Simon Trewin obituary
Literary agent who established the Garage Press and a volunteer-run community education centre
From author to anime hero: the unlikely revival of a Japanese literary star
More than seven decades after they were first released, the dark novels of Osamu Dazai have become a publishing sensation, as a new generation of readers engage with his bleakness, humour and brilliance
Romantasy star Stacey McEwan: ‘You’re not going to recommend Fifty Shades of Grey to your Catholic grandma’
The author and BookTok luminary on the nightmare trope, how to convert a straight man into loving fantasy romance, and words that should never be used in a sex scene
The perfect books for the beach … picked by Freida McFadden, Mick Herron, Robert Harris and more
From a transporting historical saga to a tale of small-town betrayal, the authors of our favourite page-turners reveal the books they take on holiday – introduced by Jenny Colgan
I Made This Just For You by Chris Ames review – absurd satirical takes on the bleak absurdity of modern life
These playful and experimental short stories are set in a distorted but plausible version of our deeply online world – but tenderness is never far
Air by Christian Kracht review – a metaphysical jigsaw puzzle
A portal opens from our modern world of data centres and interior design into a medieval fantasy realm, in this playfully surreal tale from the author of Eurotrash
Venus, Vanishing by Rebecca Birrell review – art, desire and the rise of the Third Reich
This portrait of a Jewish painter in bohemian Berlin is filled with insightful observations
Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead review – final part of the Harlem Trilogy is freewheeling fun
The grit and grandeur of 80s New York drive this rollicking story of an underground wheeler-dealer
Yellow Pine by Claire Vaye Watkins review – messy portrait of protest subculture
Watkins should have been the ideal writer for this sympathetic take on new age spirituality and desert eco-activism – but the results are confusing
The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup
The Runner by Scarlett Thomas; The Madman by Henning Mankell; Everything She Didn’t Say by Jane Casey; The Spy and the Snake by MJ Robotham; Murder at the End of the World by Akane Araki
The Red Mouth by Sheila Armstrong review – profound exploration of Ireland’s deep time
Sinister bogland discoveries haunt the intersecting lives of four characters in this meditative, exquisitely written tale
Worry Doll by Laura McPhee-Browne review – a sensual, sinister novel about the horrors of desire
Two women meet on a train and tumble into an all-consuming affair told from both sides – who have very different stories
Rebecca Perry wins Waterstones debut fiction prize for ‘delicious and dream-like’ novel
May We Feed the King, about a museum curator and a medieval monarch, was praised by judges for its ‘crisp, cool prose’ and ‘poet’s eye for detail’
Grief Is the Thing With Feathers by Max Porter review – a bravura rendering of bereavement
Actor Russell Tovey’s narration crackles with compassion and menace in this magical story of a widower and his young sons in mourning
A voyage of discovery: an idiot’s guide to reading The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of the ancient Greek epic has sparked a new appetite for an old classic. Here are the translations, podcasts and audiobooks that make the Homeric world more approachable