Write your own short story – in under three sentences
Open thread: Could you write a story as short as those by Lydia Davis, the Man Booker International prizewinner? Inspire us with your literary genius
The best books on Vietnam: start your reading here
Pushpinder Khaneka reviews three books haunted by the spectres of war and authoritarian rule in a secretive nation
Fan fiction is in a different universe to Kindle Worlds
Mathilda Gregory: Amazon selling fanfic may sound a great idea, but the whole point of these stories is they go where the powers that be won't
Mali: Timbuktu’s literary gems face Islamists and decay in fight for survival
Ancient manuscripts on science and history are symbols of Africa's cultural heritage, say guardians of priceless library
Ernst Klee obituary
Writer who exposed the role of German doctors in the mass murder of disabled people during the second world war
Mohsin Hamid: ‘Islam is not a monolith’
There are more than a billion Muslims in the world, each with an individual view of life. So why are they viewed as a unified group, asks Mohsin Hamid
Web-connected libraries for Africa: the dream of digital knowledge for all
New venture Librii is seeking to set up self-sustaining libraries with internet access in poor and isolated communities, writes James Bridle
JD Salinger’s secret life exposed in new documentary
Film promising revelations about reclusive Catcher in the Rye author has been snapped up by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein
New US manual for diagnosing mental disorders published
The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5, has divided medical opinion
Scarlett Johansson to make directorial debut with Truman Capote adaptation
Actor plans big-screen version of Summer Crossing, Capote's 'inspired' early work about young debutante in 1945 New York
Iron Man 3 proves its box-office mettle after passing $1bn mark
Marvel hero's latest outing becomes the second most successful comic-book film in history after outstripping The Dark Knight
Anne Valery obituary
Co-writer of the TV series Tenko who dramatised the lives of women overlooked in most accounts of the second world war
State propaganda exhibition puts Morph and Hitler under scrutiny
More than 200 posters, films, interviews and other ephemera part of look at gentle – and not so gentle – methods of persuasion
Dan Brown still can’t write, but he deserves some respect
Alan Yuhas: His books make a mess of 'fact', but the bestselling author knows he should get readers interested in bigger themes
Cannes 2013: Judge The Great Gatsby on box office, says Baz Luhrmann
Brash and exuberant, the opening movie of the 66th festival has divided critics, but its director is upbeat about audience response