To Anyone Who Ever Asks by Howard Fishman review – vanishing act
The mysterious story of 1950s New York folk singer Connie Converse, who disappeared before her music found popular recognition
The Taylor Swift effect: why a mystery book is rocketing up US charts – despite no one knowing anything about it
Wild speculation over a book known as ‘4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023’ has seen excited Swifties placing pre-orders. The bad news? It is likely not by her
As the Ukraine war grinds on, Russia is becoming a cultural wasteland
Putin once saw advantage in giving writers a degree of freedom, even to be critical. Those days are long gone, and Russia’s artists are fleeing, says writer William Fear
On my radar: Aaron Dessner’s cultural highlights
The producer and musician from rock band the National on an inspirational Ethiopian pianist, a great Icelandic book on the climate crisis, and the cuisine of the Hudson Valley
The Lost Album of the Beatles review – deeply researched what-ifs
Daniel Rachel imagines what the next Beatles album might have been like, with painstaking detail and great stories
Suede’s Mat Osman: ‘The biggest difference between Richard and me is that he has no interest in being cool’
The bassist and author talks about artistic ambition, sibling dynamics - and how being on tour inspired his riotous new novel, The Ghost Theatre
Tim Minchin: ‘Politics affects my mental health … I feel gaslit’
He’s the anarchic comedian behind the musicals Matilda and Groundhog Day. He talks about dashed Hollywood hopes, the dangers of modernising Roald Dahl and feeling out of step with his progressive fanbase
Heard the one about the standup lawyer? Why even top artists now need a side job
Want to survive in the arts? Get a side hustle. We speak to an award-winning poet and governance manager, a gigging guitarist and teacher – and a successful comic who doubles as an immigration lawyer
Amy Winehouse’s journal entries to be published in new book
Family-approved book will also feature handwritten lyrics and personal photos and will be published two weeks before the singer would have turned 40
In brief: The Memory Keeper; The Anniversary; How to Be Invisible – reviews
Jackie Kohnstamm uncovers her grandparents’ lives in Berlin, a novelist loses her husband at sea and Kate Bush perceptively introduces her lyrics
On my radar: Johnny Flynn’s cultural highlights
The actor and musician on attending an ancient wisdom school, indulging in Polish antiques, and the history book Suella Braverman should read
On my radar: Max Porter’s cultural highlights
The award-winning novelist on his favourite art bookshop, the DJ he would vote for as PM and why he collects Pez dispensers
Reach for the Stars by Michael Cragg review – bubblegum pop’s finest hour
A terrific piece of social history that charts the highs and lows of the music industry at the turn of the millennium
A moment that changed me: I lost my memories in a road accident. A song brought them flooding back
A decade later, I’d lost hope of ever recollecting my childhood or recovering my creativity. A hit from the 80s changed everything
‘I saw lightning between their fingers’: DJs on the magic of unusual dancefloors
As new book Dance Your Way Home explores dancing beyond nightclub confines, A Guy Called Gerald, Eliza Rose and more reveal their favourite unexpected places to get down – from Welsh quarries to Croatian beaches