‘Men need liberation too’: do we need more male novelists?

As a small press launches dedicated to new male fiction, authors including Anne Enright and Nikesh Shukla ask if men are really being pushed out of publishing

Jude Cook, author and publisher of Conduit Books
In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, the languid Lord Henry announces: “There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

I’m not so sure. During the days after the announcement of my new small press, Conduit Books, the conversation about the balance and representation of women and men in publishing roared back into life. The reason was that, initially at least, Conduit Books will publish literary fiction and memoir by male authors; a modest attempt to address the relatively recent scarcity of young or new male writers in the small world of UK fiction.

Published: May 31, 2025, 8:00 am

Milky Way photographer of the year 2025 – in pictures

This year’s collection of images from Capture the Atlas features an extraordinary milestone: a historic photograph of our galaxy taken from the International Space Station by Nasa astronaut Don Pettit, who recently returned from his latest mission onboard the ISS

Published: June 1, 2025, 6:00 am

‘As we explored, we noticed this huge cow’: Jennifer Newitt’s best phone picture

High above a Swiss mountain village, an American holidaymaker found herself enchanted …

It was the last day of Jennifer Newitt’s holiday in the Swiss Alps, and she and her husband were hankering after one more excursion before their flight home to the US. High above Wengen, the village they were staying in, they noticed the Grindelwald–Männlichen mountain gondola cableway. Despite pouring rain, sunshine was forecast for later in the day, so they decided to give it a go.

“The rain stopped shortly after we arrived at the small cable car station, and we began the 15-minute walk to the summit. Because of the conditions, we had the mountain to ourselves for a while. As we explored, we noticed this huge cow.”

Published: May 31, 2025, 10:00 am

Mountainhead to Nintendo Switch 2: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

Steve Carell stars in Succession creator Jesse Armstrong’s new satire targeting tech billionaires, while the long-awaited games console is finally here

The Ballad of Wallis Island
Out now
Comedy drama co-starring and co-written by comedians Tim Key and Tom Basden. Key plays a lottery winner with some big ideas about what to do with his winnings: namely, pay his favourite musical act to reunite. Hey, it’s more interesting than buying a fancy car. Basden and Carey Mulligan play the folk duo McGwyer Mortimer.

Published: May 31, 2025, 5:00 am

Sydney Fair antique show celebrates 100 years of art deco – in pictures

A collection of century-old shimmering dresses, embellished headwear and elegant evening gowns come together for an antique runway show, at Randwick Racecourse.

It has been 100 years since the Exposition Internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes, held in Paris, introduced the world to art deco style. Although Inger Sheil, a museum curator and the MC for Sydney Fair’s runway show, says the term art deco ‘was applied retroactively’, and started being used in the 1960s

Published: May 31, 2025, 1:16 am

The Jewish dealer who bought art hated by the Nazis – and created one of the greatest collections ever seen

A new National Gallery of Australia show draws on Heinz Berggruen’s collection to celebrate the spread of modernism around the world, despite the Nazis’ best efforts

When Heinz Berggruen left Germany for America in 1936, he was not allowed more than 10 marks in his pocket. As a young journalist in Berlin, Berggruen had been forced to publish under the pseudonym “h.b.” in order to hide his Jewish heritage and evade the Nazi party’s antisemitism.

In the decades that would follow, he became an art dealer, regularly rubbing shoulders with the most important artists of the 20th century, and amassing one of the most impressive private collections of modern art ever to exist. On the day he left Berlin for Berkeley, however, such a future would have seemed impossible.

Published: May 31, 2025, 12:00 am

John Chillingworth obituary

Photographer whose work for Picture Post in the 1940s and 50s documented a period of social change in Britain

The documentary photographer John Chillingworth, who has died aged 97, was one of the stable of famous photographic names who worked for the pioneering weekly magazine Picture Post in the 1940s and 50s. Picture Post’s unique characteristic was that it was accessible to all, but did not patronise the ordinary people whose lives were reflected in its pages.

The magazine documented the postwar social change that resulted from the Beveridge report of 1942. Among other examples, Chillingworth contributed images of a social worker in Nelson, Lancashire, in 1954, showing her engaged in the delicate task of combing out the newly washed hair of an elderly woman seated at the kitchen table. As if in contrast, he followed up with a feature on elegant fashion models in Paris and London. A picture of the Leigh rugby player “Nebby” Cleworth at work as a labourer on a weekday between games celebrated the dignity of labour rather than the glamour of winning a match.

Published: May 31, 2025, 2:00 pm

They wanna be with you everywhere: why Fleetwood Mac are still totally ubiquitous

With hit musical Stereophonic arriving in the West End and their albums permanently lodged in the charts, the rockers have earned a devoted new generation of fans

A time traveller from 50 years ago might be surprised if they were to visit the UK now – not so much by the echoes of the politics, with an embattled Labour government and a resurgent far right, but by the prevalence of Fleetwood Mac.

The Broadway hit Stereophonic, written by David Adjmi, opened in the West End this week after becoming the most nominated play in Tony award history (it ended up winning five out of 13, including best play). It invites theatregoers to journey back to 1976 and “plug into the electric atmosphere as one up-and-coming rock band record the album that could propel them to superstardom. Amid a powder keg of drugs, booze and jealousy, songs come together and relationships fall apart.”

Published: May 31, 2025, 2:00 pm

‘Feels bigger than herself’: the importance of Taylor Swift’s latest victory

World’s most famous pop star has finally bought back rights to her master recordings, a win for her but also a potentially major win for the industry

It goes without saying, but Taylor Swift has scored a lot of victories in the past few years. There was, first and foremost, the blockbuster Eras tour, which became the bestselling concert tour of all time and a certifiable cultural era in itself. She released the bestselling concert film of all time, with a distribution model that upended the theatrical market. There was yet another album of the year Grammy. She turned the Super Bowl into the ultimate romcom. Even with mediocre critical reviews, her most recent album, The Tortured Poets Department, set more streaming records than I can count.

All of these were beyond impressive, if at times threatening overexposure and annoyingly at odds with her self-styled narrative as an underdog – the emotionally astute lyricist battling against a sliding scale of villains, from careless boys, bitchy girls and heartbreak to gossip, criticism and misogynistic double standards. Often, the targets are petty: I never want to hear a Kim Kardashian reference again. But on Friday, with the announcement that she purchased the master recordings of her first six albums, Swift notched arguably the most significant victory of her career, over the one remaining foe worthy of her stature: the artist-devaluing practices of the music industry.

Published: May 31, 2025, 9:00 am

‘So polarised’: Bruce Springsteen’s anti-Trump comments divide US fans

Tensions among the rock icon’s fanbase have spread to his home state of New Jersey

As the lead singer of a Bruce Springsteen cover band, Brad Hobicorn had been looking forward to performing at Riv’s Toms River Hub in New Jersey on Friday. Then came a text message from the bar’s owner, saying the gig was cancelled. Why? Because the real Bruce Springsteen had lambasted Donald Trump.

“He said to me his customer base is redder than red and he wishes Springsteen would just shut his mouth,” Hobicorn recalls by phone. “It was clear that this guy was getting caught up in that and didn’t want to lose business. The reality is we would have brought a huge crowd out there: new customers that are Springsteen fans that want to see a band locally.”

Published: May 31, 2025, 9:20 am

‘Once-in-a-generation artist’ Arijit Singh to be first Indian musician to headline UK stadium

Bengali singer who has more Spotify followers than Taylor Swift to bring ‘sheer power’ to same London stage as Beyoncé

Sitting ahead of US pop megastars Olivia Rodrigo, Doechii and Gracie Abrams in the list of most-listened-to artists on Spotify around the world each month – and just one place behind Harry Styles – is a man that most British listeners have probably never heard of: the Bengali artist Arijit Singh.

He has never had a song in the UK Top 100 singles or albums charts, yet thanks to a passionate fan base in the Indian diaspora, he is to become the first Indian musician to play a UK stadium concert.

Published: May 31, 2025, 7:00 am

‘The soul of Irish traditional music’: a musical journey through County Clare

Ireland’s west coast is home to a flourishing live music scene, with the pubs and music festivals attracting world-class players

A hilly lane curves round Bunratty Castle. Through an open window, I hear a harpist plucking notes at a banquet drifting as the sun sets low over the battlements. On the other side of the lane, smoke drifts from Durty Nelly’s pub, where a singer is halfway through The Parting Glass. A short walk away, the limestone facade of the Creamery hints at its past lives – as a stagecoach stop, a dairy, a roadside inn. Tonight, it’s a pub.

Inside, Bríd O’Gorman plays the fluttering melody of The Cliffs of Moher on her flute, accompanied by Michael Landers on guitar – a quiet moment before the small crowd erupt into applause as Cian Lally pulls our pints. Just 10 minutes from Shannon airport, Bunratty village sits in the south-eastern corner of Ireland’s most musical county. Along the bar, visitors from the US and France lean in, quietly captivated – likely having their first experience of an Irish music session.

Published: May 31, 2025, 6:00 am

Thigh guy summer? Men’s short shorts in high demand and steering swimwear

Google searches for Speedos are up 41% in the UK, and some high street shorts now come with 3in in-seams

Recent victims of shrinkflation have included butter, mouthwash and teabags. The next casualty? Men’s shorts.

In-seams are rising with retailers reporting a surge in interest for short shorts featuring a 5in and even 3in inside leg measurement. Now the trend is having a knock-on effect on swimwear. This week, GQ magazine posed the question: “Are Straight Guys Ready for Speedo Summer?”

Published: May 31, 2025, 9:00 am