Robert Burns letters reveal poet was advised not to write in Scots

Burns told use of Scots language would alienate London readers in letter that forms part of University of Glasgow project

Why we’re falling in love with romance novels all over again

As book genres go it’s like a holiday romance with no strings attached – and it’s been hugely popular during the pandemic, says Guardian associate editor Claire Armitstead

How a jade ornament from China casts new light on Freud’s psyche

An exhibition at the analyst’s London home, now a museum, aims to unlock what the Orient meant to him

Book readers have realised that you can’t replace the feel of turning a real page

Record sales show that even the ability to carry thousands of books in one portable electronic device is not enough

Country diary: The bird box and tree trunk are no longer separate things

Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: Like our fleeting winter, this box is merely an impression of what it once was, and what it should be

UK book sales in 2021 highest in a decade

Booming appetites for crime, sci-fi and romance drive fiction sales 20% higher than in 2019, with Richard Osman the year’s bestselling author

1921 Census of England and Wales reveals nation reeling from war

Census uncovers personal impact of economic turmoil, housing crisis and Spanish flu pandemic

Jon Stewart denies claims he accused JK Rowling of antisemitism

Ex-US talkshow host says his comments about goblins who run Gringotts bank in wizarding movies were meant to be lighthearted

Caleb Azumah Nelson wins Costa first novel award for Open Water

Judges praise ‘searingly intimate’ debut, while Claire Fuller wins best novel and John Preston takes biography prize

Britain got it wrong on Covid: long lockdown did more harm than good, says scientist

A new book outlines the mistakes and missteps that made UK pandemic worse

From stand-in stars to tech titans: The Observer’s faces to watch in 2022

We look at who will be making headlines this year, in both a positive and negative light

London teacher wins praise for children’s book about pandemic

Banji Alexander’s book gently tackles Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy in BAME community and promotes children’s mental health

As a black literary agent, I despair at UK publishing’s lack of diversity

For decades, I sat in meetings with all-white teams. The industry needs an independent body to advise on equality, says literary agent Natalie Jerome

UK’s first black bookshop weighs move to new site after £50k raised to save it

Crowdfunding campaign launched after New Beacon Books in north London said it might have to become an online-only retailer

After a year of sloth, I’ve rediscovered the joy of immersing myself in a book

It took my six-year-olds to shame me out of my pandemic rut, says Guardian columnist Emma Brockes