Latest from Arts & Literature

Stef Penney: Licensed to write fiction

British author Stef Penney tells Christian House about moving the setting for her second novel from the Canadian wilderness to a sinister England.

Book Review: Spirit Of Progress

Constructed in the manner of ensemble films such as <i>Nashville</i>, <i>Grand Canyon</i> and <i>Crash</i>, this novel by the award-winning Australian writer Carroll again refracts the lives of some characters who have populated his previous work.

Book Review: The Sense Of An Ending

In 1967 the great critic Frank Kermode published The Sense Of An Ending, a series of lectures that not only mined the apocalyptic theme in art, but reviewed the ways in which fiction carves order and pattern out of the chaotic flux of time.

Critics slam McCartney's 'bland' ballet

Sir Paul McCartney has failed to impress critics with the premiere of his first ever ballet, with reviewers branding the show "forgettable" and "bland".

TJ McNamara: Purity in paint and a comic romp

Humanity becoming less violent? Get ready for bloody battle

Here comes Rocketman - the Elton John musical

Sir Elton John is moving forward with plans to turn his life story into a major movie musical.

Bazaar requests

Glenda Bailey has transformed America's <i>Harper's Bazaar</i> by persuading A-list celebrities to take part in outrageous photo shoots.

Exhibition seen in a foreign light

An exhibition celebrates the work of photographer Frank Hofmann, who fled the Nazis and found sanctuary in Auckland. Adam Gifford reports

Fiction Addiction: Rachel Simon Q & A

Rachel Simon was browsing through a book stall at a conference in Itasca, Illinois, when she found herself drawn to a short book with an arresting title: <i>God Knows His Name: The True Story of John Doe No. 24</i>, by Dave Bakke.

Fiction Addiction: Inspiring Rules of Civility

I'm sure the person who coined the phrase "a picture paints a thousand words" thought a thousand words sounded like a lot. But a single picture can paint - or at least inspire - far more words than that.

Hari Kunzru: Embracing structural strangeness

British writer Hari Kunzru tells Stephen Jewell why he has adopted America as his base and why sci-fi readers are more open to the unusual.

Michael Ondaatje: A divided man

Writer Michael Ondaatje, who won the Booker prize for <i>The English Patient</i>, draws on his own extraordinary life to conjure up evocative tales of displacement. Robert McCrum asks how much reality there is in his fiction.

Anita Shreve: Tragic heart of success

Call Anita Shreve's books chick lit at your peril, warns Nicky Pellegrino.

Book Review: Sherry Cracker Gets Normal

Cute titles. How do I feel about cute titles? I feel that the authors have to work a couple of degrees harder to justify them. New Zealand-born, Britain-based Connell works very hard indeed in her second romp - and with reasonable success.

Book Review: Small Holes In The Silence

Brother, they want me to write you a review but I’m not going to do it. Another book is out. Your collected works.