Kathryn Scanlan: Gordon Burn prize winner on pushing the boundaries of fiction
The Iowa-born author’s winning novel Kick the Latch is typical of her practice of creating meticulously wrought work that deconstructs reality
‘We’ve all been wounded’: Patti Davis on secrets, abuse and life as Ronald Reagan’s daughter
To the outside world, she was wrapped up in the love of the perfect family. In reality, she was struggling with her father’s remoteness, her mother Nancy’s rages – and worse. The actor and author looks back on years of unhappiness
‘Musk needs to be adored … Zuckerberg is out of his depth’: Kara Swisher on the toxic giants of Big Tech
The journalist and podcaster has been scrutinising Silicon Valley for decades, knows all the big players – and once believed that tech could save the world. But that was before greed and ego got in the way
Chris Bryant: ‘I’m quite an old-fashioned gay, in a way’
The author and Labour MP on his book about the last men in Britain to be hanged for their sexuality, his misgivings about the Church of England and the novel he always goes back to
The return of Nam Le: ‘As long as I’m terrifying myself a little bit, I’m on the right track’
Sixteen years after his internationally lauded debut, the author of The Boat is back. He talks about writing under pressure, and why ‘authenticity’ is a trap
‘Being a nun was the great love story of my life’: Catherine Coldstream on why she joined – then fled – a convent
Why would a privileged, educated 27-year-old turn her back on life to join a silent order of nuns in remote Northumberland?
Michael Donkor: ‘Representation feels more nuanced to me now’
The teacher turned novelist on building a good yarn, leaving London for Lisbon, and what his former pupils might think of his sex scenes
‘At 80, I still have a lot of anger’: American poet Nikki Giovanni
The activist and poet Nikki Giovanni talks about fighting racial segregation, dealing with mobsters – and why her sense of outrage is undiminished
‘Look at your country! It’s amazing’: Armistead Maupin on moving to London
The Tales of the City author made his name as the bard of San Francisco, but now calls Clapham home. He talks about becoming a British citizen, his new novel set in the Cotswolds and missing California weed
‘There’s a double layer of nostalgia’: David Nicholls on One Day returning to the book charts
The Netflix adaptation starring Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod has catapulted the novelist’s romcom back into the bestsellers, 15 years after it was first published
‘Indescribably filthy’: historian Emily Cockayne on the letters that landed her a film deal
As Wicked Little Letters with Olivia Colman hits cinemas, the associate professor who unearthed the real-life case explains how petty grievances and prejudices got out of hand in 1920s Sussex
Billy Dee Williams: ‘At this stage in my life, I don’t need to apologise for anything’
The actor, best known for playing Lando in the Star Wars movies, talks about his new memoir, a life on screen and why he couldn’t ‘care less’ about becoming a political spokesperson
Gift of the gab: how to become a supercommunicator
For some, the art of conversation remains elusive and awkward. But others find it easy to put people at their ease and steer their way through difficult topics without giving offence. Charles Duhigg asks how they do it – and whether we can get better at it
Author Peter Ackroyd: ‘You eat a great deal of knowledge. You sick it up. And then you start again’
The great biographer and novelist, now 74, shows no sign of slowing. Now he’s produced a history of the English soul, and declares himself ‘eager to go on’
BBC disinformation reporter Marianna Spring: ‘My approach to fear is to try to make sense of it’
The broadcaster on dealing with abuse, the power of the Barbie movie, and watching Spurs with her dad