A brief survey of the short story: Barry Hannah
Chris Power: A writer who captured the violence, bigotry and wild humour of the American deep south in line after unpredictable line
A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing five-star review – a courageously feminist production
Eimear McBride’s award-winning novel transitions perfectly to the stage in Corn Exchange’s startling and upsetting Dublin theatre festival show about the impact of sexual abuse, writes Helen Meany
Plot to kill Napoleon linked to British cabinet minister
Historian Andrew Roberts claims to have found first direct connection between Lord Castlereagh and 1804 conspiracy to assassinate French leader, writes Dalya Alberge
Gone Girl unleashes battle of the sexes at New York film festival
Chilly woman at heart of David Fincher drama is a new kind of screen heroine, says film's star Rosamund Pike. Xan Brooks reports from the film's world premiere
Wily fox of French travel plans personalised interactive guidebooks
Le Petit Futé co-founder says French answer to Lonely Planet will combine best of traditional travel guide, TripAdvisor, Airbnb and Google
Ten objects that made modern Germany
To mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and ahead of a British Museum exhibition, Neil MacGregor chooses the icons that shaped the memories of the new nation
The assassination of Hilary Mantel
Lisa Appignanesi: The attacks on the Assassination of Margaret Thatcher author show how vital it is to keep the thought police at bay
Who said Britons were drunk, dirty and deplorable?
A Portuguese writer named João Magueijo, that’s who. He has lived in the UK for 25 years and says it’s a joke – but a fair joke. But, asks Archie Bland, is it?
The latest message for female writers – don’t think, just spill
Hadley Freeman: Lena Dunham’s memoir is a reminder of the literary obsession with women divulging their private lives
My hero: Alison Bechdel by Elizabeth McCracken
The graphic memoirist's art is beautiful, exact yet somehow familiar, writes Elizabeth McCracken
Ang Lee to enter the huddle with Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
Ben Child: Life of Pi director to adapt Ben Fountain’s award-winning novel, hailed as a ‘Catch 22 for the Iraq war’
X-Men’s Deadpool to fight his way back to the big screen after footage leak
Ben Child: X-men character gets green light following positive response to leaked footage online, with Ryan Reynolds tipped to play the anti-hero
Tom Hiddleston to swing on to King Kong ‘origins’ film Skull Island
British actor popular from Thor and Avengers movies to take key role in giant-ape yarn, while Jordan Vogt-Roberts takes on directing duties
The Undertaking review – Audrey Magee’s German wartime love story is ‘authentic, relevant and powerful’
Audrey Magee's spare and resonant tale finds ordinary, flawed Germans swept up in the horrors of Nazi Germany, writes Ben East
Richard Branson failed to deliver on $3bn climate change pledge
New book by Naomi Klein reveals that Virgin founder gave less than a tenth of cash promised to develop low carbon fuel