Story of woman who heads south takes prize for ‘evoking spirit of the north’
Jessica Andrews’ Saltwater praised by judges of the £10,000 Portico award for showing how northern identity is ‘a place within us’
Sara Collins: ‘I can’t even start James Joyce’s Ulysses, let alone finish it’
This year’s winner of the Costa first novel award on James Baldwin’s perfect love story and why she reads essays for comfort
‘Ghost poetry’: fight over Samuel Beckett’s Nobel win revealed in archives
Papers revealing the Swedish Academy’s deliberations over the Waiting for Godot author reveal fierce disputes over his ‘nihilism’
TS Eliot prize-winner Roger Robinson: ‘I want these poems to help people to practise empathy’
From a lament for the victims of Grenfell Tower to snapshots of Windrush arrivals … activist, musician and poet Roger Robinson discusses the inspiration behind his prize‑winning collection
Stephen King faces backlash over comments on Oscars diversity
Ava DuVernay and Roxane Gay criticized author after he said he ‘would never consider diversity in matters of art’
British-Trinidadian dub poet Roger Robinson wins TS Eliot prize
Judges praise A Portable Paradise for finding evidence of ‘sweet, sweet life’ in the bitterness of everyday experience
Carmen Maria Machado: ‘I wished that I had a police report, or a black eye’
The author’s memoir In the Dream House addresses the taboo of abuse in lesbian relationships. She talks about homophobia, healing – and finding fun in fiction
John le Carré wins $100,000 prize for ‘contribution to democracy’
Spy author, who rarely accepts honours, says he will give the Olof Palme prize money to Médecins Sans Frontières
Romantic fiction awards cancelled after racism row prompts mass boycott
The 2019 Rita awards for romance writing have been pulled after more than 300 books were withdrawn from competition in protest
Jonathan Coe wins Costa prize for ‘perfect’ Brexit novel
Middle England’s EU referendum story secures the 2019 novel award and goes up against first fiction, poetry and biography for Costa book of the year
The Other Half of Augusta Hope by Joanna Glen review – high emotions
This Costa prize-shortlisted novel travels to Burundi and back
The people heartened by Peter Handke’s Nobel prize are genocide deniers
The Swedish Academy’s defence of its controversial award only serves to fuel the rise of far-right extremism, says writer Adnan Delalić
The Guardian view on arts prizes: a 20th-century phenomenon?
Editorial: This year’s Booker and Turner prizes tell us artists and even judges are repudiating the winner-takes-all award. It may be time to find new ways to celebrate the arts
The Guardian view on Nobel winner Olga Tokarczuk: light amid the dark
Editorial: The 2019 prize for literature has been mired in controversy. But that should not take away from the humanity and hope offered by the 2018 winner
Kosovo declares Nobel laureate Peter Handke persona non grata
Literature prize winner condemned over support for Milošević regime