The bestselling author on how to avoid reader indifference, the advantage of writing historical stories and why she returns to Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates again and againRose Tremain, 80, published her first novel in 1976 and has gone on to become one of her generation’s most admired talents, garnering numerous literary accolades along with a damehood...

When Charlie Higson published a new Bond novel last year, online critics accused him of turning the iconic spy into a ‘woke, libtard snowflake’ ... But he has always been a complicated character, argues the authorWhich of these statements most closely represents your views about 007? A) James Bond has gone too woke; b) James Bond is a racist, sexist,...

At eight months old she was left on a blanket in the Villa Borghese, Rome. More than 50 years later, prize-winning poet Maria Grazia Calandrone set out to discover the truth behind her abandonmentOn 24 June 1965 a young woman sat her eight-month-old baby girl on a blanket in the gardens of the Villa Borghese in Rome, and walked quickly away. Within...

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A vivid debut of trans life in Spain after Franco observes a world of violence and petty cruelties with compassionAlana S Portero’s debut novel became something of a sensation when it was published in Spain last year. It spent seven weeks on the bestseller list, won several awards and was acquired for translation into 13 languages.The protagonist, Álex,...

The Scottish writer, whose career spanned more than 35 years, was one of only three people to have won both of the UK’s most prestigious poetry prizes for the same book• The books of my life: John BurnsideJohn Burnside, author of Black Cat Bone and The Asylum Dance, has died aged 69 after a short illness. He died on 29 May, his publisher has confirmed.Though...