Category Archives: Ian McEwan

Martin Amis, Ian McEwan and Anna Wintour honoured in king’s birthday list

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Knighthood for late novelist Amis is dated 18 May as honours cannot be given posthumously

Two giants of the literary world, the novelists Ian McEwan and the late Martin Amis, are recognised in the king’s first official birthday honours along with the fashion colossus Dame Anna Wintour.

The Booker prize-winning McEwan, whose acclaimed titles include Amsterdam, On Chesil Beach and Atonement, becomes a companion of honour, the highest award for outstanding achievement, of which there are only 65 at any time.

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BBC under threat politically under Conservatives, says Ian McEwan

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Novelist compares UK to Hungary in Radio Times interview, while Ken Bruce criticises handling of Radio 2 exit

The BBC is “under threat, politically,” the novelist Ian McEwan has said, as he compared sections of the Conservative party to the populist right in Hungary.

The author of Amsterdam, On Chesil Beach and Atonement recently collaborated with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for an evening of words and music at the Barbican. The event came as the BBC’s classical music performing groups faced “catastrophic” cuts, and the corporation’s high-profile presenters including Gary Lineker clashed with the government over its policies.

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Europe ‘coming apart before our eyes’, say 30 top intellectuals

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Group of historians and writers publish manifesto warning against rise of populism

Liberal values in Europe face a challenge “not seen since the 1930s”, leading intellectuals from 21 countries have said, as the UK lurches towards Brexit and nationalists look set to make sweeping gains in EU parliamentary elections.

The group of 30 writers, historians and Nobel laureates declared in a manifesto published in several newspapers, including the Guardian, that Europe as an idea was “coming apart before our eyes”.

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