The Latest Breaking News from James Baldwin

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

With a programme rammed-full of performances, panels and talks, we pick some of this year’s best events

The British-Ghanaian author on having his mind blown by Malorie Blackman as a child, the allure of John Williams’s Stoner and why Zadie Smith made him want to write

From James Baldwin to Sarah Waters, writers have been telling rich, nuanced LGBTQ+ tales for decades – here are some good titles to try

It’s got Naomi Watts, Chloë Sevigny and Demi Moore, plus Tom Hollander as a deliciously evil Truman Capote. It’s got style to die for and supreme scandal. So how is the new series from king of camp Ryan Murphy such a dud?

Intricate, academic explorations of lives and careers past

Our brothers and sisters can be our best friends, our enemies, and everything in between. These stories explore the unique bonds we have with them

Star Wars actor says he believes actors should be free to ‘do anything you want to do’, in a discussion about Laurence Olivier’s performance in Othello

The media’s appetite for “gritty” Black stories turns misery into entertainment