On the 186th anniversary of Leo Tolstoy’s birth, Alister Pearson remembers the life of the famous writer, philosopher and political thinker.

Books editor Annie Muir encourages you to read the novel that Alice Munro always wanted to write

Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman, though deeply unsettling, is one of the best plays I have read, says Alex Webb

James Jackman experienced some naughty poems by Jo Bell and a public exorcism by Grevel Lindopp, all in one Saturday afternoon at John Rylands in Deansgate

Bianca Boorer thinks the Aftermaths exhibition, marking the centenary of World War I, is definitely worth a visit, but James Jackman advises you not to try and make a day of it

To mark the 100th anniversary of the First World War, Books Editor Esmé Clifford Astbury encourages readers to tuck into one of these novels

Alister Pearson looks back at the life of the controversial writer William S. Burroughs, who was born a century ago this year

Alister Pearson predicts that Charles Prandy’s self-published Jacob Hayden series is likely to gain him some loyal fans, despite a few typos

To mark Valentine’s day, Elizabeth Linsley reveals her favourite love stories that actually have happy endings

Alex Webb enjoyed his first insight into the strange world of experimental poetry at The Castle Hotel

 1. Engleby, Sebastian Faulks This is not just another campus novel about a boy, Mike Engleby, who attends an ‘ancient university’ and falls completely and unrequited-ly in love with a girl, Jennifer Arkland. It is so much more than that. Read it and find out. 2. Starter for Ten, David Nichols Set in 1985, Starter for Ten […]

Don’t miss out on all the literary events going on in Manchester this month

Elizabeth Linsley heads to Selfridges to hear Emma Jane Unsworth, Richard Hirst and Marli Roode each read a short story as part of Selfridges Festival of Imagination

Pam Kaur compares the groundbreaking novel by Irvine Welsh to Danny Boyle’s celebrated film adaptation

Alex Webb gives readers a hand in sorting our their Christmas list

Books Editor Annie Muir reveals her favourite second-hand bookshops in Manchester

A tale of passion, perseverance and faith, Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea is a gem of American literature, says Shanda Moorghen

Elizabeth Linsley heads to Deansgate to explore one of Manchester’s most treasured buildings

Zadie Smith’s The Embassy of Cambodia is a unique, thought-provoking novel, which shows how the small things in life can raise big questions, says Books Editor Esmé Clifford Astbury

As Americans look towards spending quality family time together during Thanksgiving, Katie Myerscough examines some of the most dysfunctional families in American literature