Ian Rankin to complete William McIlvanney’s final novel The Dark Remains
Due out next year, the novel will see the Rebus creator fill out notes for another Laidlaw mystery left by the revered Scottish crime writer on his death in 2015
UK’s public libraries record another year of cuts, with yet more on the way
Falls in funding were matched by drops in borrowing, with budgets for next year set to fall by an average of 14%
Campaign to buy JRR Tolkien’s house backed by Lord of the Rings actors
Ian McKellen and Martin Freeman support £4.5m crowdfunding campaign to turn the Oxford home where Tolkien wrote his most famous books into a museum
English bookshops reopen, hoping for Christmas trade rescue after lockdown
After calls to allow them to remain open during the second lockdown failed, the next three weeks will be vital for the sector
A third of UK children do not see themselves reflected in books, finds survey
Responses from 60,000 young readers show 33% feel unrepresented, with an even worse picture among poorer and minority ethnic readers
Maggie O’Farrell’s ‘wonderful’ Hamnet declared Waterstones book of the year
Historical novel depicting the death of Shakespeare’s son from plague has already won this year’s Women’s prize for fiction
Johnson urged to extend public’s right to roam over English countryside
Letter signed by 100 people including Stephen Fry and Ali Smith points out freedom to roam only extends to 8% of country
Royal Society of Literature reveals historic changes to improve diversity
Eminent group adds pens of Andrea Levy and Jean Rhys to its collection as it sets out to champion writers of colour
The photo is the clue: Arthur Conan Doyle’s love for his Lost World hero
Author dressed up as Professor Challenger, whom he preferred over his Sherlock creation
Mads Mikkelsen confirmed as Johnny Depp’s replacement in Fantastic Beasts 3
Danish Bond star Mikkelsen to take over the role of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in the third Harry Potter prequel
British Library apologises for linking Ted Hughes to slave trade
The poet had been wrongly included among more than 300 figures whose collections were associated with wealth obtained from colonial violence
Costa book awards: Susanna Clarke nominated for second novel after 16-year wait
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell author picked for Piranesi, alongside Denise Mina, Julian Barnes and the late Eavan Boland, in prizes for ‘enjoyable’ books
Beatles biography One Two Three Four wins Baillie Gifford prize
Craig Brown wins prestigious award for nonfiction with book that judges say ‘has reinvented the art of biography’
Oxford Dictionaries: 2020 has too many Words of the Year to name just one
Instead, the dictionary says ‘a year that has left us speechless’ is best reflected by expanding its annual selection to a whole list
Arts world dismayed at fate of London home of Rimbaud and Verlaine
Georgian house where infamous French poets lodged was to become an arts centre – but its owner has had a change of heart