Mid-Century Britain by Elain Harwood; Sandfuture by Justin Beal review – re-evaluating postwar architecture

Two insightful books defend the architecture of the mid-20th century and the reputation of the man whose two most famous buildings were destroyed on TV

The Jonathan Cape/Observer/Comica graphic short story prize 2021 – enter now!

The annual award for aspiring cartoonists offers the chance to be published in the Observer and win a cheque for £1,000, with past winners going on to land film and book deals

On my radar: Edmund de Waal’s cultural highlights

The ceramicist and writer on the poetry of Louise Glück, the music of Max Richter and the best secret meeting spot in London

Cultural prescription: film, books, plays and more to help you embrace autumn

From A Midsummer Night’s Dream to When Harry Met Sally, Guardian critics suggest comforting culture for the changing seasons

Mel Gooding obituary

Writer on art who undertook interviews for the Artists’ Lives oral history project at the British Library

Breakfast time: Christopher Anderson’s best phone picture

‘My daughter has this comedic flair, this sense of timing’

Covid car parks to galactic lockdown: fascinating but futile quarantine ideas

Whether atomic priesthoods, 50ft concrete spikes or burying astronauts in concrete, humanity’s attempts to keep free from infection are examined in Until Proven Safe

Cultural prescription: plays, films, books and more to help you start university

From Educating Rita to The Secret History, Guardian critics suggest some comfort viewing and listening to take on campus

The Radical Potter: Josiah Wedgwood and the Transformation of Britain by Tristram Hunt – review

An accessible new biography by the director of the V&A repositions the potter as not only a giant of design and manufacturing but a model of the best an entrepreneur can be

Home tweet home: how an illustrator captured the intricacy of bird nests

When Susan Ogilvy starting painting nests in her garden she realised there were few pictorial accounts of these complex creations

‘Better ugly than boring’: book celebrates bizarre Belgian houses

Hannes Coudenys’ Ugly Belgian Houses updated with more from the ‘chaos known as Belgium’

‘Something magical happens’: the cameras helping refugee children to heal

We talk to the person behind an extraordinary project in Turkey, where children, most of them refugees, have been given old analogue cameras and taught the art of photography

Scientists identify key conditions to set up a creative ‘hot streak’

Researchers use AI to reveal runs of artistic success are commonly preceded by an experimental phase

Rita Keegan: the return of black British art’s forgotten pioneer

She was a crucial part of a cultural movement in the 1980s. Now a first solo exhibition in 15 years will allow her work to shine

On my radar: Cornelia Parker’s cultural highlights

The Turner prize shortlisted artist on funny cat videos, a giant pineapple and the song that makes her spine tingle