The Latest Breaking News from David Nicholls

Novelist, speaking at Hay Festival, explained how some great moments in literature are unadaptable

Judi Dench talking Shakespeare, conversations with bestsellers Marian Keyes and David Nicholls, and a deep dive into the day’s news with Independent journalists and leading thinkers – this year’s Hay Festival programme is fit to burst with unmissable events. Jessie Thompson picks the highlights

A midlife couple take a hike through the Lake District in this witty and likable crowd-pleaser

£65,000 gift will not restore the full, 10-day occasion but organisers say it will make pop-up events possible

Brief letters: Polluted rivers | Donald Trump’s trial | Women walking alone | John Crace’s return | A better Britain

The One Day author’s new will-they-won’t-they tale, about two divorcees who find themselves walking the Lakes and Pennines, is a great comic novel – and superb on the landscape

The bestselling author has always hated being on his own, so why does he spend a few days every year hiking alone in the wind and rain? Just don’t call it a midlife crisis …

One Day actor who has been cast in next Bridget Jones film has an appeal that spans generations, say pop culture experts

From Salman Rushdie’s terrifying story of surviving a stabbing to David Nicholls’ latest must-read romantic novel, Saskia Kemsley shares her pick of the best new fiction and non-fiction releases for the summer

Authors, critics and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month. Join the conversation in the comments

Bamber goes to Bristol in a buoyant musical of David Nicholls’s University Challenge romcom, while Trevor Nunn’s impeccably traditional Chekhov works like a charm