A warped campus novel, an investigation into the crisis of masculinity and an off-kilter love story, Black Bag is a firework of a novel: blazingly funny and profoundly humane

Fewer people are reading for pleasure, but getting lost in a good book has repeatedly been linked to substantial cognitive benefits

Read the newsletters you missed Summer 2026 Picaresque – A dangerous detour: the social media ban, plus summer ebook special Spring 2026 Picaresque – Book-launching, coin-swallowing, hell-jaunting new...

Heading off on holiday this summer? My new novel The People's Republic of Love is on offer at just £1.99 as an ebook throughout August – the perfect time to load up your Kindle before you travel.

Readers gave AI-generated stories they believed to be written by humans the highest ratings in a new study published by Cambridge University Press.

A blaze near Madrid is "beyond the capacity" of firefighters to contain, Spanish officials say.

They think democracy has run its course - so they're setting up their own nations instead.

Read the newsletters you missed Spring 2026 Picaresque – Book-launching, coin-swallowing, hell-jaunting newslettering. Winter 2025 Picaresque – Three odd islands, the looking-glass self, how to enjoy ...

Embark on a journey to fresh and unfamiliar places.

How is the marketplace shaping storytelling today? Explore how story as product influences creative process—and how to stay grounded.

If your story requires characters whose motivations don’t come naturally to you, here are some tips to help you imagine the impossible.