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25 March 2007 is the bicentenary of the Parliamentary Abolition of the British Slave Trade, which coincides with the publication of The Oxford Companion to Black British History which tells the story of Britain’s black population over almost two thousand years. Novelist and academic, DAVID DABYDEEN, is co-editor of the book and talks about this historic venture. The Oxford Companion to Black British History, edited by David Dabydeen, John Gilmore and Cecily Jones, is published by Oxford University Press.

From car crime and compensation culture, to vegans and victims, by way of eco-fascism and multiculturalism: How to be Right sets out to log everything that is wrong with modern society. In this A-Z collection of brief essays, JAMES DELINGPOLE calls for the down-trodden right wing to cast off their chains, spring from the closet and claim their ideas for the good common sense they once were. How to be Right is published by Headline Review.

Rabbits that glow in the dark, cloned cows, salmon that grow up to four times their normal size in a year: all are products of biotechnology, a science which could transform the way we farm and what we eat. But is it an abomination against nature or the key to a healthier global future? That’s the question which biologist OLIVIA JUDSON will try to answer in a new 3-part series on Channel 4, Animal Farm, and she explains why she thinks much of this technology should give us hope, not fear. Animal Farm begins on 19 March on Channel 4 at 9.00pm.

Manchester-born novelist HOWARD JACOBSON is returning to his roots to deliver the 2007 LS Lowry Lecture. Delving into Manchester’s cultural history and the psyche of the Mancunian, he explains his views on how the city helped shape what he describes as Lowry’s loneliness. His ‘matchstick men’ are viewed as one of the most recognisable images in 20th century British art, yet even in those famous crowded street scenes, according to Howard, his work portrayed feelings of desolation motivated by the city in which he lived. He also defends Lowry’s provincialism and his rejection of the snobbery of the art world. Howard is delivering the LS Lowry Lecture on 25 March at 7.30pm at the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays, Manchester.