Culture news Volunteers create audio story collection for blind children The ‘Words that Embrace’ project is an initiative by writer Maria Saraiva de Menezes, born of a partnership between Alcântara Municipal Library in Lisbon and the Bengala Mágica association. 21/05/2026
Culture news Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and Lin King win the International Booker Prize The 2026 International Booker Prize has been won by Taiwanese writer Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and translator Lin King for "Taiwan Travelogue", a historical romance judges praised for succeeding as "both a romance and an incisive postcolonial novel." 20/05/2026
Culture news The six books competing for the International Booker Prize 2026 This year's International Booker Prize shortlist of six novels take readers from a Japanese colonial-era Taiwan to the propaganda studios of Nazi Germany. 18/05/2026
Culture news The earliest known English poem has been found in an unexpected place A 9th-century manuscript held in Rome has revealed the earliest known Old English poem, Caedmon’s Hymn, hidden within a copy of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People. 13/05/2026
Culture news Read all about it: Audible opens bookless pop-up audio bookstore New York is the launchpad this month for Audible Story House a pop-up bookless bookstore. The firm hopes the idea will take off in the city and cement its place as a community hub and listening lounge for literature. 11/05/2026
Culture news JM Coetzee declines Jerusalem writers fest over Israel’s Gaza attack Coetzee is the latest literary figure to call out Israel’s actions against Gaza, with several other film actors and authors also having declined working with Israeli institutions in the past few years. 07/05/2026
Culture news Pulitzer Prize winners 2026: Experimental war dramas and Trump chaos Pulitzer Prize judges have awarded the fiction prize to Daniel Kraus for "Angel Down", a World War I narrative told in one long, continuous sentence. The prizes for journalism were dominated by coverage of the Trump administration. 05/05/2026
Culture news Sophie Hughes: 'A translated book is one that has been written twice' This World Book Day, we discuss the oft-overlooked art of literary translation and the future of the practice with translator and 2026 International Booker Prize judge Sophie Hughes. 23/04/2026
Culture news Top Russian publisher rejects accusations in 'LGBT extremism' probe The Kremlin has for years been hardening repressive laws against the LGBTQ community as part of what President Vladimir Putin touts as a drive to promote 'traditional values', including cracking down on films, books, art and culture. 22/04/2026
Culture news Spanish archaeologists find Homer's Iliad poem in Egyptian tomb A Spanish-Egyptian team have uncovered a fragment of Homer’s Iliad inside a mummy at Oxyrhynchus, revealing how ancient texts were reused in burial practices and shedding light on the spread of Greek literature in Roman Egypt. 21/04/2026
Culture news Grasset: authors call for 'conscience clause' as Bolloré strikes back French billionaire Vincent Bolloré says Grasset "will go on" and has dismissed the "uproar of a small caste" after the mass exodus of authors from the famous publishing house on the rue des Saints-Pères in Paris. 20/04/2026
Culture news Le coup de Grasset: Exodus of authors and the collective response Not wanting to drift with their publishing house after Olivier Nora's ouster, 170 authors have announced that they are leaving Grasset. Writer Oscar Coop-Phane reflects on his experience. Bookseller Gwilherm Perthuis denounces an ultra-concentrated publishing industry. 18/04/2026
Culture news Literary controversy: 115 authors exit French publishing house Grasset More than a hundred writers have announced their departure from the Grasset publishing house following the announcement of the dismissal of its chairman Olivier Nora. They denounce an "ideological war"... Here's everything you need to know. 16/04/2026
Culture news Mystery location of Shakespeare's London house finally uncovered A newly discovered 17th-century map sheds light on William Shakespeare's life in London. 16/04/2026
Voices from Central Asia Meet the man behind the end of nuclear testing In partnership with MDQ Olzhas Suleimenov, a Soviet and Kazakh writer and public figure, has left a lasting legacy at the intersection of literature and activism. Rising to global prominence as the leader of the Nevada-Semipalatinsk movement, he played a key role in the closure of the world’s first nuclear test site. 15/04/2026
Culture news Is JD Vance preparing 2028 presidential run with release of new book? JD Vance will be the first US Vice President in recent times to publish a book while in office. The announcement of his second book ramps up speculation that Vance is paving the way for a 2028 presidential run. 01/04/2026