53 m. ago ‘I’m here to open doors’: Bernardine Evaristo on success, controversy and why she plans to donate her £100k award

The Girl, Woman, Other author has this week been awarded a one-off Women’s prize award for her outstanding contribution. She talks about her long road to recognition, and using her profile to support other writersBack in 2013, Bernardine Evaristo gave a reading in a south London bookshop from her novel Mr Loverman. Only six people showed up, a couple of them were dozing and she realised they were homeless people who had come to find somewhere comfortable to sleep. Last month, the hit TV adaptation Mr Loverman, about a 74-year-old gay Caribbean man set in Hackney, east London, won two Baftas, including leading actor for Lennie James, making him the first Black British actor to win the TV award in its 70-year history. “I checked Wikipedia!” Evaristo exclaims of this shocking fact when we meet in London.Evaristo’s long career is one of firsts and creating them for others. In 2019, at the age of 60, she became the first Black woman to win the Booker prize – shared with Margaret Atwood –...

Economics

53 m. ago Manta man: film profiles unlikely bond between diver and giant sea creature

The Last Dive tells how a relationship with a giant Pacific manta ray turned a big game fish hunter into a conservationistLocated about 500km off the southern coast of Baja California lies a group of ancient volcanic islands known as the Revillagigedo Archipelago. Home to large pelagic species including whale sharks and scalloped hammerheads, the rugged volcanic peaks were also once the site of an unlikely friendship.It began in December 1988 when Terry Kennedy, a now 83-year-old American sailor with a storied past, met a six-meter-wide giant Pacific manta ray off San Benedicto island’s rugged shore. He would go on to name him Willy. “When I saw him beside the boat, as massive as he was, I just had to get in the water just to see him,” says Kennedy. “I threw a tank on and jumped over, but I didn’t see him anywhere. He couldn’t have vanished that quick. And then I looked straight down and he was coming up underneath me. He was about four feet away and rising so I had no way to get of...

Politics

83 m. ago I was enjoying a midnight swim. Then my girlfriend kissed me – and the nightmare began

Seventeen years ago Nathan Dunne was locked out of his body, or at least that’s how it felt. He talks about his battle with depersonalisation disorder – and his sudden fear of waterOn a cold winter’s night, in a “fit of spontaneity”, Nathan Dunne and his girlfriend went for a midnight swim on Hampstead Heath in London. They had been living together for a few months and, although it was dark and chilly, they “had a summer feeling in that first flush of the relationship”, Dunne says. They shed their clothes and waded into the shallows. After diving into the icy water, Dunne’s girlfriend put her lips to his cheek, and as they pulled apart, his life changed beyond all recognition. “It was like being struck. Like something came down,” he says, slicing the air with his hand. “The flip of a switch.”Dunne’s transformation sounds like a fairytale in reverse: one kiss, and his life turned into a nightmare. Seventeen years have passed since that night, and he still mostly explains the change i...

Politics

1 hour ago Gardener shares five summer annuals to plant now for 'immediate floral colour'

Gardening expert Tom Watson says the summer annual garden-ready plugs arrive at this time of year, and he starts to plant them into the pots, beds and borders

Politics

1 hour ago Horror as car plunges off cliff near coastal landmark with man 'recovered' from the water

It is understood a man was 'recovered' from the water by a lifeboat volunteer.

Events

1 hour ago Meghan Markle would've 'horrified' King with 'astonishing' move as she 'clings' to title

Meghan Markle raised eyebrows with a video of her twerking trying to bring on labour - and royal expert Jennie Bond has revealed how those at the palace would have reacted to the clip

Politics

2 h. ago The Potato Eaters review – a descent from visceral dread into full

Lazzaretto Vecchio, VeniceOn the site of a hospital for leprosy patients, audience members are invited to wander in near darkness among twitching body bags into a choreographed scene of ritualised tyrannyThere are strong Death in Venice vibes to the setting of Romeo Castellucci’s site specific production at the Venice Biennale Teatro. The show, by the Italian writer-director and his company, inhabits its own island – a long, lizard-like colony. The audience boards a shuttle and skims across the water to arrive at a building that was once a lazaretto – a hospital for leprosy patients. Associations with fatal infection and social isolation are chillingly resonance of the Covid pandemic. But as you wander into this disturbing promenade piece, things turn chilly in more ways than one.The building’s interior is stripped of its skin so that its brick and rafters lie bare, and there is a low electronic rumble of sound along its corridors which is as disquieting as the near darkness. Window...

Politics

3 h. ago Expert warns 'never book a holiday' without one specific item

A Which? travel expert has shared the one thing she'd never book a holiday without

Events

4 h. ago Protect your hair from sun, sea and chlorine damage on holiday with £24 'lifesaver' hair mask

Protect your hair from the sun, sea and chlorine with this £24 water-resistant hair mask that shoppers are hailing a 'lifeaver on holiday' and praising it for stopping hair going green

Economics

4 h. ago B&M records dip in sales as retail giant hikes prices and ploughs on with store openings

The discount retailer blamed challenging market conditions, yet its value-led business model should have thrived in a period where consumers were watching their pennies, an expert said

Economics

4 h. ago 'I promised my wife I wouldn't sleep with my girlfriend again – now she's pregnant'

JUST JANE: Today our agony aunt Jane O'Gorman is dealing with a new issue from a Daily Star reader who has two angry women on his tail

Politics

4 h. ago Teen 'desperate to be famous' dies after dangerous viral 'dusting' challenge

Renna O'Rourke, 19, suffered a cardiac arrest after she took part in the dusting challenge with doctors being unable to save her and donating her organs following her death

Events

5 h. ago Father's Day: How to spoil dad on a budget from great gifts to fun days out

MoneyMagpie Editor and financial expert Vicky Parry shares some favourite Father’s Day gift ideas for your father figure on June 15

Politics

6 h. ago Passengers in aeroplane window seats urged to do one thing before boarding

A dermatologist has weighed in on the viral TikTok video that suggested people in the window seat on a flight should be wearing sunscreen - here's what she had to say

Politics

6 h. ago ‘We only expected to sell 30 doughnuts a week’: The dessert café that’s gone viral just a month after opening

"Influencers have been mentioning us and more and more people keep on coming down now to visit"

Politics

6 h. ago Argos buyers praise 'comfortable' pillow for 'improving sleep quality'

Customers suffering from neck and shoulder discomfort praised the pillow for minimising pain and stiffness

Politics

6 h. ago UK households urged to dissolve 54p tablet in water and feed to certain plants

Gardening can be a massive headache when your plants are struggling - fortunately this easy hack involving one popular tablet will have them growing bigger and healthier

Politics

6 h. ago Frankie Bridge’s silk eye mask is hailed the ‘best sleep mask I’ve ever used’ by shoppers

Frankie Bridge gave fans a glimpse at one of her must-have sleep items, and Amazon shoppers say her padded silk eye mask is ‘super soft and very comfortable’

Politics

7 h. ago UK's secret paradise bay sandwiched between two of the best seaside towns

Botany Bay in Kent has been named the UK's most photographed beach and it's not hard to see why, whether it's the golden sands, sparkling water or the inviting rock pools

Politics

9 h. ago Lettuce stays fresh and crisp two weeks longer with 'easy' five

Lettuce is a staple ingredient in the summer when more people will be making salads and burgers, but this leafy green is infamous for spoiling quickly just after being bought

Politics