Gavin and Stacey's Ruth Jones in the Running for Author of the Year
Welsh actress and writer Ruth Jones has been shortlisted for Author of the Year at the 2025 British Book Awards. Her memoir, "When Gavin Met Stacey And Everything In Between," chronicles the creation and success of the beloved sitcom, while the audiobook earned a separate nomination in the Audiobook Non‑Fiction category. Jones also released her latest novel, "By Your Side," earlier this year, adding to a growing literary portfolio that includes several previous titles. The awards ceremony will take place in London on 11 May, where she will compete with notable authors such as Freida McFadden and Mick Herron.
Lost Plots
Katherine G. Charles’s new Cambridge University Press volume *Lost Plots* examines the pervasive use of interpolated, or “tales‑within‑a‑tale,” in eighteenth‑century novels. The book defines this narrative form, compiles a wide range of examples—from Fielding’s *Joseph Andrews* to Smollek’s *Peregrine Pickle*...
7 Poetry Books That Expand What an Elegy Can Look Like
The article surveys seven contemporary poetry collections that reimagine the elegy, showing how poets blend memoir, lyric, and experimental forms to confront personal and collective loss. It highlights works by Agha Shahid Ali, Victoria Chang, Mary Jo Bang, Diana Khoi...
The Best Recent Poetry – Review Roundup
Recent poetry releases reviewed include Andrew Motion’s *Gravity Archives* and Wayne Holloway‑Smith’s *Rabbitbox*, alongside mentions of JL Williams and Richard Siken. Motion’s collection revisits death and personal loss with a more resolute voice, mixing elegy, humor, and literary allusion. Holloway‑Smith’s *Rabbitbox*...
Lit Hub Daily: March 6, 2026
Lit Hub’s March 6 daily roundup bundles a wide array of literary and cultural content, from criticism and poetry to health and music pieces. Highlights include a story on America’s caregiving crisis, a tribute to librarians for International Women’s Day, and analyses...
The Glencairn Glass Short Story Competition 2026 Is Open for Entries
The Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition 2026 is now accepting entries, inviting writers worldwide to submit original crime stories under 2,000 words with a Scottish protagonist. Partnered with the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival, the contest offers a...
I’ve Listened to Hundreds of Audiobooks – but These Are My All-Time Favourites
The article lists the top audiobooks to download in 2026, highlighting best‑overall, memoir, romance, kids and new fiction picks, many narrated by high‑profile actors. It notes that UK audiobook revenue jumped a third year‑on‑year, reaching £268 million, and that non‑fiction is...
Benjamin Hale on How to Expand a Magazine Article Into a Book
Benjamin Hale explains how his Harper's article on a 1978 Ozark murder expanded into the book Cave Mountain because he had far more material than the 15,000‑word limit allowed. He outlines his nine‑box grid method, a nine‑square outline that builds...
8 Badass Librarians We Need to Celebrate This International Women’s Day
The article spotlights eight remarkable librarians—historical and contemporary—celebrated on International Women’s Day. It highlights pioneers like Sor Juana, Dorothy Porter, and modern influencers such as Mychal Threets, Jean Darnell, and Ricci Yuhico who reshape library services, champion diversity, and harness...
Kirsten Kaschock Imagines a New Landscape for the Gothic
Author Kirsten Kaschock proposes a South‑Central Pennsylvania Gothic sub‑genre, arguing that the region’s scar‑filled landscape and turbulent history provide a fertile setting for contemporary horror. She outlines how themes of radical skepticism, lingering decay, and monstrous ecology—exemplified by her novel...
Kate White on Grief, Style in Suspense, and Writing as a Former Editor
Kate White, former Cosmopolitan editor‑in‑chief, has launched her latest thriller, *I Came Back for You*, on March 1, 2026. The novel follows Bree Winter, a grieving mother who returns to her daughter’s college town after a dying serial killer claims...
London Book Fair 2026: Program Highlights
The London Book Fair 2026 will host a three‑day seminar program from March 10‑12, featuring hundreds of publishers, authors, technologists and industry leaders. Highlights include keynotes from Tom Weldon of Penguin Random House UK and Joanna Prior of Pan Macmillan, alongside sessions...
The Infamous Gilberts by Angela Tomaski Review – a Delicious Comfort Read
Angela Tomaski’s debut, *The Infamous Gilberts*, is a meticulously crafted comfort read set in the crumbling Thornwalk estate, echoing the real‑life National Trust purchase of Tyntesfield. The story is narrated by Maximus, the loyal valet, who guides readers through 70...
Eulogy for a Yenta
Jordy Rosenberg’s latest novel, *Night Night Fawn*, follows Barbara Rosenberg, a dying, OxyContin‑addicted woman, as she records a raw monologue to her estranged trans son and former friend. The narrative weaves satire, cultural references—from 1960s Flatbush to Marx—to expose family...
Psycho Masculinity
Bret Easton Ellis’s 1991 novel *American Psycho* has re‑emerged as a cultural touchstone, with its protagonist Patrick Bateman becoming a meme for extreme self‑optimization among young men. A new wave of “looksmaxxing” influencers, exemplified by 20‑year‑old streamer Clavicular, adopt Bateman’s...
Review of Ana Paula Maia’s On Earth As It Is Beneath, Longlisted for the International Booker Prize
Brazilian author Ana Paula Maia’s novella *On Earth As It Is Beneath*, translated by Padma Viswanathan, has been longlisted for the 2026 International Booker Prize. The story follows a deranged prison warden who turns his colony into a hunting ground, forcing inmates into...
Arithmetic of Loss | Review of Mirza Waheed’s Maryam & Son
Mirza Waheed’s novel *Maryam & Son* follows Maryam, a widowed Muslim‑British mother in suburban London, whose son Dilawar vanishes and is suspected—via a 72% algorithmic match—to be an ISIS recruit. The narrative intertwines personal grief with the intrusive scrutiny of...
The Ballad of Ollie Jackson
Eric McHenry’s investigation revisits St. Louis’s 1890s murder‑ballad tradition, focusing on “Ollie Jackson.” The song, captured by Alan Lomax in the 1940s, is the sole surviving recorded Black folk ballad that recounts a real event with precise, reportorial detail. McHenry...
The Wild Robot Sequel Moving Ahead With Nimona‘s Troy Quane Set to Co-Direct
DreamWorks Animation has officially greenlit a sequel to its 2024 hit The Wild Robot, adapting Peter Brown’s second novel, The Wild Robot Escapes. Veteran animator Troy Quane, known for his work on Nimona, will co‑direct the film alongside story head...
2025 BSFA Awards Shortlist
The British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) has released the 2025 Awards shortlist, covering categories from Best Novel to Best Audio Fiction. Highlights include Nina Allan’s *A Granite Silence*, Stewart Hotston’s *Project Hanuman*, and Suzanne Collins’ *Sunrise on the Reaping* among...
This Massive Fandom Is Screaming About a Major Reveal
Sarah J. Maas revealed release dates for the sixth (Oct 27, 2026) and seventh (Jan 12, 2027) *A Court of Thorns and Roses* novels, sparking massive BookTok excitement. Hulu released the trailer for *The Testaments*, a *Handmaid’s Tale* spinoff starring Chase Infiniti, highlighting Gilead’s...
'ACOTAR' 6 Release Date: Sarah J. Maas Makes Big Announcement About New Book(s)
Sarah J. Maas announced on the Call Her Daddy podcast that the sixth installment of her *A Court of Thorns and Roses* series will hit shelves on October 27, 2026, with a seventh volume following on January 12, 2027. Maas...
New Court of Thorns and Roses Books Get Release Dates as Sarah J. Maas Shares Adaptation Update
Sarah J. Maas announced the release dates for the next two books in her *A Court of Thorns and Roses* series: the sixth volume arrives on October 27, 2026, and the seventh follows on January 12, 2027. In a recent...
Licensing Fees for Translations
An academic author discovered the original publisher increased the licensing fee for a foreign-language edition to $3,000, straining the translation publisher’s budget. The fee level raises questions about standard pricing for scholarly works, which typically depend on projected sales, language...
Six Books to Read About Iran
The Economist highlights six essential books that explore Iran’s tumultuous century‑long journey from revolution to its current geopolitical prominence. The list mixes histories, memoirs, and investigative reportage, offering readers insight into the Islamic Republic’s political, cultural, and economic evolution. By...
Dramatic Cuts in Nova Scotia Budget Will Greatly Impact Publishers and Writers
The Nova Scotia government’s 2026‑2027 budget proposes a 30% reduction in arts, culture and heritage funding, a $14 million cut to discretionary spending, and the elimination or reduction of more than 70 grant programs worth over $130 million. A coalition of national...
With New Competition, IFLA Is Looking For the Next Masters of Library Science…Fiction
IFLA is celebrating its centennial by launching the Li‑Sci‑Fi short‑story competition, inviting librarians to imagine the future of their profession. The contest features two categories—flash (up to 1,000 words) and standard (1,001‑2,500 words)—with submissions due September 1 2026. Celebrity author Mary Robinette Kowal...
‘Dirty Work’
S. Yizhar’s 1949 novella Khirbet Khizeh dramatizes the forced expulsion and burning of a Palestinian village during Israel’s 1948 war, drawing on his own experience as a Givati Brigade officer. The real village, Khirbet al‑Khisas, was identified in 1978, confirming the author’s claim...
A Most Particular Life
The early modern diary of Swiss physician Felix Platter, chronicling his teenage journey from Basel to Montpellier in 1552, has been reissued in a new paperback edition. The English translation, originally produced by Seán Jennett in 1961, now features a foreword...
God’s Impertinent Prophets
Naomi Baker’s *Voices of Thunder* uncovers a hidden wave of seventeenth‑century English women who wrote, preached, and staged prophetic acts amid religious turmoil. From blood‑stained Quaker protests at St. Paul’s to the radical visions of Seekers, Ranters and Levellers, these dissenters...
All of Us Yahoos
Dan Sperrin’s State of Ridicule offers an 800‑page, Roman‑to‑2010s survey of English satire, arguing that satire is fundamentally political and serves as a tool for interpreting power. The book adopts a “longue durée” label but actually traces decade‑by‑decade political events, pairing each...
The Darkness From the Darkness
Darcey Steinke’s 2026 memoir *This Is the Door: The Body, Pain, and Faith* examines how chronic physical ailments, especially debilitating back pain, shape spiritual and existential outlooks. Drawing on personal anecdotes, interviews with artists, writers, and scholars, the book maps...
On Her Own Terms
The piece revisits Doris Lessing’s unconventional career, from her colonial upbringing and communist activism to her 2007 Nobel Prize, emphasizing how works like “The Golden Notebook” and “The Summer Before the Dark” challenged literary norms and feminist discourse. It intertwines...
The Cambridge Companion to Electronic Dance Music
The Cambridge University Press has released "The Cambridge Companion to Electronic Dance Music," edited by Hillegonda C. Rietveld and Toby Young. The volume assembles interdisciplinary essays that map EDM’s history, production, club design, and cultural politics across continents. It highlights...
Review of Kalpana Karunakaran’s A Woman Of No Consequence
Kalpana Karunakaran’s new book *A Woman of No Consequence* weaves her grandmother Pankajam’s life into a broader portrait of India’s early post‑independence era. Drawing on letters, poems, and family archives, the narrative follows three generations of Tamil women confronting caste,...
2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist ‘Examines the Messy Business of Being Human’
The Women’s Prize for Fiction announced its 2026 longlist on March 4, featuring sixteen titles that grapple with climate change, artificial intelligence, identity and migration. Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard chairs the judging panel, emphasizing fiction’s power to explore the...
Lyla Lane on the Charm and Challenges of Setting Cozies in Small Towns
Lyla Lane explains how she crafted the small‑town setting of Sarsaparilla Falls for her new cozy mystery, The Best Little Motel in Texas. She emphasizes that the town itself must feel lived‑in, using personal memories of her grandparents’ hometown and...
Gloria Don’t Speak by Lucy Apps Review – Tender Portrait of a Woman with a Learning Disability
Lucy Apps’s debut novel *Gloria Don’t Speak* follows 19‑year‑old Gloria, a woman with a learning disability living in east London in the summer of 1999. The narrative captures her sensory‑rich perception, a fraught friendship with a controlling young man named...
Tales of the Suburbs by John Grindrod Review – Queer Goings on Behind the Curtains
John Grindrod’s *Tales of the Suburbs* offers a tragicomic social history of LGBTQ life across Britain’s suburbs, from commuter belts to rural villages. Drawing on archives, newsletters, and original interviews, the book intertwines political, architectural, and cultural analysis with witty...
An American Prophet of the Natural World
Terry Tempest Williams’s new book *The Glorians* continues the American nature‑writing tradition inaugurated by Emerson and Thoreau, proposing that profound meaning resides in the smallest, often‑overlooked encounters with the natural world. Drawing from her life in Utah’s desert and her...
Yuval Sharon Reimagines the Canon
Yuval Sharon, famed for reimagining classic operas, will debut his production of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” at the Met next week, casting the mythic lovers as a contemporary couple. His two‑decade career includes staging “Götterdämmerung” in a Detroit parking garage...
2025 Clarkesworld Readers’ Poll Winners
The 2025 Clarkesworld Readers’ Poll results were released on March 4, 2026. Tia Tashiro’s “Missing Helen” won Best Short Story, H.H. Pak’s “Never Eaten Vegetables” took Best Novelette/Novella, and Alex Rommel’s “Landscape Painter” secured Best Cover. The poll reflects readers’...
2025 USTR Notorious Markets List Issued
The U.S. Trade Representative released its 2025 Notorious Markets List, spotlighting online and physical venues that facilitate large‑scale piracy and counterfeiting. The Association of American Publishers praised the report, emphasizing its role in protecting authors and publishers. The list again...
Mundane, Magic, Maybe Both — a New Book Explores 'The Writer's Room'
Katie da Cunha Lewin’s new book, *The Writer’s Room*, investigates the fascination with writers’ personal spaces, from Lucille Clifton’s Baltimore home to Virginia Woolf’s Monk’s House. By touring preserved rooms and interviewing authors, Lewin reveals that the allure often masks a myth:...
2026 Must Read Books Award Winners
The 2026 Must Read Books Award, formerly the Dell Magazines Award, recognized Sophia Aki Kawamura’s short story “From Upstream” as the winner, granting her a $500 prize, a plaque, and publication in Asimov’s. Runner‑up honors went to Emma Kerkman, Jadyn...
Ruth Knafo Setton: Five Things I Learned Writing Zigzag Girl
Ruth Knafo Setton reflects on five pivotal lessons learned while writing her thriller Zigzag Girl, from a harrowing real‑life straitjacket escape to the unique flavor of Atlantic City’s historic underbelly. She describes how the city’s layered past fuels the novel’s...
Save on New Titles in Literature and Literary Studies
Duke University Press is promoting its literature and literary studies titles at the AWP 2026 conference in Baltimore. Attendees can use coupon code AWP26 for a 40% discount on all books and journal issues purchased online through February 29, 2026....
New Audible Feature Supports the Immersion Reading Trend
Audible introduced the Read & Listen feature, letting users see synchronized text while listening to audiobooks within the Audible app. The tool differs from Whispersync by keeping both formats in a single interface, though users must purchase both the ebook and audiobook....
Choose A Popular Novel Per Decade And We'll Guess Your Best Personality Trait
BuzzFeed has launched a new interactive quiz titled “Choose A Popular Novel Per Decade And We’ll Guess Your Best Personality Trait.” The quiz asks users to select a well‑known book from each decade, then matches those choices to a personality...
The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts by Robert Thorogood
Robert Thorogood’s fifth Marlow Murder Club novel, *The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts*, opens moments after *Murder on the Marlow Belle* and pits the elderly sleuth Judith against accusations of a decades‑old murder in Cyprus. A new celebrity killing—footballer Gary...