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Best of Jubilee Royal reads May 19 2012

THE Diamond Jubilee means a cascade of new books. Hannah Stephenson talks to Alan Titchmarsh and picks some other books celebrating the Queen’s years on the throne. Read

Flash-fiction competition winners announced May 16 2012

TODAY is the first National Flash-Fiction Day, a special day to celebrate all that is short and sweet – and fashionable – in fiction.Read

Interview: Hilary Mantel on new book Bring Up The Bodies May 12 2012

HILARY Mantel is like a Mastermind contestant, seemingly ordinary but displaying razor-sharp intellect when focusing on her chosen subject.Read

Photographer Keith Pattinson launches Cruddas Park Library book Apr 26 2012

AN elderly man who enjoys newspapers and jigsaws, a woman researching her family tree, and a boy looking for advice.Read

Forum Books Weekender opens at Corbridge Parish Hall Apr 21 2012

THE first Forum Books Weekender opens today, welcoming leading writers to Corbridge Parish Hall.Read

Review: The Avenue by Samuel W Herbert Apr 21 2012

THE unputdownable book can be hard to find but one that did it for me over Easter was The Avenue by Samuel W Herbert.Read

Write your own very short piece of fiction Apr 19 2012

THERE are short stories and there are short, short stories, bite-sized morsels of fiction that can nevertheless pack a powerful punch.Read

Author Paul Torday to attend Newcastle screening of film Apr 16 2012

AFTER being talked about for weeks, and hotly-tipped to be the feel-good British comedy of the summer, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is about to hit the big screen and North East cinema-goers are invited to be amongst the first in the country to see what all this fuss is about.Read

Mari Hannah: 'Being scared in a safe place is fine' Apr 10 2012

JOINING Val McDermid and Ann Cleeves is a new and distinct voice in crime fiction. David Whetstone hears Mari Hannah's extraordinary story.Read

New book on post-war artist Mar 31 2012

PRUNELLA Clough doesn’t rank among the 20th Century artists you could class as a household name but her reputation is to get a boost thanks to a handsome new book.Read

Crime writer makes the trek into theatre Mar 24 2012

A CRIME writer is making his debut as a playwright with a comedy drama that can be seen at Alnwick Playhouse in Northumberland tonight.Read

The Boy Who Fell To Earth by Kathy Lette (Bantam Press, £12.99) Mar 24 2012

Drawing on her own experiences of raising a child with Asperger’s Syndrome, Lette gives us Lucy, a mum struggling to bring up son Merlin. It’ll hold you till the end.Read

Tom Kelly's poetry invokes spirit of our region Mar 12 2012

TOM Kelly will be at South Tyneside Central Library tomorrow to celebrate the launch of his latest collection of poetry steeped in his native North East.Read

Last chance to see portraits Mar 03 2012

IT’S the last chance today to see an exhibition celebrating many of the writers who have informed and entertained us in recent years and decades.Read

Interview: Gary Mulgrew on his new autobiography Feb 18 2012

HE’S a big guy, Gary Mulgrew. The tall Scotsman looks like he could probably take care of himself at the tough US jail where he served part of a 37-month sentence for fraud.Read

Post-Fleming Bond novels are being reissued Feb 11 2012

“JAMES BOND changed down into third gear, drifted the Saab 900 Turbo into a tight left-hand turn, clinging to the grass verge, then put on a fraction more power to bring the car out of the bend.”Read

Roughing It By Kirsty Ferry Jan 28 2012

mmm. This isn’t too bad after all,” said Helen, stretching out in the sleeping bag. It was a V-shaped thing and she had worked out that if she poked her feet into the bottom, they actually felt quite toasty. She had wriggled off her socks and they now lay on the floor beside her – an action which would have been untenable earlier on in the evening.Read

£25k Northern Writers’ Awards contest now open for entries Jan 25 2012

THE annual Northern Writers’ Awards are now open for entry, giving rising talents a chance to share in a prize of £25,000.Read

Author Paul Torday tells of his new novel Jan 21 2012

PLENTY of successful authors are happy to trawl Britain’s mean streets where poverty and crime combine to be a potent source of spine-chilling fiction.Read