Liberal democracy is under threat: these books show why abandoning it would be a mistake
Against Post-Liberalism by Paul Kelly; Post-Liberalism by Matt Sleat; and Liberal Democracy Battling for Survival: A Plan for Action by Tim McCormick
By Vic Duggan
Workhorse by Caroline Palmer: Nastier and more sophisticated than The Devil Wears Prada
Crucible by John Sayles: An engrossing epic work of historical fiction bolstered by superb dialogue
Departures by Julian Barnes: Enjoyable rambling, a story and a grateful goodbye
Pulse by Cynan Jones: Compulsive narratives, propulsive paragraphs
Inhabit the Poem - Last Essays by Helen Vendler: A career of single-minded poetic devotion
The Brimming World: Collection gives insight into rich texture of Ciaran Carson’s work
Author Dave Rudden: ‘My earliest memory is passing a Border checkpoint, at once fascinated and terrified by the soldiers’
SHORT STORIES
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POETRY
Possessions by Davina Quinlivan: A ‘fictional memoir’ that makes life hard for itself
By Maija Makela
Television by Lauren Rothery: A novel about deeply cynical people living semi-charmed lives
By Kristen Poli
Barbara Pym is Jane Austen with a side of jumble sales, public transport and laugh-out-loud one-liners
By Jan Carson
Tanya Sweeney: ‘It was a massively stressful time... I fell into a bit of a depression’
By Róisín Ingle
The Successor: Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Putin and the end of Russia’s democratic dream
By Conor O’Clery
Rob Doyle: ‘I’m 43, but I’m still going into my own guts and exposing the weird and the shameful stuff’
By Martin Doyle
Myles Dungan on former pupil Tom Dunne: ‘When I read his first essay I accused him of getting his big sister to write it’
By Martin Doyle
The Undead: A zombified Lenin wreaks havoc on Moscow; the Russian state wreaks havoc on a film-maker
By Colm McKenna
Somewhere Cold by Geraldine Osborne: Remarkable account of a family’s icy adventure
By Helena Mulkerns
