Orlaine McDonald: ‘As a writer it’s important that I don’t look away’

The debut novelist on her haunting tale of mothers and daughters, the importance of putting black women on the page and the art form that makes her feel most alive

‘I wanted to do pulpy, hyper-violent action’: Keanu Reeves on his novel with China Miéville and the afterlife of The Matrix

What happens when a Hollywood actor and SF author join forces on a novel? The pair talk about their literary bromance – and their quest to turn Reeves’s comic book series into something deeper

Magazine guru Lindsay Nicholson’s life of turmoil: ‘I could see this world I’d created was crumbling’

In her gripping new memoir, the former Good Housekeeping editor describes the car crash that forced her to confront past tragedy as well as the upheavals that followed – leading to her third act

C Pam Zhang: ‘I was aware of the drift towards fascism in Europe’

The Chinese-born, US-based author, whose debut was longlisted for the 2020 Booker, on pursuing pleasure in a volatile world, her taste for chip butties and the joys of being a naive reader

‘My flash kept blinding everyone on the dancefloor’: Elaine Constantine on capturing 90s northern soul all-nighters

The UK photographer took these powerful shots of northern soul nights 30 years ago. Now collected in a new book and exhibition, they offer an intimate glimpse of a peculiarly British subculture

‘I have an obsession with authenticity’: David Baddiel on growing up, golf and family affairs

David Baddiel grew up with an emotionally absent father and a mother having an affair with a golf memorabilia salesman. No wonder he’s written a very funny memoir about it all

Naomi Alderman: ‘Whatever happened to talking? We’ve lost the ability to swap ideas’

Before her Radio 4 series this week, the dystopian author explains how the internet is eroding communication skills

Sunday with Louise Minchin: ‘I’m an activity addict’

The broadcaster wants a swim, a roast and, hopefully, to see her children

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah: ‘Satire is a way to make myself less depressed’

The US author on dystopian fiction, the experience of speaking to prisoners about his debut novel and why both of America’s major parties ‘love the war machine’

James Muldoon, Mark Graham and Callum Cant: ‘AI feeds off the work of human beings’

The Fairwork trio talk about their new book on the ‘extraction machine’, exposing the repetitive labour, often in terrible conditions, that big tech is using to create artificial intelligence

‘You can write anything about sex, but you cannot talk about money’: Taffy Brodesser-Akner on life after Fleishman

Her bestselling debut, Fleishman Is in Trouble, became a hit TV series. Now Taffy Brodesser-Akner is taking on the American dream

Maggie Nelson: ‘I was overwhelmed with grief when Prince died’

The American author of The Argonauts on her latest collection of essays, how the Purple Rain star shaped her sexual development and the risks she takes in her writing

Fran Lebowitz: ‘I am very angry. I’m angry almost all the time’

The famously sardonic American author, public speaker and actor on happiness, bad ideas and the life-boosting nature of friendship

Anita Desai: ‘After I left India, I had to train myself to express my opinions’

At 87, the Indian author has been shortlisted for the Booker prize three times, and has written her first novel in a decade. She talks about leaving India to teach and write around the world – and feeling like a stranger everywhere

‘Guess what? Mummy is a sex worker’: the sexologist who wants to build a ‘slutopia’ for women

Dr Hilary Caldwell’s new book Slutdom looks at how women navigate sex and shame, and at all ages. She shares what she’s learned as both a sex worker and as an academic