As she releases a brutally honest memoir, the new wave icon opens up about industry sexism, living with bipolar disorder and becoming ‘the world’s first atheist ordained minister’ The first thing Jane Wiedlin tells me before our interview even begins is that, an hour or so earlier, she downed twoContinue Reading

He is a sci-fi titan but M John Harrison has just exploded into the mainstream – with The End of Everything, an apocalyptic novel set on the Kent coast. Does he really think we have no hope left? With his twinkling eyes and silver ponytail, M John Harrison doesn’t seemContinue Reading

A new book, With Wittgenstein in a Gay Sauna, reveals the deep-rooted queer subcultures in cities from Budapest to Prague – defying regional stereotypes and inspiring an art exhibition on masculinity The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein argued that our understanding of reality is fundamentally bound by and shaped by the languageContinue Reading

Luc Corlouër made ‘deal’ with Prix Goncourt winner Philippe Jaenada over his research into model Louise Cansot, murdered in Paris in 1949 For almost eight decades the artists’ model Louise Cansot, the subject of the novel winning France’s most prestigious literary prize this year, was one of Paris’s forgotten murderContinue Reading

He is the most powerful ruler ever – and his first biographer was crucified. What drew Edmund Richardson, winner of the £50,000 Baillie Gifford prize, to his short tumultuous life? He was the most powerful man in the world but he was brought down by one battle too many afterContinue Reading

Surreal, mysterious and with an outlandish origin story, Jan Potocki’s The Manuscript Found in Saragossa has amassed a cult following that includes Salman Rushdie and Jerry Garcia. But it’s the book’s global humanism makes it relevant now, say the curators of a new exhibition A young Walloon officer called AlphonseContinue Reading

The winner of the 2026 Baillie Gifford prize is a riveting work of ancient history that feels startlingly present • ‘Blockbuster’ history of Alexander the Great wins £50,000 Baillie Gifford prize In 336BC, Alexander was not great. He was a wiry 20-year-old “no one had thought much about” who foundContinue Reading

The significance of the poet and playwright’s homosexuality was repressed in Spain for decades – but a spate of recent work, including the film La Bola Negra, is redressing the balance for a new generation Patricia Langa parades on to an invisible stage in a basement room of Instituto CervantesContinue Reading

The Oscar-nominated 1976 adaptation of Stephen King’s high school horror remains heartbreaking and horrifying in equal measure Often when a pop culture figure, whether real or fictional or somewhere in between, is described as an eternal teenager, it refers to an image of youthful vitality. Carrie White, the wallflowery, telekinetic,Continue Reading

She plays a depressed fisherwoman. He plays a man made of wicker who is solely dedicated to her pleasure. How did the actors feel about this strange, emotional connection – and what did Colman draw from her own marriage? Another year, another raunchy comedy-drama in which Alexander Skarsgård is theContinue Reading