‘One of the most beloved writers of all time’: the genius of Joan Aiken at 100
From Willoughby Chase to Black Hearts in Battersea, Joan Aiken’s tales of plucky orphans surviving in industrial Britain are a keystone of children’s literature
‘Perfect for winter nights’: the best crime novels to read at Christmas according to Ian Rankin, Bella Mackie and more
From Maigret to Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple, authors choose the whodunnits they love to hunker down with at this time of year
Morning and Evening by Jon Fosse review – what happens when we die
The Nobel prize winner pushes at the veil between this world and the next in the immersive tale of a solitary fisherman
Martin Corrick obituary
Other lives: Teacher and writer who set up Gosport Men’s Shed
Cory Doctorow’s prescient novella about health insurance and murder: ‘They’re going to be afraid’
The parallels between the science fiction writer’s five-year-old story and present-day events are startling
Booksellers predict Orbital by Samantha Harvey will be UK No 1 bestselling book
The Booksellers Association spoke to staff who also highlighted James by Percival Everett, and everything from Chris Hoy’s autobiography to a book about fishing by a dog
The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – reviews roundup
Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinisalo; How to Build a Universe that Doesn’t Fall Apart Two Days Later by Philip K Dick; The Woman Who Fell to Earth by RB Russell; Mystery Lights by Lena Valencia
One Hundred Years of Solitude: Colombians celebrate Netflix TV series of the country’s ’national poem’
Considered impossible to film – by even Gabriel García Márquez himself – the series brings the mythical Macondo to life
The Granddaughter by Bernhard Schlink review – love and loss in Berlin
A widower sets out to understand his wife’s death in this tale of memory, trauma and German reunification, from the author of The Reader
Time of the Child by Niall Williams – new life, new meaning
A baby is abandoned outside a church in this compelling tale of love and moral crisis in 1960s rural Ireland
Mick Felton obituary
Other lives: Publisher and chief executive of Seren with an unwavering commitment to his authors
Where to start with: Claire Keegan
Shortlisted for the Booker, passed among families and picked up by Cillian Murphy for the big screen, the Irish writer’s razor-sharp fiction leaves you wanting more
Polostan by Neal Stephenson review – jazz age thrills
The author of sprawling SF mega-novels has switched gears for a fast-moving adventure set between Russia and the US
Lost story by Cape Fear author John D MacDonald published for first time
The Accomplice, a noir tale found by Strand editor Andrew Gulli, considers the temptation of a grocery clerk
Sarah Jessica Parker gets a ‘golden ticket’ to the judging panel of 2025 Booker prize
Sex and the City star says it is ‘the thrill of a life’ to be appointed to 2025 panel alongside Roddy Doyle, Kiley Reid and Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ to pick year’s best novel