Book sales boom but authors report shrinking incomes

Calls for writers to reap rewards as British publishers enjoy record-breaking year

‘It’s the book that gave me freedom’: Michael Ondaatje on The English Patient

The novel has been translated into 38 languages and the film scooped nine Oscars. Now, as The English Patient wins the Golden Booker prize – voted readers’ favourite in 50 years – the author reveals why he could never have been a writer if he’d stayed in Britain

CockyBot flies to the rescue in literature’s trademark wars

Recent bids to claim ownership of terms used in books and their titles include ‘dragon slayer’, ‘cocky’ and even ‘big’. A canny bot is keeping watch

Marina Warner is right – gold stars for writers leads to creative death

The distinguished novelist and historian is right to deprecate the notion of creative people being ‘virtuous’

The Guardian view on Amazon: not a normal monopoly

Editorial: Consumers love the convenience of Jeff Bezos’ firm. But the undue focus on this advantage has led to the neglect of the interests of workers, rival entrepreneurs and voters

PEN America launches Online Harassment Field Manual

The US civil liberties group created the new resource for writers and journalists after a survey revealed the extent to which trolls cause them to self-censor their work

Action Comics #1000: the 10 most important issues from 80 years of Superman

From Superman’s first flight to the issue where he lost his job (and that time he made Santa buff), a look back at eight decades of Action Comics

Arts industry report asks: where are all the working-class people?

Film, broadcasting, publishing and performing sectors nowhere near representative of UK

We’re all ears for audiobooks – and here are some of the best

Sales have doubled in the past five years, with commuters and men aged 25 to 44 accounting for the bulk of purchases. But many of us are unable to finish them – so here are a few you won’t give up on

Home entertainment spending overtakes print sales for first time

UK music, video and games sales higher than those of magazines, books and newspapers last year

The highest form of flattery? In praise of plagiarism

Echoes of Amélie in Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water, traces of Nabokov in Kristen Roupenian’s Cat Person ... Where is the line between influence and plagiarism?

Ebooks are not ‘stupid’ – they’re a revolution

The head of publisher Hachette has claimed ebooks are a failure – but as an author and a reader, they’ve completely changed my life

Can chickpeas prolong orgasm? Yes – but only in LiarTown

It’s the satirical powerhouse for the fake news era. LiarTown’s creator Sean Tejaratchi tells us how he dreamt up cooking with tears, angry cow stamps – and that old Smiths classic Lovely Gary

‘Ebooks are stupid’, says head of one of world’s biggest publishers

The chief executive of Hachette Livre, Arnaud Nourry, says the industry has had ‘one or two successes among a hundred failures’ and that ebooks have ‘no creativity’

Licence renewed: Anthony Horowitz to write official James Bond prequel

Forever and a Day, the author’s second 007 novel, will make use of material left behind by Ian Fleming to imagine Bond’s first mission