Author Julian Barnes confirms new novel will be his last

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 2 min read 100% complete by Caroline DaviesJanuary 18, 2026 at 03:12 PM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

Author Julian Barnes, who will turn 80 on Monday, has announced that his upcoming novel, *Departure(s)*, will be his last. Barnes, winner of the Booker Prize for *The Sense of an Ending*, stated he feels he has said everything he needs to say through his writing. While he will continue to write journalism and reviews, he will no longer publish novels. *Departure(s)*, described as a hybrid of memoir, essay, and fiction, explores themes of memory, love, and aging. Barnes, who was diagnosed with blood cancer six years ago, also revealed he secretly remarried last August. Over his 45-year career, Barnes has published 15 novels and 10 works of nonfiction, including *Flaubert's Parrot* and *England, England*.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Arthur & George 30% England, England 30% Flaubert's Parrot 40% Stephen 40% Jean 40% The Sense of an Ending 40% Metroland 40% The Telegraph ×250% Pat Kavanagh 60% Rachel Cugnoni 60% Booker Prize ×270% Julian Barnes ×6100%

Keywords

julian barnes 100% last novel 90% departure(s) 80% writing career 70% death 60% memoir 60% ageing 60% blood cancer 50% booker prize 50% journalism 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.20

Source Transparency

Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

julian barnes last novel departure(s)writing career death memoir ageing blood cancer booker prize journalism

Explore Full Topic Graph