Hilary Mantel has won the Booker, a Costa and the hearts of the reading public in the last year. Her reading at
Bath Festival of Literature will be rivalled only by the appearance of JK Rowling.
LSE Literary Weekend (26 Feb – 2 March)
‘Branching out’ is the the theme for the fifth instalment of the London-based
event. Speakers include Kate Mosse, Pat Barker and Ken Livingstone.
We love David Bowie – and so did William Burroughs. A V&A exhibition opens on 23 March with a full-colour photography book to accompany the collection
AHEAD Bowie, book adaptations and breathtaking buildings – think big this winter
BOOK
Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival (16 – 24 March)
There are literary heavyweights aplenty at the Sunday Times’ soiree, including
Mantel, Julian Barnes, Andrew Miller and William Dalrymple.
For more on this year’s festivals, see p12
Film adaptations of books go supernatural this spring. Teens – and possibly only teens – may fall for Beautiful Creatures (above, February), as new girl Lena arrives in town hiding a dark family secret. David Mitchell’s galaxy- sprawling Cloud Atlas has transferred to screen with a stellar cast including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant and Jim Broadbent. Stephenie Meyer’s The Host gets the big-screen treatment in March, and Stephen King’s Carrie is adapted for the third time in April.
Behold one of the original sketches by architect Renzo Piano for The Shard, the tallest building in western Europe. Before you set off up those stairs (open to the public from 1 February) for a 40-mile view over London, slip The Shard: The Official Guidebook (Thames & Hudson) in your pocket. Packed with fascinating facts and stats, it’ll make the spectacle even more spectacular.