Writers' stories

I can still remember the strange thrill I experienced on first reading The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, John le Carré's third novel, published in 1963, and the one that made his name and brought him lasting international success.  Read more

Stephen King has written some of the most beloved horror novels in the history of popular fiction, and many have been turned into equally acclaimed and successful films. Movies like "Carrie," "Stand by Me" and "The Shawshank Redemption" have more than earned esteemed spots within the cinematic canon. Others - "Maximum Overdrive," "Thinner," "The Dark Tower" - have not.  Read more

Wonderful people in bureaucratic straitjackets - that's publishing, writes Martin Lindstrom

The time was 5pm, and I had one hour left to meet the deadline for my next big book.  Read more

The author of the cult classic novel The Dice Man, in which a bored psychiatrist travels to some very dark places when he lets "the dice decide" his options, has died at the age of 87.

George Powers Cockcroft, who published The Dice Man in 1971 under the pseudonym Luke Rhinehart, died on 6 November, his publishers confirmed to the Guardian.

2020 hasn't been the greatest year but, if you're a fan of crime fiction, it does come with an important anniversary. In October 1920, the world had the first opportunity to read a murder mystery by a new writer called Agatha Christie.  Read more