The unnamed narrator of Luke Kennard’s novel is an out-of-work actor living in London. His last job was three months ago, he is behind with his rent and has “measured out my... Read more »
T-O-M. The initials of Tomas Olsen Myrbråten, the narrator in Thure Erik Lund’s The Mystery of What Befell in the Ditch, spell out the Norwegian word for “empty”. Approaching 38, he’s already... Read more »
The poet laureate is paid a salary of £5,750 per annum plus a barrel of sherry. No specific duties are attached to the role, but there is an expectation that poets will... Read more »
When Tessa Hadley was a child, someone gave her a copy of Lois Lenski’s Papa Small, which follows Mr Small and his family through a typical week. Papa Small goes to work, Mama Small... Read more »
I run a reading workshop which begins with a little shelf assessment. Participants bring a stack of books that have shaped who they are: childhood treasures; new revelations; comfort reads. Books they... Read more »
Larry David agreed to this authorised biography with a five-word email: “Oh Jesus. If we must.” As Blake J Harris tells it, the comedy writer has always been adept at finding reasons not... Read more »
The Heights by Ian Rankin; The Mortons by Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier; Murder Most Cryptic by Alys Cummings; The Deadly Inheritance of Everest Macdonald by AJ West; Inheritance by Gillian Slovo... Read more »
In the decades after the death of the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer in 1675, few knew his name or work. He was so unknown that his paintings were sold with the forged... Read more »
At the end of a night in a London pub, after last orders have been called, three friends are joking about what role they’d serve on a remote desert island, with no... Read more »