‘I’m the psychedelic confessor’: the man who turned a generation on to hallucinogens returns with a head-spinning book about consciousness

With the Omnivore’s Dilemma and How to Change Your Mind, Michael Pollan transformed our understanding of food and drugs. Can he do the same for our sense of self?

‘I think we feel stuck’: Kate Pickett on how to build a better, fairer, less stressed society

In her new book, the co-author of The Spirit Level gathers jaw-dropping facts about the inequality crisis in the UK – and explores creative ways to address it

‘Pain is a violent lover’: Daisy Lafarge on the paintings she made when floored with agony

Suffering from a connective tissue disorder and enduring endless calls to try and get benefits, the poet and novelist turned to painting – resulting in work that could change perceptions of disabled people

Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney: ‘I’ve sold 300m books. What’s next?’

As the 20th book in his Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is published, the author shows no signs of slowing down – scripting films, opening a bookshop and making plans to rebuild his hometown

Fatima Bhutto on her abusive relationship: ‘I thought it could never happen to me’

Fifteen years after her explosive memoir of growing up in Pakistan’s ruling political dynasty, the author has written a devastating account of the abuse she has since endured. She talks about a life on the run and finally settling down

Green Dot author Madeleine Gray: ‘Chosen family is big in the queer community’

Madeleine Gray has followed her hit debut with a sharp take on complicated parenting. She discusses love, sex and famous fans

‘There is a sense of things careening towards a head’: TS Eliot prize winner Karen Solie

The Canadian poet, whose winning collection explores environmental and personal loss, discusses making art in existential times

‘The rise of fascism makes our work even more important’: Montez Press, champions of queer, feminist art

They published a raunchy book inspired by the Guardian’s Owen Jones; broadcast interviews with obscure punk legends; and make calendars to navigate the world of underground art. Now they’re going global

‘​How do you really tell the truth about this moment?’: George Saunders on ghosts, mortality and Trump’s America

The Lincoln in the Bardo author is back with another metaphysical tale. He discusses Buddhism, partisan politics and the terrifying flight that changed his life

As a student, he was involved in a drunk-driving incident that killed a cyclist. Years later he would become expert in the healing powers of guilt

Psychologist Chris Moore saw first-hand how powerful and complex an emotion it is

Mystery meat and maggot-infested produce: the disturbing reality of US prison food

In Eating Behind Bars, author Leslie Soble details how food is used to further punish incarcerated people in the US

‘You don’t really see it in fiction’: how one novelist brought ‘Detty December’ party season back from Ghana

Jessica Carmichael’s coming-of-age YA novel is set during the huge annual diasporic return to west Africa, which ‘changed the trajectory’ of her life

‘What other silences filled my childhood?’: Tareq Baconi on excavating his queer and Palestinian identities

In his memoir, the author recalls the boy he loved while growing up in Jordan – and weaves the tale with his family’s history of dispossession

There’s a new space race – will the billionaires win?

The commercialisation of the cosmos is already underway, and our current laws aren’t fit for purpose

Not just love, actually: why romance fiction is booming

From Emily Henry to Rebecca Yarros and Alison Espach’s The Wedding People – romance has dominated the book charts this year. So why is it still dismissed by critics?