Some of the most acclaimed novels of our times have won what is now the Man Booker Prize over the past four decades. Now, they will be pitted against each other in a battle to be "the best of the Booker", as chosen by the public.

'Beneath my slacker habits lies an inner spod, horrified if I haven't produced a literary masterpiece in under a year'

Salil Tripathi Maximum City: Bombay lost and found by Suketu Mehta REVIEW pounds 20 (497pp) pounds 18 (free p&p) from 0870 079 8897

He is one of the most influential men in media, his ad campaigns have been used to promote governments, Wonderbras and Playstation. As outspoken as ever, he sounds the death-knell for bad ads, Conservatives - and olives. Sholto Byrnes listens to the Trevor-lution

The spiritual leader of Iran has reaffirmed the fatwa against the writer Salman Rushdie in a message to Muslim pilgrims.

SHORTLY AFTER her first bout with cancer, in 1995 Clarissa Luard joined the Arts Council of England as a literature officer. Three days before her death, on 1 November she was promoted to senior literature officer.

SALES OF the Independent on Sunday are booming. The latest circulation figures released last week reveal that sales in October jumped by more than 16,000 to 267,762, a 6.7 per cent increase on the previous month and a rise of 3.6 per cent on the same period last year. The daily Independent also continued to grow, with October sales of 230,677, up 8,000 on the previous month and an increase of 3.4 per cent on last year.

Sir: Did Yasmin Alibhai-Brown really mean to write, "Those people who burnt The Satanic Verses in Bradford were accused of censorship when what they were doing was expressing their rage at their own lack of any power in this country" ("Sex, politics and censorship", 9 September)?

JOHN LE CARRE couldn't make it, but Doris Lessing put in a rare appearance. Nick Hornby didn't show, but Salman Rushdie was there, although unannounced in the preview notices. Of J G Ballard there was no sign, but Kazuo Ishiguro stayed for lunch. Despite a handful of no-shows, the cream of British writers met their public in a London bookshop yesterday - all in the name of marketing.

THERE IS an extraordinary trial going on at the High Court, in which the BBC is for the first time suing an author under the Trades Description Act for - for - well, it's hard to say what exactly. Perhaps an extract from yesterday's proceedings will make things clearer.

IT IS with the deepest regret that I have to report that certain scenes in today's column will not be suitable for family reading. Conscientious parents - the sort of caring people who will soon be security-tagging their children - may wish to tear out the TV page and keep the rest of this section on a high shelf. For the theme of the day is the paranoia and ego of writers.

It's a tempting menu, but you can't have everything. So how do you decide what books to take on holiday? Blake Morrison offers some guidance

At last, a novelist has got the rock scene right. Ben Thompson asks Kevin Sampson about moving from stage to page

The Modern Library: The 200 Best Novels in English since 1950 by Carmen Callil and Colm Tibn Picador pounds 12.99