The big idea: are we really so polarised?
In many democracies the political chasm seems wider than ever. But emotion, not policies, may be what actually divides us
Isabel Waidner wins Goldsmiths prize for ‘mindbending’ Sterling Karat Gold
Waidner’s third novel follows a non-binary migrant who is arrested in London in what has been described as ‘Kafka’s The Trial written for the era of gaslighting’
‘Delicious caper’ by Jesse Sutanto wins Comedy women in print award
Dial A for Aunties takes prize for comic novels by women with story about woman who turns to her relatives after accidentally killing her blind date
The Guardian view on William Blake’s cottage: don’t let it crumble
Editorial: Artists’ homes are precious for the things they tell us about the lives and times of those who worked in them
Social media helped me face cancer, says Chocolat author Joanne Harris
Writer tells Lauren Laverne on Desert Island Discs how she felt ‘connected to the world’ when discussing her breast cancer
Is Superman Circumcised? favourite to win Oddest book title of the year
This year’s Diagram prize also pits Curves for the Mathematically Curious against The Life Cycle of Russian Things and Hats: A Very Unnatural History
‘We must tell our stories’: Lenny Henry introduces a Black British culture takeover
Across the arts, Black British artists are making their voices heard. To mark the moment, Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder have guest-edited the Saturday magazine’s culture section
Report shows fourfold rise in minority ethnic characters in UK children’s books
The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education welcomes steep increase in representation, but warns there are ‘no quick fixes’
Licensed to thrill: Kim Sherwood set to ‘expand the James Bond universe’
Known for her debut novel Testament, the Ian Fleming fanatic has been approved to write new novels set in 007’s world but without the agent himself
Damon Galgut is ‘all the rage’ favourite to win 2021 Booker prize
Bookmakers place South African novelist at 2/1 to take Wednesday’s award with his novel The Promise, closely followed by Richard Powers’s Bewilderment
Jane Austen’s House secures future with funding to restore roof
Mixure of grants and donations from supporters will now pay for the thousands of roof tiles in need of repair at the Grade I-listed museum in Hampshire
Diana Souhami wins 2021 Polari prize for No Modernism Without Lesbians
‘Hugely enjoyable’ account of gay women who helped change the course of their culture wins £2,000 prize for LGBTQ+ books
Franz Kafka drawings reveal ‘sunny’ side to bleak Bohemian novelist
Surreal drawings by author of The Trial – which he demanded be burnt after his death – to be published
Harry Potter publisher reports record profits despite supply chain crisis
Titles such as Tom Kerridge’s latest cookbook prove popular for Bloomsbury during Covid pandemic
Hilary Mantel play to close amid Covid uncertainty
Royal Shakespeare Company cancels planned extension of The Mirror and the Light in West End