‘Modern biology strengthens what Darwin already noted: nature experiments constantly with sex and gender, without being reduced to any single pattern.’
Alicia Kopf on Darwin, sexual selection and orchids.
Protected: Catalan Issue 2026
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The Best Books of 2025
From reissued classics, theory and art criticism to poetry, fiction, biography and even a memetic fiction born out of niche internet subcultures, here are The London Magazine’s Best Books of 2025.
Protected: December / January Issue 2026
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Review | Most Men Are Losers by Guy Stagg
‘While toxic figures with millions of online followers dominate the cultural conversation about masculinity, Szalay’s novels offer a more honest account of male experience. In short, most men are losers.’
Guy Stagg reviews David Szalay’s Booker-shortlisted novel, Flesh.
Protected: October / November Issue 2025
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Protected: August / September Issue 2025
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Guide | Found in Translation: JLF London at the British Library 2025
Its twelfth UK edition, and its ninth at the British Library, JLF London returned this June with a weekend of expansive and cross-cultural conversation. With nearly 40 talks across literature, art, gardening, food, music and film, the programme was diverse and incisive.
Guide | JLF London at the British Library
‘Our London iteration is a vibrant affirmation of multilingual literary connectivities. At this volatile moment of change and transformation, we seek to make sense of our fractured world, and to explore and understand it through our shared stories.’
Namita Gokhale on JLF London 2025 at the British Library.
Guide | A London Guide to the Future of the Novel by Simon Okotie
‘From the moment Don Quixote loses his mind from reading too many tales of chivalry, adopting their plots, characters and style for his own adventures, the modern novel has been grounded in a relationship with other texts – a process that generative AI now seems to be accelerating.’
Simon Okotie on the future of the novel.
The Best Books of 2024
This year, we asked our 2024 reviewers to select their favourite book of the year. Selections include Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst, Adam by Gboyega Odubanjo and A Question of Palestine by Edward Said, as well as collections of essays on French theory, re-issued aphorisms and photographic monographs.
Protected: December / January Issue 2025
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Guide | London in Five: November 2024
‘Through these dolls, I aim to challenge throwaway culture and the boundaries of traditional art, encouraging a more sustainable and playful approach to creativity.’
What’s on in London this November.
Guide | Folklore Rising by Ben Edge
‘As I took in these surroundings, I remember feeling a sense of history and all its ages existing side by side, like the whole history of London was happening at once…’
Ben Edge’s folklore-inspired tour of London.
Guide | London in Five: October 2024
‘What are you doing forever is how he asked me to marry him. It was three weeks into our togetherness though we had been friends for over a year. How do you go on without that sort of love?’
The London Magazine’s guide to five of the capital’s best cultural events and shows this October: art, theatre, literature and more.
Protected: October / November Issue 2024
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Fiction | Medusa of the Roses [Extract] by Navid Sinaki
‘I squeeze an orange to your mouth. You used to boil them to remove the bitterness from their skin. On a dare, you drank the liquid they left behind, all pith, just to impress me.’
New fiction by Navid Sinaki.
Protected: August / September Issue 2024
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Guide | London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre
‘In these turbulent times, the Southbank Centre’s London Literature Festival provides an evermore vital space for democratic discussion and we’re proud to offer a fantastic programme to inspire and nourish the next generation of creators and storytellers.’
Guide | You Belong Here at the Southbank Centre
‘In a society that often looks for scapegoats and with the fires of the culture wars stoked to create division, our programming this summer celebrates difference and creates bridges of understanding through welcoming, wonderful experiences for all to enjoy.’