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Chris Schuler: Tales on the riverbank

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:13:46 GMT

All this week and next, the London Literature Festival is taking place on the South Bank. Whereas festivals held in smaller places such as Hay or Cheltenham generate a sense of excitement because they take over the whole town, London’s festival tends to get a bit lost amid the cultural cornucopia of the capital. Which is a shame because, as literary festivals go, it’s up there with the best of them.

Chris Schuler: Indus epic wins travel award

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:08:35 GMT

Alice Albinia has won the Dolman Best Travel Book Award for 2009 for her book Empires of the Indus.

Teacher's racy novel 'to encourage pupils to read'

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:35:00 GMT

An English teacher sacked after publishing a racy novel about her pupils online defended the book today, saying it was written to encourage a group of teenage boys to read.

World's oldest bible published in full online

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:52:41 GMT

The oldest bible in the world was displayed in its entirety for the first time in 150 years today after researchers digitised its four sections kept in cities thousands of miles apart and placed the reunited text in cyberspace.

Seth updates 'Suitable Boy' for long-awaited sequel

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

It was a novel that told the story of India in a time of change and transition, as a newly independent country fought to find its way. It was a mammoth tale, told in almost 600,000 words. Detailing an anxious mother's search for a match for her daughter, it was called A Suitable Boy.

After Suitable Boy, India in frenzy over A Suitable Girl

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:46:06 GMT

Judge blocks Catcher in the Rye sequel

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

A Swedish author whose new book was promoted as a sequel to J D Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye cannot publish it in the United States because it too closely mirrors Salinger's classic without adequate parody or critique, a judge ruled.

Judge blocks 'Catcher sequel'

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Counter-terror book is blocked

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The publication of a book by a former top counter-terrorism officer has been blocked by the Attorney General.

Britain 'knows little about Bible'

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The public is widely ignorant of the stories and people who provide the basis of Christianity, a survey has found, despite 75 per cent of respondents owning a copy of the Bible.

Shelved, the book that outraged the Orkneys

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

It was supposed to be a clean break from their humdrum existence in a dingy Manchester flat. But all Max Scratchmann and his partner, Chancery, did when they moved to the Orkney Islands was replace one vision of hell with another.

Fritzl: a perfect gift for Father's Day, say Tesco and WH Smith

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Even by the standards of last-minute trawls of the high street for that CD or pair of socks which show a child's love for their father, it seems an improbable gift. But to some branches of Tesco and W H Smith, The Crimes of Josef Fritzl: Uncovering the Truth seemed a surefire hit for the Dad market. The book, which details how the Austrian, now 74, imprisoned his daughter Elisabeth in his cellar for 24 years, repeatedly raping her and fathering her seven children, has featured as a Father's Day promotion.

Twitterers take on Ulysses

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:05:22 GMT

Forget about Ashton Kutcher. James Joyce's Ulysses, one of the most difficult novels in English, is on Twitter.

Harry Potter plagiarism claims 'unfounded'

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:32:23 GMT

Harry Potter publishers Bloomsbury hit back at plagiarism claims today, branding the allegations "unfounded, unsubstantiated and untrue".

Beat writers to get the Hollywood treatment

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

They were hailed as the greatest minds of their generation; but despite their drug-induced, jazz-fuelled exploits, which helped to introduce the notion of youth culture to Cold-War America, the adventures of Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg have for some reason evaded proper treatment on the big screen.

Orwell's 1984 sixty years on

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Robert Harris 1984, George Orwell

Tyrant who ruled the Brontnulls

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

In her famous 1857 biography of Charlotte Brontnull, Elizabeth Gaskell described the author's clergyman father Patrick as a "strange" and "half-mad" man who was "not naturally fond of children". Ever since, the unfortunate Reverend Brontnull, whose children Anne, Emily and Charlotte penned some of the most enduring novels in English literature, has been regarded as a cold and unfeeling man who terrorised his family with his sudden bursts of temper.

Tyrant who ruled the Brontës

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

In her famous 1857 biography of Charlotte Brontë, Elizabeth Gaskell described the author's clergyman father Patrick as a "strange" and "half-mad" man who was "not naturally fond of children". Ever since, the unfortunate Reverend Brontë, whose children Anne, Emily and Charlotte penned some of the most enduring novels in English literature, has been regarded as a cold and unfeeling man who terrorised his family with his sudden bursts of temper.

Prodigal son parable wins Orange Prize

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

In her 28 years of writing, Marilynne Robinson has been far from prolific. But the American author's track record for producing quality rather than quantity in fiction was confirmed last night when her third (and latest) novel won the prestigious Orange Prize.

Catcher in the Rye: The Sequel (or why JD Salinger is heading for the courts)

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Scholars and admirers of JD Salinger can be reassured that although he still resolutely refuses to show his face in public – let alone add a new title to his long-stalled oeuvre – he is still alive and alert. Or at least his lawyers are, as demonstrated by a certain lawsuit freshly filed in New York this week.

JD Salinger sues over 'Catcher in the Rye' sequel

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 09:43:30 GMT

JD Salinger yesterday sued the writer and publisher of a book billed as a sequel to his classic novel "The Catcher in the Rye," saying the work infringes on his copyright.

J.D. Salinger sues over "Catcher in the Rye" sequel

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 09:43:30 GMT

J.D. Salinger yesterday sued the writer and publisher of a book billed as a sequel to his classic novel "The Catcher in the Rye," saying the work infringes on his copyright.

A lover to rival Lord Byron: Amis's ex-girlfriend tells all

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Julie Kavanagh, the writer and former girlfriend of the novelist Martin Amis, yesterday lifted the lid on the incestuous love-lives of the literati in a "kiss and tell" memoir which recounts Amis's numerous infidelities.

Saramago vs Silvio: Nobel laureate rails after Italian publishers axe book

Sun, 31 May 2009 16:19:25 GMT

Jose Saramago has launched a blistering assault on Silvio Berlusconi, whose publishing house has dropped the Portuguese Nobel laureate’s latest offering because it describes the Italian prime minister as a “delinquent”.

Alice Munro wins Booker International Prize

Wed, 27 May 2009 11:42:15 GMT

Short story author Alice Munro was announced as the winner of the third Man Booker International Prize today.