M John Harrison: ‘If we met a real alien we’d have no clue what they thought’

At 80, SF author M John Harrison is producing some of his best work. He talks about finding his voice, alien intelligence and the advice from Iain Banks that still spurs him on

Candice Carty-Williams: ‘People feel very attached to Queenie’

The breakout success of her debut created a publishing scramble for Black writers, but has that appetite for diversity endured? Carty-Williams talks about wanting to quit the TV adaptation, why now is the perfect time for her sequel

James O’Loghlin: ‘I’d lie awake at night thinking: “Is there one thing I can do that will help my dying friend?”’

The broadcaster, comedian and writer on the lifelong friendship that turned him into an activist

‘Don DeLillo gave me his blessing’: film director Ben Rivers on how fan mail from the Underworld author led to his latest work

When Rivers received a surprise letter from DeLillo, it encouraged him to set the author’s one-act play in an adult-free, postapocalyptic world

‘We can’t give up on Afghans’: Lyse Doucet on the remarkable ‘people’s history’ that won her the Women’s prize

The BBC’s chief international correspondent was awarded the prestigious nonfiction prize for The Finest Hotel in Kabul – which she hopes will bring more attention to the Taliban’s draconian treatment of women

‘I want to be other people’s cautionary tale’: how do you financially prepare for a parent’s death?

Author Beth Pinsker discusses the documents that matter more than a will – and why so few of us have them

James Ellroy: ‘It’s satanic to me, the dependency people have on computers’

The outspoken crime novelist talks about his provocative new book, his hatred of technology and why the film adaptation of LA Confidential is a ‘turkey’

‘Writing is exactly like love – you need to do it in the dark’: novelist Leila Slimani on starting a new chapter in her life

Now in residence at the Madrid Prado, the author talks about its dark, inspirational Goyas, the clandestine nature of her writing – and why she finally wrote about her jailed then posthumously exonerated father

‘I want to bury it under a roundabout!’ Kim Noble on his unusual approach to promoting his graphic novel

The unsettling performance artist, who has made some electrifying stage shows in his time, is taking a leap into literature with an eye-opening book, In Pursuit of a Wonderful Nothing. Quite a hard sell, he thinks

‘My parents didn’t talk about the past’: how director Caroline Huppert recovered her family’s wartime secrets

Memoir tells how the Jewish and Catholic parents of actor Isabelle and Caroline Huppert fell in love amid the rise of the Nazis. She explains why she wanted her ‘children’s children’ to know the story

‘I refuse to be a second-class citizen in my own land’: Taiwanese International Booker winner Yáng Shuāng-zǐ

The author of historical novel Taiwan Travelogue, and its translator Lin King, discuss the threat from Beijing, LGBTQ+ rights and the island’s culinary delicacies

‘Take a deep breath and pick up the phone’: a former union organizer on how to negotiate your debts down

Carrie Joy Grimes’ new book The Joy of Money offers tip and tools for middle-class Americans seeking out stability and security

Rowing through the fog: how to increase your tolerance for uncertainty

Journalist Simone Stolzoff in a new book explores why modern life makes not knowing harder – and how to learn to live with it

‘I’m so grateful I got to live these days’: A Ghost in the Throat author Doireann Ní Ghríofa on recovering from depression

The acclaimed author and poet talks about her new book, telling the true stories of patients at a derelict Victorian psychiatric hospital – a place in which she might have found herself at a different time

Stella prize 2026: Lee Lai becomes first non-binary person and first graphic novelist to win with Cannon

Lai wins $60,000 literary award for her study of a young woman’s repression and rage as she struggles to juggle the needs of those around her