The actor’s star-studded memoir-cum-account of his sister’s murder could have been a clunky read, but his self-awareness, honesty and humour make the nephew of Joan Didion and son of Dominick Dunne an engaging narratorFor those less well-versed than me in the world of high 1980s Hollywood and its various satellites – or do I mean parasites? – it may...

The Eritrean-Ethiopian-British novelist on childhood trauma and its effect on his work, the importance of sex in stories and paying homage to your imagination Continue reading...

The Costa-winning author describes her creative career, from embracing the arts scene in London to finding her voice as a writer in BarbadosIt was the end of the 1990s, and I was in my 20s working as a legal academic at King’s College London, but I wasn’t in love with the law. I needed a change. During a sabbatical, I saw a newspaper advert for a foundation...

Jonathan Haidt’s bestselling book blames social media for a decline in teenage mental health. But is he right?When I was 13, two of my friends were arrested for shoplifting. Along with two boys in our year, they had decided to bunk off school – our suburban grammar school renowned for its academic excellence – and get the train to a shopping centre...

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Arundhati Roy is as stringent in her criticism of India’s social injustices as she is of the self-absorbed west in this wide-ranging collection of interviewsBy 2001, when this collection of 12 interviews with US writer and broadcaster David Barsamian begins, Arundhati Roy was already under fire. Leading leftwing critics, among them Aijaz Ahmad, had...