jacobites by Jacqueline Riding – the myths of Bonnie Prince CharlieToo many books about the 1745 rebellion and Culloden are full of false parallels or dripping in sentiment. This enthralling narrative is an exception
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A Burglar’s Guide to the City by Geoff ManaughBurglars look at buildings in a different way, seeing lift shafts that can be shimmied up and plasterboard walls to cut through. This playful book is crammed with good anecdotes
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String Theory: David Foster Wallace on Tennis – the best writer on the game everIn pieces that range from his own success as a junior player to the sport-changing ability of Roger Federer, Foster Wallace combined a nerd’s outlook with a novelist’s gift for exposition
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Fluke: The Maths and Myths of Coincidences by Joseph MazurUnforeseen meetings, improbable outcomes and a strange story of plum puddings … a deep dive into the mathematics of chance
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Can a dog save the day? Can a cat teach a bird to fly?Plus a book-munching monster and a race across the hills – new picture books and novels
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A solid follow-up to The MiniaturistA double portrait of hidden creativity set in swinging 60s London and civil war Spain from a writer who cannot be faulted for ambition
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A final farewell to the Long Earth‘Stepping’ from one Earth to the next, meeting strange creatures and reflecting on life, love and quantum theory: a gentle collaborative journey through the multiverse comes to an end
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A clever, time-hopping debut novelFrom 2003 Las Vegas to 1958 California to 1592 Venice, examples of deceit and concealment constantly echo each other in an exceptionally intelligent work
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A fascinating work of artThis sprawling, complex novel is a powerful exploration of personal and historical trauma
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A panoramic portrait of New YorkWhitman, Mapplethorpe and Edmund White star in Megan Bradbury’s beautifully written debut about what defines America’s most famous city
people
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In praise of the Somme's forgotten poetDavid Jones’s first world war poem was hailed by TS Eliot as a work of genius. So why has its author been largely forgotten?
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I try not to look at property porn, but the flesh is weakThe author on being distracted by emails and phone calls, and why real people make the worst characters
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I’ll be watching The Mighty Walzer with my head in my handsThe author on staging his deeply personal Manchester novel in the city to which it belongs
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Emma Cline on being a child actorBeing a child actor seemed like a vision of what the world could be, says Emma Cline, author of The Girls – free of sharp edges
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Stories have the power to create a more hopeful worldIn the wake of the Brexit vote, children’s author Sita Brahmachari on the sustaining stories that will help young people find hope and strength in these unsettled times
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Winner announced plus read the winning story!Voice of the future: read 11-year-old Emily Weston’s gripping winning story –which will be published in Jacqueline Wilson’s new book Clover Moon in the autumn!
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A lifetime of stories from Michael Morpurgo – in picturesWe celebrate the manuscripts, photos, notebooks and memorabilia being exhibited at the Michael Morpurgo exhibition at Seven Stories in Newcastle, starting in July
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Best children’s books set in New York CityNew York City is the perfect place to write in - and write about. Meg Leder, who has done both, picks her favourite books set in the Big Apple
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Quentin Blake's unpublished illustrations of The BFG - in picturesQuentin Blake guides us through the remarkable story of his collaboration with Roald Dahl to make The BFG
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Celebrating five years of the Guardian children's books siteThe Guardian is changing how it covers children’s books – here we look back at some of the highlights of the Guardian children’s books site since 2011
A selection of our favourite literary content from around the world
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The Little Library CaféThe Little Library CaféFood in books: gravlax on rye from The Girl with the Dragon TattooKate Young muses on the joys of morning markets and makes a Swedish favourite from Stieg Larsson’s popular crime novel
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Interview with a Bookstore by Literary HubInterview with a Bookstore by Literary HubInterview with a Bookstore: Itinerant Literate, a bookstore on wheelsThe booksellers at Itinerant Literate operate from a trailer, currently parked in Charleston, South Carolina
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pictures, video & audio
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Migration: Ali Smith, David Herd and Wolfgang Bauer listen for the true storyAs the UK adjusts to life outside the European Union, we ask if literature can get to the heart of an issue that dominated the referendum campaign
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The art of memory with Abby Smith Rumsey and Simon BillWe explore memory and forgetting with a fictional artist who struggles with recall and a cultural historian examining the past to solve present troubles with data storage
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Tom Gauld on women in spy fictionAfter Natasha Walter discussed women leads in spy fiction, Tom adds his own creative comment on the inventive and adaptive genre
you may have missed
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I don't remember a time when words were not dangerousAs a schoolboy in Tripoli, Matar was captivated by Arabic. But when his family was forced to leave, it was in English that he came to speak, think and imagine
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David Mitchell on dreams of being a lighthouse keeperI imagined myself as a solitary Lord of the Seas, saving lives by dint of my diligence and dedication
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Slam poetry, TED talks: they’re for short attention spansThe award-winning author on race, satire and watching samurai films with his mother
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007 questions: how well do you know the James Bond books?On this day 50 years ago, Ian Fleming’s 14th and final Bond book, Octopussy and the Living Daylights, was published. How much do you know about Ian Fleming in print?
Poem of the week Repeat This by Rod Mengham