Fraught family relations and their lengthy repercussions is the stuff of Paula Saunders’ autobiographical fiction

Janan Ganesh: They needed to start distinguishing one kind of American from another

Iris Murdoch, Edna O’Brien, Marian Keyes and Eimear McBride all appear on the list

His works have been adapted by Rob Reiner, Brian De Palma, Stanley Kubrick and David Cronenberg. And we’re soon to see more adaptations on screen

The Oscar-winning film-maker also directed acclaimed films Philadelphia, Something Wild and the Talking Heads concert documentary Stop Making Sense

Beyoncé’s jaw-dropping multimedia homage to motherhood stunned the audience and set social media on fire

Barack Obama talks to New York Times chief book critic about role of literature and writing in his life, from helping him work out his own identity to connecting with people

Where to now after one of the most corrosive US presidential elections in history

In part two of this series, John Sharry looks at how we need to love our children uniquely, not just equally

Emer O’Toole: If a nation’s canon is almost exclusively dominated by white male voices, what does that tell you about that nation?

In-demand Cameroonian curator Koyo Kouoh will relate next year’s EVA to the historical significance of 1916

Belarussian journalist and prose writer’s work a blend of literature and journalism

Interview: She taught Barack Obama ‘how to be’, has a Nobel laureate in her NYC loft, and refuses to mind what she says. It’s all part of Morrison’s fierce genius

Lee makes it obvious it is not Robinson on trial, but the racism of the American South

This week, to mark the end of our How to Write a Book series, we have a daily Q&A with a debut author

‘If there is a Hell being prepared for me, it will be a dinner party. But I’d like to be in a bar, late at night in New York, with Colm Toibin, Patti Smith, Dickens, St John of the Cross, Toni Morrison, Keats and Emily Bronte, with her brother Branwell leading the singsong while arm-wrestling’

Literature touches the lives of fellow humans in a very visceral way

These are some of our favourite opening lines - could you write one of your own? Post it in the comment box below. We might even find a suitable prize for the best or funniest

More than 25 of his works were made into movies or television shows