Litcrit

100 yrs of Oxford University Press: Timeless or antiquated?

Beset by an exodus of talent and new competition, the company that has published everyone from Jawaharlal Nehru to Romila Thapar, lurches toward an uncertain future.

Why Naipaul and the literary establishment are so, so wrong

Whatever Sir Vidia thinks, the real battle for R-E-S-P-E-C-T in the literary world is not between men and women. It's between literary fiction and popular fiction.

No figment of imagination, pop fiction is a great leveller

Regardless of how dodgy pop fiction might be, it is prodding our writers to tell stories that are compelling and relevant to contemporary India.

The Mills and Boon mystique: The evolution of female fantasy

The oldest purveyor of pulp romance has always remained current and relevant; its changing heroines marking the transformation of female fantasy over a century. Too bad its Indian incarnation remains stuck in time warp.

Franzen goes exotic: the Indian woman and the Great American Novelist

The sexy young Lalitha in Jonathan Franzen's widely feted novel speaks volumes about the white male fantasy about Indian women.

Why writers fight: A guide to global literary feuds

VS Naipaul’s 15-year-long tiff with author and former protégé Paul Theroux, ended with a handshake at the Hay Festival between the two. We scrutinise how and why writers quarrel with each other.

Sabbatical-Lit: The year of living vicariously

Take a year off, do something odd, write a book about it. That seems to have become the strange new formula for literary success.

Philip Roth: Man Booker International and human comedy

Philip Roth is this year's Man Booker International author. However the award has come with its share of controversies.