When looking for an excellent translation of a work of fiction from Switzerland or Germany, a volume of philosophy from France, or narratives from the languages of the African continent, do your thoughts turn to Kolkata? Perhaps they should. Long regarded as a city of literature and learning, the metropolis by the Hooghly has another string to its erudite bow, still too well-kept a secret in Britain: Seagull Books.

A second poet withdraws from shortlist for £15,000 award over it's sponsorship by a hedge fund.

December is the month the nation's booksellers go into overdrive. All of them will be wondering if more punters will come through their doors than will buy online. But the managers of the UK's 290-odd branches of Waterstone's will have an additional concern: trying to impress their new boss.

After the success of his eponymous chain, the new Waterstone's boss tells John Walsh why physical bookshops still have a future

If politicians and police commissioners want a street-level view, they read crime writer Michael Connelly

From terrific tablets to slick smartphones, David Phelan selects the hottest hardware for your Christmas wish list 

It's a fertile paradox that structuralism came from the minds of idiosyncratic mavericks. Their lives seemed to embody the "great man" principle of history – even as they demolished it in theory.

A battle has broken out on the high street after bookshops attacked charity shops for using tax breaks to undercut them.

Having written extensively about family life, popular novelist Nina Bell turns her attention to the empty-nest generation. Like Joanna Trollope, Bell has a knack for identifying issues that will concern her readers, offering fictional solace along the way.

Waterstone's has announced it will challenge the dominance of Amazon's Kindle by launching its own electronic book reader next year.

Outlook James Daunt is a brave man. Having been appointed managing director of Waterstone's just three months ago – after the book chain'spurchase by the Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut – he is dumping the central plank of the sales pitch it has been making for the past decade.

The offer, which saw purchasers splash out on impulse buys for a decade, will come to an end next month