Poet laureate Simon Armitage writes Ukraine war poem Resistance
Armitage calls his piece a ‘refracted version of what is coming at us in obscene images through the news’
Resistance by Simon Armitage
Here is the laureate’s poem about the invasion of Ukraine, written in solidarity with those under fire
Catholic church bans visit by gay author to London school
Simon James Green had been due to appear at John Fisher boys’ school in Purley, but the archdiocese of Southwark said the event could not be permitted
Five debut novels make Women’s prize for fiction longlist
Judges praise the ‘fantastically diverse list’ which includes debut novelists Violet Kupersmith and Dawnie Walton
Fantasy fans crowdfund record £17m for author Brandon Sanderson’s new novels
Bestselling writer insists he won’t forsake his publishers after dramatic overnight success on Kickstarter
Eminent writers urge Russian speakers to tell truth of war in Ukraine
Use ‘all possible means of communication’ to directly contact Russian citizens, 17 signatories say
Eighty-year-old study of British slave trade is back in the bestsellers list
Capitalism and Slavery, by the future first prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago Eric Williams, argues that the abolition of slavery was motivated by economic, not moral, concerns
Shirley Hughes, children’s author and illustrator, dies aged 94
Beloved English author and artists behind more than 60 books, including Dogger and the Alfie series, was voted the most popular Kate Greenaway winner in 50 years
Waterstones acquires Blackwell’s, the UK’s biggest independent bookseller
Sale of 143-year-old family-owned business marks a further concentration of the industry
Unseen JRR Tolkien paintings, photographs and video clips released
Estate of Lord of the Rings author also publishes unseen draft manuscripts and letters on its website
Ode to a Twitter spat: Simon Armitage and John Tiffany’s bird play
Poet laureate joined by theatre director to stage reading of medieval poem The Owl and the Nightingale
Harold Pinter’s perfectionism included ice-cream sales, letter shows
Exclusive: Document reveals playwright’s attention to detail while US book recalls his precision on pauses
Jan Pieńkowski obituary
Illustrator and creator of the Meg and Mog children’s books, who also used pop-up and paper cut-outs to thrilling effect
Diaghilev and me: discovery reveals Ballets Russes maestro was also a monster
The dance impresario ‘cruelly’ sabotaged the careers of others in a bid to keep all the glory to himself, according to a new biography
Author Joanne Harris turns down US book deal over censoring of ‘f-bomb’
Author of Chocolat says she does not use words ‘accidentally’