World Book Day finds children are put off reading for pleasure
Annual event to encourage young readers has revealed research finding that significant numbers feel discouraged from following their own tastes
St Paul’s Cathedral to host guests for £7 in ‘secret’ 300-year-old library
Guests can delve deeper into history of London landmark in one-of-a-kind stay to mark World Book Day
John Lithgow to star in Royal Court play about Roald Dahl’s antisemitism
US actor will appear in Mark Rosenblatt’s drama Giant, directed by Nicholas Hytner, in first season of new artistic director David Byrne
‘Ageing isn’t inevitable’: The 100-Year-Life co-author on how to live well for longer
Andrew Scott says we can stop one of humanity’s biggest achievements turning into a dystopian near-future
Poems on London’s underground: free riches I hold in high esteem
This public poetry scheme has been taking the grind out of commuting and delivering ‘life-worth’ since 1986
‘Extraordinary’: 101 women narrate A History of Women in 101 Objects audiobook
Miriam Margolyes, Kate Winslet and Gillian Anderson among those giving voice to objects including a femur, a thumbscrew and a glass dildo
Winchester plan for £100,000 Jane Austen statue triggers ‘Disneyfication’ fears
People at public meeting raise concerns that sculpture in cathedral grounds will attract tourists taking selfies
Raw deal? Judge quotes Winnie-the-Pooh in UK honey-labelling ruling
AA Milne brought to bear to help settle dispute between Waltham Forest council and Greek food firm Odysea over labelling
Lack of support for children in England leading to ‘literacy crisis’
Crisis could cost economy £830m for each school year group, according to new research
Keir Starmer: The Biography by Tom Baldwin review – from ‘can’t win to can’t lose’: the making of a Labour leader
An insightful and illuminating biography of Keir Starmer is revelatory about the challenging childhood that shaped his character while acknowledging the fact that he remains hard to pin down
‘Mrs Sherlock Holmes’ and the other real female sleuths who were written out of history
An opera diva, a queen of surveillance and Selfridges’ ‘secret service’ head were among the women who rivalled male private eyes and whose stories are told in a new book
Assisted dying advocate and author Wendy Mitchell dies aged 68
Mitchell, who had dementia, announces her death in letter published posthumously on her blog
Rage, relief and recognition: the TV version of my book Breathtaking has opened a floodgate
During the Covid pandemic, NHS staff were treated as expendable, says Rachel Clarke, a palliative care doctor and the author of Breathtaking
Children exposed to ‘spicy’ adult fiction by BookTok influencers
Reading is cool again, but publishers and parents fear that new TikTok trend promoting erotic titles goes too far
Rare Jungle Book painting to go on show at Kipling’s home
The Return of the Buffalo Herd, by teenage prodigies Edward and Charles Detmold, can be seen at Bateman’s after conservation