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Bookmarks
Editor's picks
Poet Shane McCrae  
They kidnapped me to get me away from Blackness
They kidnapped me to get me away from Blackness
Olga Ravn  
Learning how to love a child isn’t something that happens in a second
Learning how to love a child isn’t something that happens in a second
‘Healthy or downright weird?’  
How I helped publish my husband Christopher Fowler’s posthumous book
How I helped publish my husband Christopher Fowler’s posthumous book
Karin Smirnoff on her shocking sequel  
It’s time the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo grew up
It’s time the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo grew up
The books of my life  
Preti Taneja: ‘My mother dedicated her book to me and it made me want to be a writer’
Preti Taneja: ‘My mother dedicated her book to me and it made me want to be a writer’
The last word  
‘You don’t know what you might have set upon yourself’: the best descriptions of ambition in literature
‘You don’t know what you might have set upon yourself’: the best descriptions of ambition in literature
Books of the week
Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein review – a case of mistaken identity
Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein review – a case of mistaken identity
An insightful and subtle exploration of truth in politics, prompted by constantly being confused with Naomi Wolf
The Secret Hours by Mick Herron review – secrets and spies
This companion piece to the Slough House series uncovers intrigue and corruption in the secret service, from 90s Berlin to the Cabinet office
The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush review – spaceflight pioneer portraits
From sexist objections to the challenges faced by female crew on Earth and in space, this is a vital record of a giant leap for women
The Seventh Son by Sebastian Faulks review – what does it mean to be human?
This elegant near-future novel about a daring scientific experiment explores the evolution of consciousness
Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC by Rory Cellan-Jones review – an intimate tale of romance and betrayal
The former BBC correspondent’s discovery of his mother’s letters to and from the father he first met at 23 makes for a captivating family detective story – and a poignant social history of Britain
Spotlight
The Black lesbian writer who changed vampire fiction – and the world
Jewelle Gomez  
The Black lesbian writer who changed vampire fiction – and the world
Her first novel was turned down by several publishers, then embraced by a feminist press. As an author, poet, playwright and activist, she has continued to claim space for queer storytellers
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Talking points and news
More than half of UK children do not read in their spare time, survey reveals
More than half of UK children do not read in their spare time, survey reveals
National Literacy Trust says families and schools need resources to help disadvantaged children develop vital literacy skills
Slavery, revolution and war: Baillie Gifford prize longlist highlights history
Tania Branigan’s Red Memory and Jeremy Eichler’s Time’s Echo are among the titles in the running for the £50,000 award
Ernest Hemingway letter about surviving plane crashes sold for $237,055
The novelist’s four-page letter to his lawyer in 1954 recounts his injuries following two successive plane crashes in two days
Professor Hakim Adi shortlisted for prestigious Wolfson award
The nomination for Adi,the first British person of African heritage to become a professor of history in the UK, is a vindication for the academic who was made redundant a week ago
Edith Grossman, acclaimed translator, dies at 87
Her translation of Don Quixote was described as ‘indisputably definitive’, and she received a host of accolades including the Order of Civil Merit awarded by the King of Spain
‘Provocative’ new book to showcase four decades of Hilary Mantel’s work
The wide-ranging collection A Memoir of My Former Self: A Life in Writing features subjects from her health struggles to Robocop and has been announced a year after the author’s death
From the archive
Back to school, Mr Gove: authors choose their GCSE set texts
Back to school, Mr Gove: authors choose their GCSE set texts
Michael Gove has been lambasted for meddling with the English GCSE syllabus, but is it due for an overhaul? Mary Beard, William Boyd, Hanif Kureishi, Will Self and other cultural figures choose their set texts. Which books would you pick?
Mick Herron: The Secret Hours
Tuesday 19 September 2023, 8pm–9pm
Join the bestselling author of the Slough House spy series for an online event to introduce his new novel, The Secret Hours.
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