How Dickens shaped a Christmas story that still resonates

A Christmas Carol became definitive through tight structure, unforgettable characters and a hopeful arc that still resonates.

Train Dreams review: a quiet tale of enduring power

Bentley’s adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novella lets Joel Edgerton carry a story of grief, solitude and survival told in hushed, resonant rhythms.

How shifting from communal tales to individual heroes reshaped our sense of magic, selfhood and what a story is even for.

Discover how non-Western story traditions – cyclical, communal and porous – can expand your writing beyond the usual linear arc.

From fireside myths to modern fiction, stories helped us survive by teaching empathy, choices, consequences and how to live as a group.

How the humble footnote escaped academia to become fiction’s secret playground – part scholarship, part satire, and part sleight of hand.