The cosiest comfort reads to curl up with this Christmas
From Hercule Poirot to the Jolly Christmas Postman, Jenny Colgan picks books to enjoy this festive period
Jasbinder Bilan: Heading ‘home’ to India freed my creativity
The children’s author grew up in the Midlands, but the tastes, sounds and smells of her family’s Punjab homeland were the inspiration for her stories
Michelle Paver: Alaska’s ice cave left me fizzing with ideas
The children’s author remembers an exhilarating hike to a glacier north of Juneau as research for one of her Wolf Brother books
Abi Elphinstone: I found my own Narnia behind a blue door in Scotland
The creator of The Unmapped Chronicles found inspiration in the gorges and forest that lay beyond a stone wall near her home
Adam Kay: ‘We should talk to kids about sex and alcohol. Everything goes wrong when people close up’
The comedian, whose diaries of his years as a junior doctor became a bestseller, talks about the ‘astonishing’ efforts of the NHS in 2020, and his new guide to the body for children
Katherine Rundell: how a snowy New York inspired my writing
The novelist wanted her latest book, The Good Thieves, to be full of all the places she loves in the Big Apple
Children’s books roundup – the best new picture books and novels
Enchanted kingdoms, a history of music and the return of Dogger ... great titles for Christmas and the new year
Kate Grenville, Sofie Laguna, Julia Baird and others: the 20 best Australian books of 2020
Diligent journalism, urgent fiction, wondrous imagination: Guardian Australia critics and staff bring you their top reads of the year – in no particular order
Need help this Christmas? Six children’s authors kids will love
Amanda Craig shares some great children’s authors whose humour and sense of adventure will keep kids reading
Famous first words: how celebrities made their way on to children’s bookshelves
David Walliams, Whoopi Goldberg, Bruce Springsteen … when celebrity authors make big money from children’s books, do young readers and other writers pay the price?
A third of UK children do not see themselves reflected in books, finds survey
Responses from 60,000 young readers show 33% feel unrepresented, with an even worse picture among poorer and minority ethnic readers
Best children’s and teens books of 2020
Wintry fantasy, young detectives, the return of Lyra and Pan - plus poetry for everyone
Best stocking filler books of 2020
From cats to meatballs to monsters: here are five little treasures to liven up your festive giving
Costa book awards: Susanna Clarke nominated for second novel after 16-year wait
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell author picked for Piranesi, alongside Denise Mina, Julian Barnes and the late Eavan Boland, in prizes for ‘enjoyable’ books
Jason Reynolds: ‘Snoop Dogg once told white folks: ‘I know you hate me. But your kids don’t.’ That’s how I feel’
America’s ambassador for young people’s literature talks about touring Trump country, facing down racism and why there’s no such thing as a bad kid