They can communicate with each other about threats, summon help from predatory killers – and some can even count – but does this mean plants are conscious?Last month, at a gathering at New York University, a group of prominent biologists and philosophers widened the perimeter of a very exclusive club. They declared that there is “a realistic possibility”...

At 84, The Handmaid’s Tale author is as outspoken as ever. She talks about aging, culture wars - and why “the orange guy” can’t be allowed back into the White House “I’m the great sage on top of the mountain,” Margaret Atwood says with a smile, on a video call from her home in Toronto. “If you’ve lived to a certain age people think you know something...

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From calfskin to cut-and-paste, a tribute to the graft and craft that goes into booksAs well as the stories inside books, there are the stories behind them – tales of printers, binders, typesetters and paper-makers who are mostly unheard of. Adam Smyth, a literature professor who is also part of a printing collective, wants to do these men and women...

Authors including Dreda Say Mitchell, Harriet Tyce and Sarah Pinborough have expressed disapproval of the Theakston Old Peculier award – the UK’s most prestigious crime-writing prizeThe Theakston Old Peculier crime novel of the year has faced criticism after its 2024 longlist did not feature a single book by an author of colour.The UK and Ireland’s...

Extraordinary general meeting of the UK writers’ union narrowly voted against making an official protest at violence that has killed ‘at least 95 journalists and media workers’The Society of Authors (SoA) has come under fire from all sides after members voted against a resolution demanding it issue an official statement condemning Israel’s military...