Popular fiction

Humanity's ideas about aliens have been evolving for millennia – but in the era before television, they were considerably stranger.

Before DC Comics’ Watchmen in 1986, liking comic books was a guilty secret – but Alan Moore’s graphic novel changed all that and paved the way for a current cultural obsession.

Take a literary bar crawl with BBC Culture as Hephzibah Anderson reveals how booze and books make such fine bedfellows.

Literature from other languages makes up just two or three per cent of English publishers’ output – why is the figure so low? Hephzibah Anderson investigates.

The Afghan-born American author of the Kite Runner discusses the issues of identity and family in his work.

How do the world’s most famous writers do it? Hephzibah Anderson discovers their secrets of success – which can include not writing books at all.

Maleficent is the latest in a long line of fantasy adaptations. Hephzibah Anderson looks at their dark, sexual messages – and why we’re fascinated by them.

The art world’s eyes are on the city-state for Art Basel Hong Kong – but how is the former colony portrayed in literature? Jane Ciabattari takes a look.