Cover Stories: Penguin's new Classics list; short-story festival

Penguin is marking its 70th birthday with a new Classics list, its first since Modern Classics 40 years ago. Red Classics launches in January and each book will stand on its own, without an introduction. Nor, says publisher Adam Freudenheim, do the Red authors have to be a household name - simply the best storytellers around. The launch list includes Brontë, Bellow and Bulgakov alongside Tartt, Updike - and Sacher-Masoch, with Venus in Furs.

* The Bloomsbury Group is no more - but the second short-story festival, to be held at the Bloomsbury "summer palace" of Charleston, East Sussex, will surely be thick with atmosphere. Small Wonder (from 15 to 18 September) will mix literature with film, music and art, and offers the opportunity to participate in workshops. Among the writers present will be William Boyd, Zadie Smith and Ian Rankin. Details: info@charleston.org.uk