The Latest Breaking News from Marian Keyes

Marian Keyes’s engaging tale of fresh starts and old flames; a kaleidoscopic family drama spanning six decades; and an absorbing study of ancient rocks from space

THE LIST: Battling a severe case of the January blues? These uplifting and inspiring books might just help to take the edge off, says Katie Inglis

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

In the bestselling novelist’s latest, Anna Walsh moves back to Dublin and falls for an old flame in a comical tale of grit, growth and self-acceptance

From the surreal return of Boris Johnson at the Covid inquiry to sex etiquette at the theatre, it’s been a strange old week

Celebrities from across the globe are making tributes to the late Sinéad O'Connor as her passing at the age of 56 shocks fans

Self-help shelves are filled with guides to surviving midlife, but where is the fiction? Lisa Allardice talks to Marian Keyes, Joanne Harris and others about ‘hot-flush lit’

As musicians prepare for the Eurovision song contest on Saturday, entries for its literary counterpart have been announced

The American and Irish novelists discuss the joys of writing romantic comedy, standing up to the critics and why we’re in a ‘golden age’ for the menopause