Laura Barnett: Author and Journalist Journalism - Laura Barnett: Author and Journalist

A playlist for The Versions of Us, and for my writing life so far

The best books that take risks with structure

My top seven risk-taking novels, including Cloud Atlas, The Night Watch and Mrs Dalloway, for Read It Forward

Why am I so compelled to read fiction set in the places I am visiting? I discuss the joys and perils of literary tourism for LitHub.com

Paperback Writer column for The Guardian

Where do ideas come from, and how does an author know which one to choose? I wrote about this for The Guardian.

Article on migraine for British Vogue

My life as a migraine sufferer, dissected for British Vogue, March 2016.

The ten novels that made me: for Richard and Judy Book Club

I discuss some of the many novels that have had the greatest influence on me as a writer.

My Spotify playlist for The Versions of Us

Music underpins The Versions of Us. Here, I give a little more background to why I chose the various pieces of music that run through the novel – as chosen for three different Spotify playlists.

A Sense of Place in The Versions of Us

How does an author research the locations in which his or her novel is set? I wrote about my own experience of this for the Richard and Judy Book Club.

The gift I’ll never forget – my grandmother’s Lladro figurine; article in The Guardian

A piece for The Guardian about how to graciously accept a gift we no longer love – yet which reminds us, painfully, of someone we greatly miss.

Sitting for Frank Auerbach: ‘It’s rather like being at the dentist’

I spoke to four people who’ve sat for painter Frank Auerbach, every week for up to 40 years.

Nell Gwynn, Shakespeare’s Globe, review: ‘bawdy, playful, highly entertaining’

Gugu Mbatha-Raw is excellent in this entertaining look at the life and times of Nell Gwynn

Song From Far Away, Young Vic, review: ‘never quite delivers’

This new play by Simon Stephens, directed by Ivo van Hove, never quite lives up to its initial promise.

And Then Come The Nightjars, Theatre 503 review – ‘a small gem’

A touching, beautifully observed new play by young West Country writer Bea Roberts

My top unconventional love stories, as chosen for the Daily Express

Some of my favourite romantic novels with a difference – from The Time Traveler’s Wife to Revolutionary Road – as chosen for the Daily Express

‘The moments that changed my life’: feature for Good Housekeeping

I wrote an article describing some of my own most important ‘what if’ moments

‘Meet the debutants’: interview with Samuel Fishwick for ES magazine

An interview for ES magazine as part of a feature on hot summer reads, July 2015

In praise of step grandparents

My late step grandmother, Anita Bild, partly inspired the story of Eva Edelstein’s family in The Versions of Us. I wrote about my real-life relationship with Anita for The Guardian’s Family section.

I found love at 88: three true romances

I interview three couples who found love later in life for Guardian Weekend magazine

The Nether review – dark desires in a nightmare world

Chilling warning of virtual paedophilia in a dystopian future

Fence Records: a fond farewell

Last week’s Green Man festival featured the final gig by Fife’s Fence Records collective. It marked the end of an era

Is this a new golden age for ticket touts?

Do resale websites selling seats to hit shows at grossly inflated prices pose a genuine threat to London’s theatreland?

Jack Whitehall Interview

‘I’ll be telling stories I probably shouldn’t’

Dogfight review – the song of misogyny

This controversial musical about US marines on the eve of war is a critique not a celebration of macho posturing

Dara, National Theatre, review: ‘ambitious’

This is a bold retelling of a history-shaping episode from India’s past

Neville’s Island review

‘highly enjoyable, not always convincing’

Fiona Banner: fight and flight

She has filmed a helicopter ballet, melted a jet – and caused a storm by transcribing a porn epic. Will Fiona Banner’s latest work go further?

Once The Musical, at the Phoenix, London

‘Once’ is no ordinary long-runner. It has redefined the possibility of turning a large-scale musical into an intimate event

Second comings: the artists who found success the long way round

Ever dreamed of packing it all in and becoming an artist? Meet four people who prove it’s never too late to follow your heart

Being Juliette Binoche

She’s not a feminist, but says women are born creative. Juliette Binoche talks about her spat with Gérard Depardieu, bad reviews – and why acting is like peeling onions