Blood splatters, soul soda and a giant George Michael: inside Brent’s biennial

From a pandemic memorial to stackable cubes and an epic mural of the Wham! star, small and inviting exhibitions keep the focus local in this inaugural festival

Guess How Much I Love You author Sam McBratney dies aged 77

The Northern Irish author was best known for his story of Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare, which sold more than 50m copies

David Cameron’s pheromones are the least of Sasha Swire’s indiscretions

Her Diary of an MP’s Wife reveals the self-centred facetiousness that led to today’s divided Britain

The Observer view on Sasha Swire’s insider diary of the past Tory decade

The comedy of manners reveals far more about the Cameron years than the author might want

Bernardine Evaristo: living as a lesbian made me stronger

Booker prize winner recalls angry decade as part of ‘counter-cultural, black womanist’ community

After We Collided: does this shock hit point the way to cinema’s future?

Ignored by critics, barely marketed and released in just 47 cinemas, the YA romance has eclipsed X-Men at the UK box office and even ran Tenet close. What’s its secret?

Gerald Durrell honoured with blue plaque at childhood home in London

My Family and Other Animals author’s Dulwich home is a long way from the Corfu of his books but was shared with a ferocious dog

Talegate? Appledore beats Covid to keep book festival alive

Event organisers think outside the box to hold drive-in literary event in North Devon field

Rare books stolen in London heist found under floor in Romania

Recovery, including Newton and Galileo first editions, follows three-year search after Mission Impossible-style raid

JK Rowling says villain who wears women’s clothes is based on real cases

The author’s new Robert Galbraith novel, Troubled Blood, has faced accusations of transphobia

Is Boris Johnson’s ‘moonshot’ just another shot in the dark?

Like the first lunar missions, the PM’s ‘Operation Moonshot’ to combat Covid-19 is an ambitious plan that could easily fail

Story of ‘bloodthirsty unicorns’ brings debut author record publishing deal

Annabel Steadman’s fantasy series Skandar and the Unicorn Thief has won a seven-figure book contract, with film rights also sold to Sony Pictures

The Beatles announce Get Back, first official book in 20 years

Hanif Kureishi writes introduction to book edited from 120 hours of conversations from the Let It Be sessions, in tandem with Peter Jackson documentary

UK needs a museum of colonialism, says historian William Dalrymple

White Mughals author, speaking at the Jaipur literature festival, says it is ‘not a matter of being woke’ and children should learn about imperial history

Most diverse Booker prize shortlist ever as Hilary Mantel misses out

With no room for Mantel’s conclusion to her Wolf Hall trilogy, the six finalists also include four debuts