Personal touch makes children’s picture book a bestseller
A charming personalised story book has outstripped even Julia Donaldson’s sales, thanks to technical nous and creative flair
Jenny Offill: life after Dept. of Speculation – the underdog persona’s not going to fly any more
The books interview: The bestselling novelist on the New York rich, medication and her ‘dirty secret’
Wimpy Kid and the odd charms of children’s misfit lit
Imogen Russell Williams: Tales of the misadventures of awkward boys, led by Jeff Kinney’s hapless hero, have an admirable power to win over reluctant readers
Eddie Redmayne couples up for Thomas the Tank Engine movie
Oscar-winning actor to voice new engine Ryan, in next feature length spin-off from the popular kids’ train series of books and TV shows
The top 10 bad boys in teen and YA Fiction
From the Vampire Diaries’ Damon Salvatore to Maggie Stiefvater’s dark and dirty Ronan Lynch, bad boys have found a lasting home in teen/YA fiction. Here are Vendetta author Catherine Doyle’s very favourite bad boys with good hearts
How I translated Oksa Pollock, AKA the French Harry Potter
Sue Rose gives a fascinating insight into art of being a translator – it’s a bit like putting on Harry Potter’s cloak of invisibility: you don’t want anyone to know you are there!
Still scruffy? Just William gets a revamp
Richmal Crompton’s young antihero will be reimagined, after illustrators including Lauren Child and Michael Foreman provide new covers
Why writing doesn’t have to be a lonely struggle
Tough love life? Write a nicer one. Feeling old? Write yourself young… Authors Helen Grant and Lydia Syson explain why the writer’s life need not be miserable
Teen novelists: the perils and positives of publishing early
Imogen Russell Williams: Helena Coggan is only 15, and yet her debut novel has all the assurance of a writer in mid-stride. If young writers can overcome the stare of the blank page – and take care with characterisation – they can stand as an inspiration to all
Which books would make today’s list of 100 greatest children’s novels?
Top authors and former poets laureate have been nominating their favourite children’s books – what would you add to a modern rollcall of classics ?
Why our comic-book heroes deserve to be celebrated, not trashed
The long history, abundant diversity and visionary quality of comics produced in the English-speaking world are too rarely appreciated by mainstream critics
Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer – review
Ayesha: 'Belzhar is a mind-blowing read and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it from cover to cover'
Evangeline Lilly: I’ll drop food on the floor and pick it up and eat it
The Lost actor reveals a soft spot for strong alcohol, organic food and the carpeted kitchens of her childhood. Interview by John Hind
Library users firmly focused on fiction
The UK’s most borrowed titles reveal a thirst for thrillers, crime novels and children’s fiction, with Jamie Oliver the only non-fiction title among the top 100
The Pied Piper of Hamelin review – Matthews’s tale is beautifully judged
Colin Matthews’s setting of Michael Morpurgo’s Pied Piper retelling was done full justice by the LPO and choir of Deansfield primary school, writes Erica Jeal