Authors condemn Saudi Arabia’s bid to host World Science Fiction Convention

More than 80 writers sign an open letter protesting against Jeddah’s plan for the 2022 Worldcon, saying it is antithetical to everything SFF stands for

Shifting gears: how does a literary festival become a drive-in event?

Rethought for the pandemic, this year’s Appledore book festival in Devon will play to audiences in cars, who can flash their lights and listen via radio

The heat’s back on: our insiders’ guide to 2020’s best summer culture

From art to architecture, from festivals to films, our expert guests spotlight the hottest cultural events of the coming months

‘There’s no such thing as a socially distanced mosh pit’: artists on the thrill of the crowd

Poet laureate Simon Armitage and comedian Lolly Adefope love the buzz of performance. Here’s what we’re all missing

Hilary Mantel: ‘Thomas Cromwell would have locked us down for longer’

Wolf Hall author tells online Hay festival that ‘the Tudors were very good at quarantine’

Paper Stages review – joyful DIY theatre kit to act out at home

Forest Fringe release a jolly bunch of downloadable plays, games and diversions to inject some performance into lockdown life

The Beginning of the And: Ali Smith and Sarah Wood light up Hay online

With inimitable style Smith excavates a common pun and, illustrated by film clips, explores the transformative power of a single word

‘A dream team’: how the Hay festival will look online

There will be no partying under the dark skies of Brecon but the programme will go on with 80 events

Coronavirus and culture – a list of major cancellations

Covid-19’s impact on the arts world has led to countless films and concerts being scrapped or postponed and theatres and galleries closed. Here’s an updating list of what’s affected so far

The Big Book Weekend: a literary festival in your own home

After the cancellation of so many events, a festival that combines some of the best has come to the rescue

Edinburgh’s August festivals cancelled due to coronavirus

Fringe joins international, book and art festivals and military tattoo in pulling plug

Hay literature festival cancelled due to coronavirus, putting future in jeopardy

Organisers call on public to donate to emergency fund to shore up future of UK’s ‘Town of Books’

Sydney writers’ festival 2020: Bernardine Evaristo, Lisa Taddeo and Anna Wiener announced

In an event themed around the Doomsday Clock, writers Daniel Lavery, Bruce Pascoe and Leslie Jamison will also be appearing

Come on in, the water’s dystopian! JG Ballard’s Drowned World hits an Essex pool

A Chelmsford swimming baths has turned Ballard’s prescient apocalyptic novel into a truly immersive performance. Our writer pulls on his trunks and dives in

Glastonbury and Hay festival organisers press on despite coronavirus fears

Most UK events, theatres and museums yet to be affected by outbreak