Francesca Segal recommends literary explorations of new emotional territory

Novelist Emma Jane Unsworth selects some of the best titles to get you laughing out loud

Award-winning children’s book writer Jasbinder Bilan picks tales of exploration and empowerment

From courtroom dramas to the Just William stories, a barrister and crime writer recommends novels about the quest for justice

Novelist Melissa Harrison recommends climate-change fiction

From Agatha Christie to Anthony Horowitz, writer Peter Swanson recommends the best of classic and modern

Writer Darran Anderson bypasses Houellebecq in favour of fiction from Édouard Louis to Hanif Kureishi

Bestselling author Jojo Moyes recommends uplifting fiction

Novelist Sadie Jones recommends the best books to elicit empathy by stealth

Stephanie Merritt recommends the best and wittiest coming-of-age novels

From Jane Austen to medical memoirs, books that will help leave thoughts of the office behind

Twelve is the make-or-break age for reading

An admirer of Ben Lerner’s highly praised new novel looks for other avant garde avenues to explore

Great literature isn’t all weighty tomes, as this selection from novelist Ayòbámi Adébáyò proves

From Jane Eyre to Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn, Kate Kellaway recommends the best reads about love

Booker-shortlisted novelist Elif Shafak chooses works full of wisdom, heart and hope

From witty novels to comedians in print, Viv Groskop recommends ladies who’ll make you laugh

From medical memoirs to bittersweet romance, short stories to gay histories, our panel offer their recommendations

Yes, but go further… there are richly rewarding literary tales from Africa and South America too

We suggest novels that reveal the kindness of strangers and leave you with a sense of hope