Star Wars author appeals to Disney in fight over royalties

Alan Dean Foster claims media giant has not paid him royalties for his books after acquiring Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox

Quentin Tarantino to write novelisation of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Film director signs two-book deal, for novel of his 2019 film and a ‘deep dive’ into 1970s cinema

Never-ending stories: from Bond to Galbraith, why is everything so long?

Films are bum-numbers, books are doorstoppers – even podcasts go on for hours. What’s behind the rise of cultural epics – and is it time someone gave them a trim?

Story of ‘bloodthirsty unicorns’ brings debut author record publishing deal

Annabel Steadman’s fantasy series Skandar and the Unicorn Thief has won a seven-figure book contract, with film rights also sold to Sony Pictures

The Beatles announce Get Back, first official book in 20 years

Hanif Kureishi writes introduction to book edited from 120 hours of conversations from the Let It Be sessions, in tandem with Peter Jackson documentary

What do writers gain – and lose – when they eschew social media?

You won’t find Maggie O’Farrell, Women’s Prize winner, on Twitter. Perhaps she’s on to something

Glennon Doyle: how the author and love warrior changed Adele’s life

The singer has credited Doyle’s latest bestselling self-help memoir, Untamed, with transforming her sense of self. And Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon are similarly impressed

UK creative industries facing £74bn drop in income after lockdown

Report says 400,000 jobs likely to be lost across sectors including music, theatre and art

Dishoom asks cookbook pirates to donate to charity appeal

After a bootleg of its recipe book was sent to ‘everyone and their nice auntie’, restaurant chain appeals to readers to buy copies or donate to Hospitality Action

Literary lockdown: how translating a Dan Brown novel made for a thriller plot

When The Da Vinci Code author’s next novel needed simultaneous translations in 2013, what happened next was extraordinary enough to inspire a film of its own

Opportunity knocks: how lockdown is opening doors for new creative talent

Aspiring writers and directors now have a rare chance to impress producers and publishers with time on their hands

Ay, to the proof: did Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew have two authors?

Groundbreaking linguistic analysis indicates Christopher Marlowe co-wrote section of play

Larry David comes out in support of Woody Allen after reading memoir

The Curb Your Enthusiasm star praises Allen’s book, Apropos of Nothing, after protests greeted the first attempt to publish it

Internet Archive accused of using Covid-19 as ‘an excuse for piracy’

The ‘National Emergency Library’ has made 1.4m ebooks freely available, many by current bestsellers, and sparked outrage from writers’ organisations

Woody Allen: ‘I would welcome Dylan Farrow back with open arms’

Director says in new memoir that not raising his adopted daughter after abuse allegations – which he denies – was ‘one of the saddest things’ of his life