Farts are stifled, knickerless Nicola wears jeans, and cars drive in middle of the road. The author Carolyn Hart introduces the squeaky- clean world of children's publishing

In 1990, Nicolas Roeg appeared on BBC2's Moving Pictures programme to bemoan the fact that his (then new) film Cold Heaven was languishing without a distributor. Four years on, the situation remains unchanged, though the NFT's Roeg season, entitled 'Stranger in a Strange Land', brings a chance to see this film, as well as his recent cable-TV adaptation of Conrads Heart of Darkness starring Tim Roth as Marlowe and John Malkovich as Kurtz.

1 Catherine Cookson

NON-FICTION

LAST week, at an auction in Wiltshire, someone paid pounds 304,000 for 28 illustrated letters by Beatrix Potter. The buyer was a book dealer, so no doubt he expects to sell them for more.

WHEN Irvine Welsh's splenetic frenzy of a novel, Trainspotting, was published less than a year ago, the praise was swift and extravagant. The realism of his garrulous, in-your-face prose style stunned critics. His cast of junkies, psychos, prostitutes and thieves, itching for a fight or a fix, blasted open the cosy image of the classless society, and of Edinburgh as a city of Georgian terraces and cultural festivals. Even if most readers were in no position to judge the authenticity of Welsh's account, we could not doubt the reality of his depiction of Edinburgh as the Aids capital of Europe. Where the novel's plot and characterisation wore thin, the sheer vigour of its language, meticulously transcribed from the street, drove you on. It was a hard act to follow.

THIS IS the last chance to enter our short story competition for new work for six- to nine-year-old children. The rules appear for the final time today and Saturday is the last day for entries.

Phoebe Barran, 12, and Amy Barran, 9, are nieces of Roald Dahl. Amy goes to Pembridge Hall school in Notting Hill, London. Phoebe attends Godolphin and Latimer school in Hammersmith. Their mother, Veronica, is the sister of Roald Dahl's widow, Felicity. Two other daughters are at university. Mrs Barran is a solicitor; her husband, Marius, an architect. They live in north Kensington.

A BUNDLE of papers belonging to the late Roald Dahl was supposed to be auctioned in Swindon today - and extremely interesting reading it would have made, too. One signed letter beginning 'Forgive the handwriting but I preferred not to dictate this to my secretary' is followed, according to the catalogue, by 'highly unusual arrangements for diverting funds from the film The Passage through an intermediary . . . contracts, the establishment of a Lichtenstein company, letters from the Inland Revenue, etc, etc.'

The hunt is on for the best new short stories of 1994, stories that no six- to nine-year-old will want to put down. The reward? A pounds 2,000 prize and publication in the Independent for the winning entry. Two joint runners-up will receive pounds 500 each, and the top 10 entries will be printed in a specially produced anthology by Scholastic Children's Books, making these the top awards in this country for unpublished work for children. The invitation is open to professional writers, but we want especially to encourage new talent.

TOWARDS the end of his life, Roald Dahl claimed that if he walked into any house in the world where there were children, he would be greeted with excitement and delight. Throughout his 74 years he made numerous bids for glory, none entirely without substance, but often exaggerated to the point of fantasy. Here, however, he spoke with more truth than usual; it may well be that the subject of this new biography by Jeremy Treglown is better known than any other English-language author of the second half of this century.

THE HUNT is on for the best new short stories of 1994, stories that no six- to nine- year-old will want to put down. The reward? A pounds 2,000 prize and publication in the Independent for the winning entry. Two joint runners-up will receive pounds 500 each, and the top 10 entries will be printed in a special anthology by Scholastic Children's Books, making these the top awards in this country for unpublished work for children. The invitation is open to professional writers, but we especially want to encourage new talent.

Sir: Christina Hardyment (Books, 12 March) is entitled to her opinions about Roald Dahl and about my biography of him. I would be grateful, though, if you would let me correct her suggestion that 'Dahl's best friends and closest relations' all refused to be interviewed by me.

'Readers may ask the question I often put to myself when I began researching the book: should I have given up and gone away?' writes Jeremy Treglown in the preface to his unauthorised biography of the most popular children's writer of all time.