Orange to withdraw sponsorship of women’s prize for fiction
Mobile services company will not be renewing its sponsorship of the book awards that have borne its name for 17 yearsIn one of the biggest upsets in literary prize history, the mobile services company Orange has announced this morning that it will not ...
Which superhero is about to come out as gay?
A DC Comics insider says an established character will be revealed as gay. Who could it be?The smart money is on Batman or Aquaman or Wonder Woman but, frankly, a case could be made for all or any of them: who is the comic book superhero who has been s...
Waterstones deal with Amazon puts Kindle and ebooks instore
Waterstones will sell Kindle e-readers for the first time and offer free Wi-Fi, so customers can buy a book or download it instoreWaterstones has announced a surprise tie-up with Amazon that will enable shoppers to pluck ebooks as well as physical book...
Duncan Jones to direct Ian Fleming biopic
The creator of James Bond lived more than his own fair share of drama, to be explored in a new 'period action movie' by the director of MoonSome believe he dreamed up James Bond to be the bon vivant, daring and cultivated epitome of masculinity he coul...
Richard Dawkins the arch-atheist backs Michael Gove’s free Bible plan
Author of The God Delusion says providing free Bibles to state schools is justified by its impact on the English languageIt sounds like one of the most unlikely alliances of recent years. Richard Dawkins, arch-atheist and scourge of the praying classes...
Leveson inquiry: the musical – video
An auto-tuned hip-hop extravaganza starring Alastair Campbell, Charlotte Church, Hugh Grant, Rupert Murdoch, Kelvin MacKenzie and many more
David Cameron’s ‘chillaxing’ hobbies revealed in new biography
Prime minister spends weekends playing with a tennis machine called 'the Clegger' and singing karaoke, according to bookIf "chillaxing" was an Olympic sport then David Cameron, would win a gold medal, according to a new biography of the prime minister....
Conference call
A St Andrews conference on the Harry Potter series as literary texts has not met with universal approval in the academic worldAcademics gathered in Scotland on Friday to discuss hot literary topics including the racial politics of goblins, the canonisa...
Cannes film festival set to honour the bookworm
Coveted Palme d'Or likely to go to a screen adaptation, with many of this year's entrants borrowing from literatureThe Cannes festival is, famously, the keeper of the flame of the auteur tradition. The ritual of honouring the overarching vision of a si...
Jane Lovering wins romantic novel of the year with first book
Please Don't Stop The Music, offering an 'unexpected hero from a fresh new voice', pips The Kashmir Shawl by Rosie ThomasAn indie rock star and a woman with a dark past form the unlikely couple at the heart of Jane Lovering's Please Don't Stop the Musi...
Before Watchmen: DC Comics publisher defends prequels
Dan DiDio says Watchmen prequels are a 'love letter' to Alan Moore's creation, as graphic novel's co-creator continues to censure the projectWith just a few weeks to go before the first instalment of DC Comics' controversial Watchmen prequels hits the ...
Donna Summer dies of cancer at 63
Winner of five Grammy awards, disco queen had a string of hits in the 1970s, including Love to Love You BabyDonna Summer, a singular vocal stylist whose string of disco hits spawned five Grammy awards and a following that has long outlived the genre, h...
