There's a podcast for thatCreative writingWhether you are plotting, drafting, staring at a blank page, or keen to get tips from the pros … if you want to be an author, there’s a podcast for that New Yorker FictionIn this monthly podcast, a celebrated writer selects a short story from the New Yorker’s archive to read and discuss with the magazine’s fiction editor, Deborah Treisman. The pleasure here lies as much in the pairings of authors with material as it does the stories themselves: Margaret Atwood reading Alice Munro, or Andrew Sean Greer reading Dorothy Parker, or Tessa Hadley reading John Updike.

‘I took the biggest opportunity of my life – a debut book about family, faith, grief, love, and the fate of my soul – and immortalised within its pages a guy I’d met on Bumble 12 weeks ago.’ Photograph: recep-bg/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreen‘I took the biggest opportunity of my life – a debut book about family, faith, grief, love, and the fate of my soul – and immortalised within its pages a guy I’d met on Bumble 12 weeks ago.

West Ham United Women‘A dream come true’: USWNT star Kristie Mewis makes West Ham moveMidfielder joins Hammers from NWSL champions Gotham FCRehanne Skinner, West Ham manager, ‘delighted’ with signingThe US international Kristie Mewis has joined West Ham United, calling the move “a dream come true”. The midfielder, 32, arrives on the back of a successful spell at Gotham FC, having helped the New Jersey outfit secure their first National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) title.

Aids and HIV This article is more than 7 years oldPrince Harry and Rihanna take HIV tests on World Aids DayThis article is more than 7 years oldDuo had finger-prick procedure at a HIV drop-in centre targeting men in Barbados capital in effort to raise awareness Prince Harry and Rihanna have taken HIV tests together in Barbados to raise awareness of the virus on World Aids Day. The pair, who appeared on stage together on Wednesday night at Barbados’s celebrations of the 50th anniversary of independence, had the finger-prick procedure during a visit to a HIV drop-in centre targeting men in the capital, Bridgetown, on Thursday.

Short storiesReviewMorrissy recalls Joyce’s Dubliners in these compassionate stories of sex, death and temps perdu in Irish middle-class suburbia The jacket description is somewhat coy. It is termed “an exploded novel” (whatever that is), “stories” that are “linked”, a “collection” that has a “strong narrative arc, very similar to that of a novel”. There are 18 stories, but they could equally be regarded as chapters because Prosperity Drive is novelistic in intent.

The Phi has been detained in Canary Wharf since March 2022. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesThe Phi has been detained in Canary Wharf since March 2022. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesUK news This article is more than 8 months oldRussian tycoon suing UK government for return of £38m superyachtThis article is more than 8 months oldSergei Georgievich Naumenko, who is not on sanctions list, is also seeking damages in high court claim

SPECULATIVE SCIENCEWhat's the difference between a raisin and a sultana? Wendy Mcilroy, Antrim, N.Ireland A sultana is a seedless raisin. Bob, Newport, Wales Current thinking has it that the sultana is bigger than the raisin. M Robinson, Rainham A raisin is any dried grape. A sultana is a specific variety of (pale yellow seedless) grape and also the raisin of this grape. Mike Goodson, Cambridge

The ObserverFilmWe all have a favourite festive film. But what does it mean if you are an Elf fan or a Love, Actually aficionado? What’s your favourite Christmas movie? You’ll have an easy answer to this, of course, because at this time of year it suddenly becomes very important to not only tell everyone about your love for one specific Christmas film, but also to defend it no matter what. People have died defending their choice of Christmas film.

West End This article is more than 2 months oldCandace Bushnell set to bring her one-woman show to West End for first timeThis article is more than 2 months oldThe US author of Sex and the City will appear on stage in London in early 2024 before going on a UK-wide tour Candace Bushnell, the real-life Carrie Bradshaw, is bringing her one-woman show to the West End for the first time.

The ObserverBiography booksKaren Carpenter's velvet voice charmed millions in the 70s… but behind the wholesome image she was in turmoil. Desperate to look slim on stage – and above all desperate to please the domineering mother who preferred her brother – she became the first celebrity victim of anorexia. In a revealing new biography, extracted below, Randy Schmidt tells the full story…The Carpenters were one of the biggest-selling American musical acts of all time.