Six ‘implicitly optimistic’ novels make the International Booker prize shortlist

From books about disintegrating relationships and countries to a worker’s-eye view of Korea and a story of farmers in Brazil, the selected titles engage with current realities, say the judging panel

‘You’re covered in wrinkles. You’re no longer interesting’: the books making ageing women visible

A handful of new Australian novels feature women getting older in a culture that would prefer it happened out of sight

‘She was like an auntie to me’: Lynne Reid Banks remembered by Michael Morpurgo

The astonishing breadth of her writing was a great inspiration – as was she, in her passionate advocacy for children’s books

James by Percival Everett review – a gripping reimagining of Huckleberry Finn

Percival Everett’s gleeful reboot of Mark Twain puts the enslaved Jim centre stage in a horrifying, painful and funny novel

Hagstone by Sinéad Gleeson review – art, solitude and the supernatural

An artist on a remote island turns her gaze to a mysterious group of women living off‑grid in a thought-provoking and sometimes poetic debut novel by an award-winning essayist

Dead Animals by Phoebe Stuckes review – a searing ‘sad girl’ tale

The award-winning poet’s debut novel is a barbed, brisk study of a woman’s suffering after an assault

In brief: The Husbands; The Book-Makers; Meetings With Moths – review

A witty multiverse romcom; chatty erudition about books and printing; and an illuminating exploration of the world of a nocturnal insect

Michael Magee: ‘There’s a disbelief at how I’ve ended up’

The Belfast novelist on moving between memoir and fiction in his prize-winning debut, turning down a spot on Granta’s best young British novelists list and why Lords of the Rings was his ‘gateway drug’

Elmer and the climate crisis: lost story by David McKee set to be published

The late illustrator’s elephant hero is to star in a new ecological fable after the discovery of a rough manuscript and drawings

‘I’d love a scathing review’: novelist Percival Everett on American Fiction and rewriting Huckleberry Finn

His work triumphed at the Oscars, but the Booker-shortlisted author isn’t interested in acclaim. He talks to the Guardian about race, taking on Mark Twain and why there’s nothing worse than preaching to the choir

The Sleepwalkers by Scarlett Thomas review – fiendishly gripping

Dark sexual secrets and lies drive an ingenious and wickedly funny tale of meltdown on a Greek honeymoon

‘Teenagers are exhausting’: Teacher and author Carol Atherton on why her profession deserves more respect

The Head of English at a Lincolnshire secondary school discusses the crisis in education and her mission to make literature live for a new generation

‘Candid’, ‘remarkable’, ‘beguiling’: the best Australian books out in April

Each month Guardian Australia editors and critics pick the upcoming titles they have already devoured – or can’t wait to get their hands on

Horror novel sales boomed during year of real-world anxieties

The genre has departed from classic themes, with new books dealing with war, politics and powerlessness – and sales have risen 54% year-on-year

Five of the best psychological thrillers by women

These electrifying novels that dig into the peculiar, dark depths of the human psyche will have you questioning who to trust