‘I’m not scared of war any more’: Death and the Penguin author Andrey Kurkov on life in Kyiv

On a brief visit to London, the Ukrainian novelist talks about why he has no intention of leaving his country – or ever again visiting Russia – his mixed feelings about Zelenskiy, and how he is still keeping his sense of humour

David Peace: ‘Publishers should be less risk-averse’

The novelist on being too literary for crime fiction and too ‘crimey’ for literary fiction, and the mysterious death that concludes his Tokyo trilogy

Ocean Vuong: ‘I was addicted to everything you could crush into a white powder’

The poet and novelist’s latest collection is his first book to be published since the death of his mother. He talks about loss, addiction and performing literary drag

Douglas Stuart on Shuggie Bain and his tough start: ‘Living with an alcoholic, there wasn’t much I didn’t see’

After his autobiographical debut, about a gay boy growing up in 80s Glasgow, comes another tale that draws on his childhood. Could his glittering fashion career ever have kept the Booker-winner from his roots?

John Darnielle: ‘Being an American is like living in a Terry Gilliam world’

The Mountain Goats singer and novelist is using his new novel to interrogate his country’s politics. He talks about ‘castle doctrine’, making an album about his abusive stepfather and why he’s a sucker for things that make him cry

Gurnaik Johal: ‘I am constantly wondering about the lives of others’

The prizewinning author on the Southall riots of the early 80s and his debut collection, inspired by London’s never-ending narratives

‘It just exploded’: The Bad Guys author on writing ‘Tarantino for kids’ – and selling millions

Aaron Blabey decided to improve the boring books his son was bringing home: now his bestseller series is a starry Hollywood animation

TS Eliot’s wife Vivienne died in an asylum. Steven Carroll decided to free her

Over four novels, the award-winning Australian author has picked apart Eliot and his relationships with women – but felt moved to give the poet’s first wife a happier end

Charlotte Philby: ‘We visited Kim in Moscow’

The spy novelist, whose latest book tells the story of her grandfather Kim Philby and the Soviet agent Edith Tudor-Hart, talks about the perils of writing about family, and why female spies get overlooked

Julia Samuel: ‘The princes turned the dial by talking about grief’

In times of tragedy and despair, Julia Samuel is the person to whom the nation turns. A grief counsellor and pioneer of paediatric psychotherapy, she talks about the effects of the pandemic, her friendship with Princess Diana – and helping families to resolve their conflicts

Percival Everett: ‘I’d love to write a novel everyone hated’

The American novelist on his stereotyping of white characters, the breadth of the black experience in modern literature, and why he always returns to The Way of All Flesh

Lincoln and the fight for peace: John Avlon on a president in the shadow of new war

The CNN analyst says the 16th president’s example can guide America through dark times – at home as well as abroad

The zoologist sticking her neck out in the battle of the sexes

Our ideas about males and females are wildly out of date, says zoologist Lucy Cooke. Here, she reveals some radical truths about the birds, the bees… and the bonobos

Delia Smith: ‘The world is in chaos… but together we have such power’

At 80, Britain’s queen of cookery has written a surprising new book about spirituality that was turned down by six publishers. She talks about meditation, MasterChef and her beloved Norwich FC

Mary-Frances O’Connor: ‘People struggle to understand grief, but it is a byproduct of love’

The US psychology professor talks about her new book on the experience of losing a loved one and the lessons we can learn