Your holiday reading list: chosen by Zadie Smith, David Nicholls and more
Leading authors including Bernardine Evaristo, Armistead Maupin and Alice Roberts recommend books to read this summer
February 2024
Arts Council England mired in row over ‘political statements’ warning
Robert Macfarlane, Feargal Sharkey and Matt Haig are among artists to react with fury to message about funding risks
November 2023
Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane: The Moon Also Rises review – celebratory and thought-provoking
The musician-actor and the writer follow their inspiring lockdown debut with another buoyant fusion of English folk and big themes
March 2023
The Lost Spells review – enchanting musical has an abundance of magic
A cockney fox and a preening jackdaw open our eyes to the wonders of nature in this charming show based on Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris’s book
February 2023
‘Message to the not yet’: Olafur Eliasson plans sky mirror for Cumbria coast
Artist wins competition to create outdoor tide-trapping sculpture inspired by prehistoric carving but seeking vision of future
June 2022
Summer books: Bernardine Evaristo, Hilary Mantel, David Nicholls and more pick their favourites
Authors recommend their favourite recent reads, from addictive novels and fascinating cultural history to a game-changing graphic memoir
February 2022
Audiobook of the week
Ness by Robert Macfarlane and Stanley Donwood audiobook review – a sinister eco parable
Actor Stephen Dillane narrates the rhythmic prose poem, inspired by a Suffolk nature reserve and cold war military base
December 2021
Spell Songs II: Let the Light In review – a magical return to nature
In this captivating follow-up, the stellar folk collective give voice to more magical meditations on nature from Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris
March 2021
Further reading
Bravery, hope and escape: the best books to cheer up kids in lockdown
From polar bears to murder mysteries, Katherine Rundell’s picks will make long days feel shorter and a small world seem larger
September 2020
Top authors hope you’ll give this book away to change young lives
Philip Pullman, Robert Macfarlane and 21 others give backing to literacy charity Room to Read in new anthology the Gifts of Reading
August 2020
In brief: Blue Ticket; How Do We Know We're Doing It Right?; Underland – review
Observer New Review Q&A
Robert Macfarlane: 'Are we being good ancestors? Mostly, no'
May 2020
Orwell prize for fiction shortlist replays 2019 Booker prize contest
Booker winner Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other will vie with Lucy Ellmann’s Ducks, Newburyport for political writing award
February 2020
British Book awards balance art and selling power to decide best writer in 30 years
Novelists rub shoulders with presidents, chefs, comedians and thriller megastars on longlist to define the title with the biggest impact on the book world
December 2019
Gender, race, climate and the New Nature Writing
Book of the day
Ness by Robert Macfarlane and Stanley Donwood review – forces of nature
November 2019
Should this tree have the same rights as you?
Around the world, a movement is gaining momentum that grants legal rights to natural phenomena, including rivers, lakes and mountains. Robert Macfarlane investigates the rise of the new animism
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
August 2019
Robert Macfarlane finally wins Wainwright nature writing prize
Underland was the author’s fourth work to be shortlisted, and judges decided unanimously that the ‘claustrophobic thriller of sorts’ was his best
July 2019
Spell Songs: The Lost Words review – a literary landscape brought to life
