The writer and journalist Will Self was stopped by police while out walking with his son because they suspected he was a paedophile, he has said.

Hilary Mantel said she was left “weak at the knees” after becoming the first British writer to win the Man Booker Prize for Fiction twice after her novel Bring up the Bodies was named the best book of the year.

An author who was turned down by traditional publishers has been pitted against previous winner Hilary Mantel for this year’s Man Booker Prize.

Sweet Tooth

OCTOBER on the horizon.

ROY KEANE’S recent departure from Sunderland led to the usual ham-fisted comparisons with Cork people in general, and the current Cork hurling stand-off in particular.

TV hosts Richard and Judy defeated Paul and Heather McCartney in the celebrity special of Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

Johnny Vegas’s new comedy Sex Lives of the Potato Men has failed to impress the critics.

Jeremy Clarkson is the latest guest host of Have I Got News For You, it was announced today.

The shortlist for the Booker Prize was unveiled today – and there was a surprise omission for author Zadie Smith.

Author Howard Jacobson was today picked out as an early favourite to win this year’s Booker Prize.

A stable of bestselling titles is expected to generate a strong performance from Bloomsbury next Wednesday.