Jack Kerouac—drifter, drinker, giant of American literature—became a Beat Generation icon after the publication of On the Road in 1957. But his experimental, improvisatory prose is often misinterpreted as artless "typing," as Howard Cunnell, Kerouac scholar and author of new memoir Sun Country, explains. Here he recommends five books that offer a better understanding of Kerouac's ambition and range as a writer.

For all its rugged individualism, frontier violence, and capitalist churn, there’s always a search for grace in America, argues Don Watson, author of the excellent The Shortest History of the United States of America. As the country celebrates the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, we asked him for books to read to learn more about it.

The full list of Margaret Atwood's novels for adults, arranged in order of publication, aimed at fans with completist tendencies:  from 1969's The Edible Woman to the joint 2019 Booker Prize winner The Testaments—with her popular Angel Catbird graphic novels thrown in for good measure.

The Arthur C Clarke award highlights six outstanding science fiction books every year. This year’s field shows the breadth of contemporary science fiction, says chair of judges Andrew M. Butler. From antimemetics to royal rewilding, this year’s list offers something for everyone - and will be won, however the votes fall, by somebody who has never received the award before.

Horror, the literary genre, is booming and there are plenty of frightening fresh offerings from specialist and mainstream publishers alike. But where to start? We've put together an overview of the five horror novels shortlisted at the 2026 Bram Stoker Awards, including new books by fan favourites Stephen Graham Jones and Silvia Morena-Garcia.

While often associated with populism and economic dissatisfaction, the success of the MAGA movement in the United States is also rooted in a distinctive set of ideas about culture, identity, authority, and national renewal. Political theorist Laura Field recommends five books that explore the movement's intellectual challenge to liberal democracy, from the work of Carl Schmitt in 1930s Germany to cultural shifts in evangelical Christianity today.

The 18^th century, an age of naval powers and expanding colonial empires, was marked by dramatic uprisings, revolutions and technological breakthroughs. We asked Francesca de Tores, author of Saltblood and Cast Away, to recommend five brilliant historical novels set in the 1700s—and how she balances factual accuracy with the demands of fiction.

Every year, members of the World Science Fiction Society vote on the best novel of the year across fantasy and science fiction. We asked our fantasy and sci fi editor Sylvia Bishop to give us a round-up of the 2026 finalists. This year’s list features award-winning names, and spans the breadth of the genre: from murder mysteries to literary fiction, from medieval knights to alien contact - this is a year of variety.

Governments that default on their debts don’t simply shut down. They still have to run schools, pay public servants, and keep the state functioning, all while battling with creditors and financial markets. Sovereign default is messy, political, and hugely consequential. Here Gregory Makoff recommends the best books for understanding how it works.

The Women's Prize was set up to highlight the very best of women's writing, whatever their subject matter. We spoke to Salma El-Wardany, one of this year's judges, about this year's winner—Virginia Evan's heartwarming epistolary novel The Correspondent—plus the five books that made it onto their fiction shortlist, all skillfully told novels that should appeal to a wide audience.