Culture

In the vast landscape of contemporary literature, Hello Beautiful has emerged as a standout novel, captivating readers with its emotional depth, nuanced character development, and poignant exploration of family, love, and resilience. Hailed as an instant bestseller, this novel resonates deeply with those who appreciate rich storytelling and complex human relationships.

This autumn, a limited-edition hand-printed book by Artweeks artist Deb Sutcliffe, Animals in Antiquity, promises a series of stunning linocuts each derived from sketches of striking sculptures and painted ceramics in the collections of Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum.

Oxfordshire Artweeks artist Thomas Shepherd is inspired by ‘books, buildings, and beyond’; and he loves to explore and illustrate stories, the places where stories can be found and the routes between them.

With the advent of ChatGPT and generative AI, the question of how humans retain our creative edge feels more pertinent than ever. Esther Lafferty talks to Oxford-Harvard mathematician Junaid Mubeen, a Countdown Champion, TED speaker and author.

Dr Brian Briggs – “Brian is fine” – divides his time between Llanelli’s Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Wetland Centre, where he is senior reserve warden, and his ‘other

Nik Kershaw’s debut album Human Racing came out in 1984 and saw him dominating the singles chart with tracks including Wouldn’t It Be Good, I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me and Dancing Girls. Swiftly followed by The Riddle, Nik spent 62 weeks in the charts and was one of the musicians to play Live Aid in July 1985.

Corinne Bailey Rae’s Put Your Records On snap-shotted the summer of 2006. Her most recent release, Black Rainbows came out 2023 and it is obvious to hear how much she is relishing the full range of her unique voice and, as I was to discover when we spoke, her extraordinarily lyrical vocabulary.

Award-winning quirky and alternative comedian Paul Foot is returning to Oxford this month with his new show, Dissolve which is set to be his most vulnerable and honest yet. We got in touch to find out what we can expect from his performance at Oxford’s New Theatre, as well as – in very Paul Foot fashion – getting side-tracked by King  Tutankhamen, and what  Jesus might have  achieved if  he'd been a plumber...