Laura Lexx: ‘I did 10 gigs for a master’s in standup comedy – then never stopped’

The comedian and author on studying laughter theory, industry frustrations and the perils of gigging at a racecourse

Yiyun Li: ‘I’m not that nice friendly Chinese lady who writes… Being subversive is important to me’

The Chinese American author, whose life has been shaped by tragedy, talks about her strange new novel set in rural France

Reflections on mortality: Alessandra Sanguinetti on her ​eerie images of the midwest

Inspired by a cult 1970s book, the Magnum photographer travelled to Wisconsin to create an eerie and timeless portrait of rural America

Andrey Kurkov: from novelist to Ukraine’s travelling spokesman

The Ukrainian novelist who has thrown himself into touring the world to make the case for his nation talks borscht and politics

Sarah Ruhl: ‘It’s the ultimate age of Narcissus’

The US playwright on the traumatic impact of Bell’s palsy on her life, the dangers of judging on appearances and why Jo from Little Women is her literary heroine

Richard E Grant on grief, fame and life without a filter: ‘I 100% believe that secrets are toxic’

He has delighted fans with his honesty about showbusiness – now he’s being just as open about the pain of losing his wife, Joan Washington. Is anything off limits?

‘The Dry completely changed my life’: Jane Harper, Australia’s queen of crime

When the author’s debut novel was published she had no idea it would sell millions and lead to a boom in ‘outback noir’. She reflects on her success and her new Aaron Falk mystery

Ian McEwan: ‘The perfect novella is always just out of my reach’

The Atonement author answers your questions on why he continues to write to what he would do if he wasn’t a novelist

Jann Wenner on Rolling Stone: ‘Some reviews were just insufferably nasty’

The founder of the legendary magazine discusses his rise to the top, navigating famous friendships and hiding his sexuality

‘We had to leave home for a better future’: Kate Beaton on the brutal, drug-filled reality of life in an oil camp

Before work like Hark! A Vagrant made her famous, the Canadian cartoonist spent two years in the Alberta wilderness, see-sawing between boredom and fear for her safety. Now she is finally ready to tell the story

Sophie Cunningham on the ‘crazy challenge’ of bringing Leonard and Virginia Woolf to life

The Melbourne author spent 16 years researching and writing her deeply original novel. In the process, This Devastating Fever became about the process too

Javier Zamora: ‘Now the chances of me crossing the border and surviving would be slim’

The Salvadorian poet on his journey to the US as a nine-year-old, the exciting literature coming from his homeland – and why he is indebted to Dave Eggers

Loaded founder James Brown on lads’ mags, lairiness and living to tell the tale: ‘We flew so close to the sun our trainers melted’

The magazine he created became synonymous with bad behaviour in the 90s. Is the enfant terrible of British media now a reformed character?

Author Orhan Pamuk: ‘I used to have three bodyguards, now I have one’

Nobel prize winner Orhan Pamuk on Salman Rushdie’s attack, responding to extremism in Turkey – and his new, oddly prophetic, pandemic novel

‘There is nothing wrong with offending people’: Roddy Doyle on getting the band back together

His comic novel The Commitments gave working-class Dublin its voice – and became a hit film. As the stage version returns to theatres, does Doyle still recognise the foul-mouthed young author who wrote it?