Quirky protagonists and adventurous women: Stylist rounds up May’s best new books.

Book Riot recommends eight Black British essayists to add to your bookshelves.

Book Riot also has a list of five great British books coming to the US this month.

A study of more than 2 million books has revealed that titles by female authors are on average sold at just over half the price of those written by men.

The Telegraph makes the case that it’s perfectly fine not to finish a dull novel.

The 200-year-old book printers that produced the bestselling Harry Potter series has been sold for £23.8m.

I shared a little about my writing process on the Over The Rainbow Blog.

The Guardian Books Podcast speaks to Aminatta Forna about happiness and discusses what the best crime novels are.

Filth, fury, gags and vendettas: Guardian cartoonist Martin Rowson explains why Marx would have loved the Communist Manifesto as a graphic novel.

The Independent has a list of the books that gave soldiers solace in the trenches.

Members of the book trade are supporting author Charles Sprawson with a fundraising iniative to raise money for care fees, as Vintage prepares to reissue his “cult swimming classic” Haunts of the Black Masseur.

Jill Murphy, Axel Scheffler and Janet and Allan Ahlberg are amongst the authors and illustrators whose books will be included in Beanstalk’s new collection of 40 books for reluctant readers.

Prizes

The shortlist is out for the Branford Boase award, annually recognising the author of a debut novel and their editor.

The judges of the 2018 Deborah Rogers Writers’ Award have revealed a “varied and hugely interesting” shortlist of three first-time writers. Created in memory of literary agent Deborah Rogers, this £10,000 award is for a first-time writer whose work demonstrates literary talent but who needs support to complete their first book.

The inaugural Portobello Prize has been awarded to “electrifying new voice” Samira Shackle for Karachi Vice, a “fresh and thrilling” non-fiction exploration of Pakistan’s largest city.

A Bristol librarian has won the inaugural Cheltenham Literature Festival First Novel competition with her “clever, pulsing story”, scooping a book deal with Borough Press.