The Fiction Uncovered prize is an unusual one, in that it selects eight titles instead of one winner each year. Its remit is quite simple: to “uncover and celebrate our best British writers”.

Huddersfield set up an all-Yorkshire showdown with Sheffield United at Wembley on Saturday week as they went through to the League One play-off final 3-2 on aggregate despite losing 2-1 to MK Dons.

Milton Keynes Dons 0 Huddersfield Town 2: Scottish striker's 38th goal of the season brings promotion a step closer as Dons disappoint

It went down to the wire but the American-flagged Puma won the sixth leg of the Volvo round the world race from Itajai, Brazil, to Miami.

Professor John Rex was a leading figure in British sociology, chairing departments at various universities and founding two, at Durham and Warwick. A leading scholar in the field of race or ethnic relations in the UK, he participated in comparative and collaborative studies on the topic in Europe and elsewhere and was well-known internationally for his work in this area, and as a theorist of social conflict.

Comic writer Dan Rhodes likes to spend time in the company of young French women. He has even posed as one. Under the nom de plume Danuta de Rhodes, his 2004 novel, The Little White Car, told the story of Veronique, whose Fiat Uno was allegedly involved in the accident that killed Diana.

A scatty tale of lust, art, and wild Parisians

As the January transfer window began to reach towards its frivolous, panic-buying climax this week, the gap between the top and bottom of the league systems hit home, as fans desperately scrambled to raise £50,000, the average weekly wage of a Premier League footballer, to save 128 years of history at Conference outfit Darlington FC, who were minutes from extension.

Your weekly guide to what's really going on in the world of books

Many artists have a "career record", a song which becomes so well-known that it swamps anything else they do. With Billie Jo Spears, it was her 1975 single, "Blanket on the Ground", a song which suggested putting the romance back into a marriage. "It became controversial," said Spears, "as many of the listeners thought I was singing 'sleep around' instead of 'slip around'. The country fans thought it sounded like a cheating song, and they don't like girls who sing cheating songs." With a few more plays, everyone realised what the song was about and it became an international bestseller.

Injuries have hit British medal prospects at the world championships of sailing in Fremantle. Double Olympic gold medallist Iain Percy was brought ashore in agony today when suffering back spasm pains which he fears have forced him out of a bid for a second world championship title in the Star two-man keelboat.

The newly desirable actor talks to Genevieve Roberts about how he fell down a rabbit hole into a Wonderland of A-list movies