Why Write About Pop Music? ‘I Like When People Disagree About Stuff.’

Kelefa Sanneh hopes to start some arguments with his new book, “Major Labels,” which chronicles the past 50 years of rock, hip-hop, country and other musical genres.

An Erotica Pioneer Goes From Hero to Villain for Dozens of Authors

In the constantly evolving romance landscape, Blushing Books has long occupied a specific niche: spanking erotica. Now some of its most successful writers just want their books back.

An Erotica Pioneer Goes From Hero to Villain for Dozens of Authors

In the constantly evolving romance landscape, Blushing Books has long occupied a specific niche: spanking erotica. Now some of its most successful writers just want their books back.

The Privilege of Mediocrity

For creators of color, the perceived need to be exemplary can be artistically stultifying. Instead, true freedom may lie in being allowed to be fine — or to fail.

Stanley Tucci’s Passion Was Acting. Now, It’s Food.

The actor’s new memoir “Taste” explains how a bout with cancer took his passion for ragù and risotto, but also Cuban-Chinese stews and minke whale, to new heights.

Stanley Tucci’s Passion Was Acting. Now, It’s Food.

The actor’s new memoir “Taste” explains how a bout with cancer took his passion for ragù and risotto, but also Cuban-Chinese stews and minke whale, to new heights.

The Beet Grows On

A pandemic garden didn’t really prepare me for “semi-retirement,” but …

In Paris, It’s Literary Scandal Season Again

The Goncourt prize, a standard-bearer of the French novel known for its probity, has come under criticism over charges of conflict of interest after a juror voted to include her partner’s novel in a list of contenders.

It’s Never Too Late to Publish a Debut Book and Score a Netflix Deal

Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, at 50, is not the average age of a debut author. But the public school teacher describes herself as a “literary debutante” with the October publication of “My Monticello.”

When the Times Book Review Panned the Classics

Some of today’s best-loved books — think “Catch-22,” “Tender Is the Night” and even “Anne of Green Gables” — had a rocky reception in our pages.

MacArthur Foundation Announces 2021 ‘Genius’ Grant Winners

This year’s 25 winners include Ibram X. Kendi, who wrote “How to Be an Antiracist,” the poet Hanif Abdurraqib and the writer and curator Nicole Fleetwood. The awards come with prestige — and $625,000.

MacArthur Foundation Announces 2021 ‘Genius’ Grant Winners

This year’s 25 winners include Ibram X. Kendi, who wrote “How to Be an Antiracist,” the poet Hanif Abdurraqib and the writer and curator Nicole Fleetwood. The awards come with prestige — and $625,000.

Wole Soyinka Is Not Going Anywhere

The Nobel laureate, whose new novel, “Chronicles From the Land of the Happiest People on Earth,” is his first in nearly 50 years, refuses to back down when he senses that his homeland’s freedom is under threat.

To His Surprise, His Play About 2 Dead U.K. Politicians Struck a Chord

After decades in the political sphere, Michael McManus turned to theater. His play, “Maggie & Ted,” explores the tensions that would pave the way for Brexit.

The Best Book That Amor Towles Ever Received as a Gift

“My wife gave me the first edition of Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’ to be published in English (in 1886). That the edition was in translation was just as well, since I don’t read a word of Russian.”

Melvin Van Peebles, Champion of New Black Cinema, Dies at 89

A fertile creative force, he wrote fiction and musicals but is best known for a breakthrough movie that heralded the genre known as blaxploitation.

What About the Heroine’s Journey?

The Harvard scholar Maria Tatar has made a career of studying fairy tales and folklore. Now she is taking aim at Joseph Campbell and showing us the women he left out of the story.

Lena Waithe, Gillian Flynn to Start Book Imprints

The two women are joining Zando, an independent publishing company founded last year that plans to work with authors and sell books in unconventional ways.

Jean-Claude van Itallie, ‘America Hurrah’ Playwright, Dies at 85

He was a central figure in the experimental theater movement for decades. His best-known work, a trilogy of one-acts, opened in 1966 and ran for more than 630 performances.

How a Barber and Journaling Expert Spends His Sundays

John Casey bears witness to New Yorkers’ stories, whether they are in his chair or taking his writing workshops.