Fiction

The genre can shed light on less-acknowledged truths—it can also whitewash historical facts.

• By Elizabeth King

PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.

• By Kristina Kutateli

We know literary fiction can make us more empathetic. Can it also be used to raise geopolitical awareness?

• By Emily Tamkin

Behind the scenes at the only recurring academic event devoted to J.K. Rowling's beloved novels.

• By Amy McKeever

Seventy-five years after its first publication date, The Grapes of Wrath is still a staple in most American classrooms. Is that because we haven’t yet written anything that does a better job of portraying the devastation of not having enough?

• By Anna Clark

New research finds a compelling narrative can help us sidestep stereotypes.

• By Tom Jacobs

Silo Saga and Peace in Amber author Hugh Howey talks about Amazon's revolutionary new imprint, and fan fiction's rapidly shifting landscape.

• By Reyan Ali

In Chicago, high school students went searching for an imaginary girl's father. After a while, they started looking for the real one.

• By Kim O'Connor

New research finds people who read romantic fiction are good at picking up subtle facial clues revealing a person’s emotional state.

• By Tom Jacobs

The curious case of the “inverse CSI effect.”

• By Lauren Kirchner

New Canadian research finds reading a literary short story increases one’s comfort with ambiguity.

• By Tom Jacobs