Mood Machine — how Spotify detached music from the makers - on.ft.com/43cRV2l via Financial Times 28 Feb 2025 Liz Pelly’s rigorous analysis of the streaming giant reveals where ‘background’ playlists and cheaper content are taking the industry # books economics music

Mahmoud Khalil has filed an emergency petition to return to NY. He is being held in Louisiana. “It feels like my husband was kidnapped from home, and at a time when we were supposed to be planning to welcome our first child into this world,” said Khalil’s 8-months-pregnant wife.

Liz Pelly's fine book Mood Machine, about the way Spotify rips off musicians and degrades listening, is published today. My review: ft.com/content/431a85…

Glorious shortlist left me rapt, nothing safe about these v good books, well worth readers' coin and time, I will stop now... Can't wait to reread, debate, decide the winner!

For today's The i Paper I wrote about The Great Gatsby which was published 100 years ago this week. Happy birthday old sport inews.co.uk/culture/books/…

The Great Gatsby was published 100 years ago today - read this brilliant piece by Max Liu on why it's chronically misunderstood and more relevant than ever The i Paper inews.co.uk/culture/books/…

From Three Farmers... to Playground I wrote a guide to Richard Powers' fiction - or an Overview of the Overstory author - for The Booker Prizes: thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-lib…

One week from today! Come to the British Library to see dylanthomprize shortlisted authors read from their work, discuss with me and answer audience questions

There's really only one place to be on 14 May and that is the British Library! 7pm-7:30pm: The brilliant michael sheen 💙 in conversation with Elaine Canning 7:30pm-8:30pm: our incredible shortlisted authors in conversation with Max Liu on the eve of the award ceremony. #SUDTP25

The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong — life on the edge in blue-collar America on.ft.com/4m7LK6D

I reviewed Ocean Vuong's The Emperor of Gladness - the most frustrating novel I've read for some time - for FT Weekend ft.com/content/4ee150…

Tomorrow at the British Library. I'll be asking dylanthomprize shortlisted authors about their books. They'll also read. Begins at the beginning at 7pm!

Congratulations to Yasmin Zaher who has woken up to a bright spring morning here in Swansea as the 2025 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize WINNER 🏆. Her debut novel, 'The Coin' was the judges unanimous pick in an incredibly strong shortlist of titles by 6 amazing authors. #SUDTP25

"The Coin is a profound meditation on our contemporary world and our complicity in the destruction of another place and people." Great piece about why we awarded the dylanthomprize to The Coin by Yasmin Zaher

For today's FT Weekend I interviewed Banu Mushtaq and Deepa Bhasthi about their brilliant, The Booker Prizes winning Heart Lamp ft.com/content/b885d4…

Great interview with Yasmin Zaher by Ella Creamer on the dylanthomprize winning The Coin, Lispector, Houellebecq Palestine... theguardian.com/books/2025/jun…

Edmund White has died aged 85. I have fond memories of interviewing him for The i Paper three years ago when one of his wild late novels was published. He was great fun, open and generous with his answers to my questions. RIP inews.co.uk/culture/books/…

Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?