Eight writers win ‘freedom and time to write’ with $175,000 Windham-Campbell prizes

Honours that span fiction, nonfiction, drama and poetry go to practitioners around the world including novelist Deirdre Madden and poet Jen Hadfield

Poem of the week: The Haunted Oak by Paul Laurence Dunbar

A horrifying story of racial violence told from the point of view of an oak tree bough is all the more disturbing for its imitation of the ballad form

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar review – an antihero in search of meaning

The Iranian-American poet’s debut novel tells the tale of a bereaved writer – but struggles with too much angst

Byron: A Life in Ten Letters review – dispatches from a lusty life

Andrew Stauffer conveys the vigour and pace of the poet’s escapades with brio, but stumbles when he suggests Byron anticipated modern celebrity

Poem inspired by New York mugging wins top prize in National Poetry Competition

Imogen Wade’s The Time I Was Mugged in New York City impresses judges for ‘lyricism in the account of an abduction’

Poem of the week: The saddest noise, the sweetest noise by Emily Dickinson

This evocation of springtime quickly takes on a darker tone and stands among the author’s unforgettable works

Simon Armitage releases spring-themed poetry collection celebrating blossom

Poet laureate produces 10 poems, haiku and a musical EP, working with National Trust as it renews its blossom campaign

Caleb Azumah Nelson and Mary Jean Chan shortlisted for Dylan Thomas prize

The six-strong list of titles include novels, short stories and poetry, with the winning writer to receive £20,000 when revealed in May

Poem of the week: To Robert Browning by Walter Savage Landor

A warm and generous-minded tribute from an older poet to the ‘brighter plumage, stronger wing’ of his younger colleague

Whether voice of a generation or queen of cringe, Rupi Kaur was a gateway to the world of poetry

If poetry is to be a necessity for life rather than a luxury, then it should be accessible – and the bestselling Instagram poet has allowed many to see their feelings reflected in textual form for the first time

Poet Liz Berry’s The Home Child wins Writers’ prize book of the year

Anne Enright triumphs in fiction category for The Wren, The Wren and Observer art critic Laura Cumming wins non-fiction with Thunderclap: A Memoir of Life and Art and Sudden Death

A Year of Last Things by Michael Ondaatje review – a connoisseur of atmospheres

The author of The English Patient returns to poetry with a valedictory collection that is at home with the unknown and the romance of the incomplete

Poem of the week: Holidaying with Dad During the Divorce by Jessica Traynor

A teenager struggles to absorb her parents’ emotional disarray as their marriage falls apart

The magic of audiobooks? Deep down, we still long to be read to

An ill-matched narrator can ruin an otherwise rollicking book. But a good one can bring stories to life – and evoke our earliest childhood memories

‘Bold’, ‘extremely fun’, ‘luminously written’: the best Australian books out in March

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