The Canadian author on good writing advice from Martin Amis, his love for digging and getting rid of billionaires

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Your novels Life of Pi, Beatrice and Virgil, and The High Mountains of Portugal all feature animals in starring roles. If you could be any animal, which would it be, and why?

A sloth, because it has a peaceful, long life. Or maybe a koala. They both look like stoners. A sloth just hangs there in its tree, it sleeps 22 hours a day – or maybe it’s meditating. Most creatures take the strategies of overt camouflage or speed to stay alive, whereas the sloth’s like, “I’ll be so slow that no one will notice me.” It grows a kind of algae on its fur, which makes it hard to see in the South American jungles. So it’s kind of hiding and being at one with the universe.

Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney
Pamela Rabe is brilliant in this adaptation of the Nobel laureate’s novel, but its deeply felt sense of horror and grief is gone

When Olga Tokarczuk published Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead in 2009 in her native Poland, she was accused of inciting eco-terrorism – remarkable for any novel, let alone the tale of a 60-something English teacher recounting a string of murders in her village. All the victims are hunters, and Mrs Duszejko insists the local animals are enacting summary justice; unsurprisingly, most of the village thinks she’s mad.

But Tokarczuk’s book is radical. It proposes a way of thinking about animals that, when taken to its logical conclusion, explodes the world as we know it. It’s transgressive in more subtle ways, too. Mrs Duszejko is the kind of protagonist we rarely see: a 60-something woman who is smart, rebellious, eccentric, angry – and effective.

The Whole New World composer who soundtracked millennial childhoods and won eight Oscars looks back on a stellar career

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In early 1991, the composer Alan Menken took a keyboard to St Vincent’s hospital in New York to visit his friend and creative partner, the lyricist Howard Ashman. Ashman was in the final stages of Aids-related illness, but was determined to finish his work on Disney’s Aladdin. Together, they knocked out the music and lyrics for Prince Ali – one of the movie’s most joyous numbers – as Ashman lay in bed.

Menken and Ashman had already collaborated on Disney’s hit 1989 animated musical The Little Mermaid; in the winter of 1991, they were putting the finishing touches on Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast simultaneously. Ashman was “fighting for his life” while they were working on all three, Menken recalls from his home studio in upstate New York. At first, he had no idea his friend was sick, let alone battling HIV; Ashman only revealed his diagnosis after they won the Oscar for best original song for Under the Sea in 1990.

In an attempt to find new audiences and save money, opera companies are ‘throwing spaghetti at the wall’ to see what sticks. It often works

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It’s Sunday and I’m in a suburban Ikea on the verge of tears. Perhaps this is not so surprising – who among us hasn’t approached emotional breakdown navigating the labyrinthine homewares store? But these are tears of joy. And no, it’s not because I’ve nabbed one of the cult-status Djungelskog plushies; it’s because of the five people singing at me from two metres away.

I’m in the outdoor plants and furniture section, watching The Marriage of Figaro – or a version of it, in which Figaro and his bride-to-be, Susanna, work in floor sales and their philandering boss is the store manager. It’s probably the last place I’d expect to discover the sublime beauty of Mozart’s opera. Half an hour earlier, my fellow audience members and I – who were emailed the secret location 24 hours earlier – were eating meatballs and mash in the canteen.

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Recognised with an honorary Academy Award in 2016, Wiseman directed and produced almost 50 films with a lifelong commitment to curiosity and naturalism

Frederick Wiseman, the prolific film-maker whose documentaries primarily explored US public institutions and communities, has died aged 96.

His death on Monday was announced in a joint statement from the Wiseman family and his production company, Zipporah Films.

The Dawson’s Creek star, who died on Tuesday aged 48, had been open about struggling to meet the high expenses of his cancer treatment

A GoFundMe set up to support the widow and children of actor James Van Der Beek has passed its initial goal of $500,000 within hours of being created – and has now been updated to a goal of $1m.

Van Der Beek, best known for his role as sensitive teen Dawson Leery on the TV series Dawson’s Creek, died on Tuesday aged 48 after a battle with bowel cancer.

Sacha Baron Cohen pays tribute to teacher who ran school outside Paris and was a formative influence on countless comedians and actors

Master clown Philippe Gaulier, the influential founder of France’s École Philippe Gaulier, has died aged 82. Gaulier taught the art of clowning for decades and his students included Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Emma Thompson, Rachel Weisz and Geoffrey Rush.

Gaulier died on Monday due to complications from a lung infection. He had a stroke in 2023 and, since then, had “received warm words of encouragement from all over the world”, according to a statement made by his family. “He seemed especially happy to receive letters and messages from his former students. Teaching was his passion and purpose in life.”

Australian children’s cartoon series about a family of blue heelers has yet to announce a new season

Australian-made animated series Bluey was the most streamed show in the US for the second year in a row, topping Nielsen’s annual year-end streaming charts for 2025.

US viewers watched 45.2bn minutes of the show on Disney+ according to Nielsen, down from 55.62bn in 2024, but still impressive given the show comprises 154 episodes – most of them less than 10 minutes’ long.

Former Men at Work frontman, who was born in Scotland and emigrated to Australia, tells anti-immigration protestors, ‘Go write your own song, leave mine alone’

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Former Men at Work frontman Colin Hay has disavowed the use of the band’s 80s anthem Down Under by Australian anti-immigration protesters, saying the song “does not belong to those who attempt to sow xenophobia”.

In a post to his Facebook and Instagram accounts, the singer-songwriter singled out anti-immigration group March for Australia, who have organised marches around the country on 26 January under the slogan “Our national identity will not be erased”.

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The stage and screen actor on turning gaffes into gifts, the impact of Eowyn, and the Lord of the Rings stew scene fans won’t stop asking about

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Your latest role is Queen of the Cuttlefish, in The Pout-Pout Fish; if you could be a fish for a day, which one would it be and why?

The blue groper at Clovelly beach – because it’s like an institution, and people go there to see it. I just think it’s cool that there’s a local fish that people actually go and see and talk about – it’s a special fish.

The beloved Australian actor died on 7 December after a battle with chronic illness

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McLeod’s Daughters and Home and Away actor Rachael Carpani has died, aged 45, her family has announced.

A statement from her parents, shared by her sister on Instagram on Monday, said that the actor had “unexpectedly but peacefully passed away after a long battle with chronic illness in the early hours of Sunday 7th December”. Her exact cause of death was not made public.

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The American British author on pet peeves, the perils of fantasy dinner parties, and revisiting The Short History of Everything two decades later

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You did a whole book on Australia, and have travelled here a bit since – what’s the number one tip or recommendation you’d give someone coming for the first time?

Get out and walk! I mean, maybe not through the outback, but if you’re in any of the cities, walk. I do that wherever I go. And I love to just go off and explore without knowing where I’m going, without a map or any preconceived ideas. I think it’s the best way to discover a place, and it has the great virtue that if you turn a corner – say in Sydney – and there’s suddenly the Harbour Bridge, you feel as if you’ve discovered it. There’s a real feeling of exhilaration, I think, in that. But also, you discover little cafes and hidden corners and odds and ends.

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A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0 by Bill Bryson is out now through Penguin. The author is touring Australia and New Zealand in February 2026 with the live show The Best of Bill Bryson

The violin-playing sonic experimentalist on gadgets, guilty pleasures, and her most controversial pop culture opinion

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What’s your number one guilty pleasure?

I love Papa John’s pizza so much. Whenever I’m on my period, I need Papa John’s. After a photoshoot, everyone knows we’re getting Papa John’s. In LA you have access to so much bougie pizza. No, I want Papa John’s pizza.