CyberbullyingI’m often deluged with hate online – and I’m used to being told not to feed the trolls. But after one of them stole my dead dad’s identity to abuse me, I decided to ask him why For the past three years or so, at least one stranger has sought me out pretty much every day to call me a fat bitch (or some pithy variation thereof). I’m a writer and a woman and a feminist, and I write about big, fat, bitchy things that make people uncomfortable.

The author with his mother. Photograph: Justin QuarryThe author with his mother. Photograph: Justin QuarryClass issuesI’ve left the closet twice – as a gay man, and as an academic from a working-class background. The second was at least as hard Recently a colleague asked me what it was like growing up gay in Arkansas. Even I was surprised to find I didn’t have an answer. After all, I should be an expert on that subject – and, indeed, a couple of horror stories she no doubt expected to hear are true.

A portrait of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. ‘We need to keep talking, teaching, painting, writing and staying engaged. We can never retire.’ Photograph: Thomas KingA portrait of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. ‘We need to keep talking, teaching, painting, writing and staying engaged. We can never retire.’ Photograph: Thomas KingArtThe 80-year-old has become the first ever Native American artist to see her painting purchased by the National Gallery of Art in Washington Earlier this month, the National Gallery of Art in Washington announced it had made history – it bought a painting by a Native American artist for the very first time.

A flood-damaged bridge on the Ahr river in the village of Rech in the Ahr valley. Photograph: Michael Probst/APThe scars are still visible a year on in valley, which suffered more than half the deaths from the flooding disaster that hit Europe on 14 and 15 July 2021 by Agence France Presse and Associated PressThe dramatic floods of 14 and 15 July 2021 killed more than 220 people in Europe, leaving a trail of destruction in Germany and Belgium, and damage in the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland.

Jail sentence … an inmate reading at Wandsworth prison. Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/In Pictures/CorbisJail sentence … an inmate reading at Wandsworth prison. Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/In Pictures/CorbisBooks blogBooksBooks behind bars: five of the best stories about prison lifeFrom Alan Sillitoe’s inspiring story of a long-distance runner to memoirs about what life is really like on the inside, author and former inmate Erwin James shares his favourite books about crime and prison ‘Mr Nice’ Howard Marks dies aged 70 Books about crime and prison are often among the favourite reading choices for people in jail.