Tell Me Softly review – high-school romance of bad boys and blurred boundaries
Social-media fame and sexual intrigue collide in this part-Twilight, part-OC romantic drama whose provocative dramatic set-ups feel as glib as porn scenes
Pulse by Cynan Jones review – short stories that show the vitality of the form
The Welsh author vividly captures the solitude, hard labour, dramas and dangers of rural life
‘Suddenly, it was everywhere’: why some books become blockbusters overnight
Whether it’s through TikTok buzz, celebrity endorsements or good old-fashioned word of mouth, some titles enjoy a second, more powerful, life. But what unites them – and is there a formula for this type of success?
‘This extraordinary story never goes out of fashion’: 30 authors on the books they give to everyone
Colm Tóibín, Robert Macfarlane, Elif Shafak, Michael Rosen and more share the novels, poetry and memoirs that make the perfect gift
The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – review roundup
Halcyon Years by Alastair Reynolds; Paris Fantastique by Nicholas Royle; All Tomorrows by CM Kosemen; The Salt Oracle by Lorraine Wilson; The Witching Hour by various authors
Jonathan Coe: ‘I was a Tory until I read Tony Benn’
The author on getting hooked on Flann O’Brien, reassessing Kingsley Amis, and why his grandfather was outraged by Watership Down
Horror hit Paranormal Activity spawns a West End play – and even its director yelped with fear
Inspired by the scary film franchise, playwright Levi Holloway and Punchdrunk maestro Felix Barrett are bringing the ‘bizarrely joyous’ world of terror to the stage
Sophie Kinsella obituary
Author whose Shopaholic series of romcom novels were global bestsellers and adapted into a Hollywood film
Jarvis Cocker and Mary Beard announced as Booker prize judges
The historian is set to lead a ‘stellar’ 2026 panel featuring the Pulp frontman and other acclaimed writers, as the search begins for next year’s standout work of fiction
Daniel Woodrell obituary
Author of ‘country noir’ novels, such as Winter’s Bone, set in the rural communities of the Ozark mountains
Ever Since We Small by Celeste Mohammed review – a big-hearted Caribbean tale
This Trinidadian family saga blurs the line between real and imagined to create a multilayered history of an island and its people
Confessions of a Shopaholic novelist Sophie Kinsella dies aged 55
The ‘queen of romantic comedy’ has died 18 months after announcing her brain cancer diagnosis
Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy review – fear and loathing in New York
This sharp, bleak debut satirises the current cultural moment through the life and loves of a cynical young writer
Dracapella review – power ballads and beatboxing as ghoulish comedy gets down for the count
Gleefully leaning into all the cliches and groansome laughs, Dan Patterson and Jez Bond’s musical vampire romp is supremely silly
On the Calculation of Volume III by Solvej Balle review – how to make a timeloop endlessly interesting
The hypnotic third novel in the hit Danish series grapples with the philosophical realities of being stuck on repeat in 18 November