Literature
A blunt conversation about life online with Bret Easton Ellis
Disappear here... — Movies are finished, the novel is dead and the internet is driving people insane. Welcome to the world of Bret Easton Ellis: a literary maverick who’s brutally honest about the digital age.
Written by: Steven T. Hanley
Dayo Ntwari: The Afrofuturist writer shaping Africa’s next generation through sci-fi
Stories for a new African century — Dayo Ntwari is one of a new generation of writers using sci-fi to imagine a bold future for Africa and exorcise the demons of today, like corruption, religious exploitation and Boko Haram.
Written by: Alex King
How Georgian artists are staring down Putin with humour and satire
Fighting for freedom of expression under the shadow of Putin’s Russia — Author and playwright Lasha Bugadze explains how Georgia’s post-Soviet generation of artists are battling for freedom and democracy.
Written by: Alex King
RIP Howard Marks, Oxford-educated author, activist and notorious drug smuggler
Exclusive archive interview — From the decedent corridors of Oxford University to the bunkers of the British Secret Service, the life of Howard Marks, "the most sophisticated drugs baron of all time", was nothing short of remarkable. On the day he dies here's our exclusive interview - talking prison, drugs, and his extraordinary life.
Written by: Shelley Jones
How working with homeless people gave Kazuo Ishiguro an education in human nature
A crash course in compassion — Before he was a Booker Prize-winning author, Kazuo Ishiguro was a social worker in a London homeless shelter. He tells how a tough job taught him about the extremes of human nature and helped shape him as a writer.
Written by: D'Arcy Doran
How Douglas Coupland’s life was transformed by a postcard
A random message caught the right person's eye — Generation X author Douglas Coupland shares how he may never have embarked on a life as a writer if it wasn't for a random postcard.
Written by: Interview by D'Arcy Doran
For award-winning novelist Nell Zink, life began at fifty
A new chapter — A letter to Jonathan Franzen about bird hunting in the Western Balkans forced Nell Zink out of obscurity and into literary stardom with her debut novel The Wallcreeper.
Written by: Shelley Jones
"My first novel was shit, but it taught me how to write."
We Don’t Know What We’re Doing — It took Thomas Morris three years to write the book of his dreams. Then he scrapped it, sat down, and wrote the truth.
Written by: Thomas Morris
Wanderlusty novels to inspire adventures
Books for the open road — Blloon editors Tara Jane Seton and Sarah Moriarty pull together a literary world tour, taking in Nigeria, Japan, outer space and beyond.
Written by: HUCK HQ
Harper Lee in her own words
On the eve of Scout's anticipated return — As Atticus Finch and Scout return after 60 years in the sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird, Huck looks at what makes literary legend Harper Lee tick.
Written by: Andrea Kurland and D'Arcy Doran