Simon Hoggart’s week: In Kerry Katona’s world, hacking is a help
Staying in the news is vital for celebrities who are only known for being famous
Libyan revolution has made democracy real and tangible idea, says novelist
Hisham Matar speaks at Edinburgh international book festival after rebel cousin shot dead in Gaddafi's compound
This week’s arts diary
The Dean Martin tribe, Finnegan's mobile and Stella Rimington's 007 gaffe
Kristin Hersh: ‘I hate music’
In the space of a year, Kristin Hersh landed a record deal, attempted suicide, was diagnosed as schizophrenic, and gave birth. The Throwing Muses star talks to Xan Brooks about her memoir
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle – review
While it is always visually extraordinary, it is totally uninvolving, writes Lyn Gardner
Kevin Sampson: How my fictional band the Grams came to play V festival
Why is it so hard to capture the energy of rock'n'roll on film? That's what Powder writer Kevin Sampson asked himself as he watched the Grams take to the stage
Arthur Miller: why America lowered the curtain on his reputation
Playwright's biographer, Christopher Bigsby, defends work produced in later years at Edinburgh book festival
An Evening with David Sedaris – review
David Sedaris comfortably holds his own against all the other standups on the fringe, writes Brian Logan
My Week With Marilyn to premiere at New York film festival
Simon Curtis's film about encounter between Marilyn Monroe and UK assistant film director to screen as festival centrepiece
Geek out!: Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and the lure of Comic-Con
At Comic-Con, even the likes of Andrew Garfiied and Steven Spielberg turn up to kneel at the altar of fandom. Ben Child travels to San Diego to feel the force of the nerds in their element
I’ll Be Your Mirror – review
I'll Be Your Mirror, sister festival to All Tomorrow's Parties, was co-curated by Portishead, and there were no complaints when the band closed both nights with a dose of their exquisite melancholy, writes Ian Gittins
Tintin brings out Steven Spielberg’s motional side
Ben Child: Animation/motion-capture combination enabled Spielberg to 'step in and film it like a live-action film', says Peter Jackson at Comic-Con
Talk is cheap – for festival organisers
Robert McCrum: When literary events are big business, why should writers perform for nothing?
Edinburgh festival 2011: Soak it up!
Sign up for a dance marathon, catch the Chinese Romeo and Juliet – and don't miss Harry Potter getting cut down to size. Our critics pick the best of this year's Edinburgh festival
Arts, anger and atonement in Bridport
Vanessa Thorpe: I once wrote a report on Bridport's burgeoning cultural scene. Residents of the town still haven't forgiven me. Will they now?