Brief letters: The Archers comes clean | Getting it on | Lessons from Leningrad | Blackberry week | Counting storms | Proper penmanship
November 2021
Top 10s
From Paradise Lost to the Lord of the Rings: top 10 epics in fiction
From classic tales such as Paradise Lost to ‘counter-epics’ by Anne Carson and Tim O’Brien, these stories lend real grandeur to their subjects
December 2020
Top 10s
Top 10 books about mermaids
Away from Disney’s candied revisions, these stories – from Hans Christian Andersen to Helen Dunmore – tell archetypal truths about women’s experience
April 2020
Women's prize at 25: what it is like to win by Zadie Smith, Naomi Alderman and more
Winning authors explain how the award changed their lives and share their favourite books by women
September 2019
Best culture of the 21st century
The 100 best books of the 21st century
Dazzling debut novels, searing polemics, the history of humanity and trailblazing memoirs ... Read our pick of the best books since 2000
June 2019
Best books of 2019 so far
Mark Haddon and Natalie Haynes took on Greek myth, Queenie made us laugh and Toni Morrison returned with essays. Here are our highlights across fiction, poetry, non-fiction and children’s books
May 2019
Carol Rumens's poem of the week
Poem of the week: A Bit of Love by Helen Dunmore
An elderly man reckons wryly with his diminished life in a resonant character study
March 2019
The best recent poetry – review roundup
Kingdomland by Rachael Allen; Gen by Jonathan Edwards; Magical Negro by Morgan Parker; and Counting Backwards: Poems 1975-2017 by Helen Dunmore
June 2018
Book of the week
Girl, Balancing and Other Stories by Helen Dunmore review – her final work
This posthumous collection from the much-loved author, focusing on motherhood, war and women under threat, is an act of tender commemoration
February 2018
The Guardian Books podcast
Women and food, and Helen Dunmore's posthumous Costa prize – books podcast
On this week’s show, Claire and Sian talk about the late poet’s book of the year award, and Laura Shapiro joins us to talk about What She Ate
January 2018
Shortcuts
‘My life’s stem was cut’ – a poem by Helen Dunmore
The writer is only the second person to posthumously win the Costa award. To celebrate, we present a poem from her winning collection, Inside the Wave
No surprise Helen Dunmore's book was judged a winner
Inside the Wave is a deeply moving exploration of family and memory, and a worthy Costa winner
Helen Dunmore wins Costa book of the year for Inside the Wave
Female writers dominated 2017's literary bestsellers, figures show
Helen Dunmore wins posthumous Costa award for collection Inside the Wave
November 2017
Helen Dunmore's final poems lead shortlists for 2017 Costa prizes
Inside the Wave, in which the poet reflected on her own impending death, joins diverse contenders in poetry, fiction, biography and children’s books
June 2017
Helen Dunmore appreciation: ‘To be with her was to laugh with joy’
Helen Dunmore's family reveal poem written in the author's last days
