In its 31st year, the International Festival of Authors may be an adult now, but it’s still growing and changing. Here’s what’s new at one of the world’s most influential literary events.

Funny thing about identity, you never know when it’s going to creep into your consciousness.

You’ve never read anything like this series of stories. That’s because Brando Skyhorse’s subject – assimilating Mexicans in L.A.’s Echo Park neighbourhood – hasn’t seen much literary light. His voice is original and inventive.

If you ask Emma Donoghue the hardest part about being a Man Booker Prize shortlister, she’ll tell you it’s not losing. It’s the mammoth time commitment to media inquiries for her nominated novel, Room, that drains her the most.