Either Side of Winter Set over the course of a year in Manhattan, four stories follow a group of characters whose lives are inextricably linked by circumstance, community and a desire to love and be loved. Touched by wry humour and shades of Manhattan moods as we pass through the seasons, the book captures a city in microcosm through a series of remarkable portraits. It is difficult to overstress the depth and intelligence, the achievement, of this book. Every decision Marko...

The totally true storytelling club returned for JBW 2011. We selected some of our favourite writers who revealed true moments of beauty, awkwardness, tragedy and hilarity all packaged in 10-minute stories and told with no notes. JBW 2011 theme was ‘Close Call’.

‘Literature isn’t a moral beauty contest’, claimed Roth, ‘The belief it inspires is what counts.’ Literary titan and multi-award winning writer, Philip Roth was undoubtedly a brilliant, if controversial, artist. In a career that spanned 50 years he wrote numerous, generation-changing books, from his first, Goodbye, Columbus, to his last, Nemesis. Three outstanding writers discuss his work and his legacy.

Paul Essinger, a tennis professional in his 30s, is about to play his final US Open. The bookies give him 1,200-1 odds on winning the title. Anxiety-ridden, comically unaware and boiling with tension, each member of the Essinger family — Paul included — is painfully trying to unpick an idea of themselves from the tableau of upper-middle-class life they present. Reflecting on their German-Jewish ancestry, Essinger senior ruefully ascribes their good fortune to ‘immigrants’ luc...