‘Bold, brilliant, thrilling’: leading authors on the novels every school should teach

A new term, a new PM … time for a new English curriculum? We ask writers from Ben Okri to Samantha Harvey to pick books that will inspire a lifelong love of reading

‘In walked this big bundle of energy’: the day Dolly Parton came to Rotherham

Country star came to South Yorkshire town in 2007 for UK launch of the Imagination Library, her book donation scheme

‘I hate what AI is doing to the minds and happiness of the young’: Katherine Rundell on the view from the classroom

Education is at a crossroads, argues the author and academic. Should we embrace new technology in the name of efficiency, or is it time to fight back?

Jason Arday claimed he was paid ‘1.4 million’ by publisher for memoir

Simon & Schuster still plans to publish book by Cambridge academic who resigned this week amid plagiarism claims

‘I want to be ripped to shreds’: writers flock to MFAs – but does it breed elitist literature?

Thousands of budding US novelists enlist in courses each year, hoping to gain credentials that often influence who gets published

Could a couch-to-5k for books get you back into reading?

With smartphones stealing our attention, we’re picking up fewer books than ever. A novelist shares her eight-week scheme to get you back into the habit

Don MacRaild obituary

Other lives: Historian who produced groundbreaking research on Irish Catholic and Protestant immigration, and labour history

National Year of Reading should extend to a decade, inquiry says

The education committee also proposed a National Reading Guarantee, ensuring all children have frequent opportunities to enjoy reading

Carlo Ginzburg obituary

Italian academic and author who challenged traditional approaches with his pursuit of microhistory

Dave Eggers: ‘Once you have a machine think and write for you, you’re cooked as a species’

As his new novel is published, the US author talks about nurturing the next generation of creatives, debating Sam Altman – and why he writes on a boat in San Francisco Bay

Teenage boys in UK ‘stuck’ reading primary-level books while girls’ tastes expand

Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series accounts for eight of the 10 most read books by 11- to 14-year-old boys, while girls the same age enjoy a wider range of authors and genres

Piglet, it’s a purple, psychedelic shapeshifter! The wild new creature prowling Winnie-the-Pooh’s wood

Is it an alien? A dinosaur? Is it going to kill us all? Our writer hits Ashdown Forest for the Big One Hundred celebrations – and finds its magic enchanting new generations

Anna Ritchie obituary

Archaeologist whose excavations in Orkney included Knap of Howar, with domestic buildings more than 5,000 years old

Children’s reading should prioritise pleasure over learning, says laureate

Frank Cottrell-Boyce tells MPs to focus on early-years reading, with more support for parents and nursery workers

Michael Thompson obituary

Anthropologist who studied the values that society applies in making decisions and climber in the first party to ascend the south-west face of Everest