7-across – Bedfordshire safari park : WOBURN

8-across – 1986 science fiction film starring Sigourney Weaver : ALIENS

9-across – __ and 2, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s 1975 prize winner : HEAT

11-across – Scottish village, the birthplace of Hugh MacDiarmid : LANGHOLM

12-across – The __, Damon Galgut’s 2022 prize winner : PROMISE

15-across – Irvine __, author of Trainspotting : WELSH

17-across – Country having a land border with France and Slovenia : ITALY

18-across – Anna Burns’s 2018 prize winner? : MILKMAN

21-across – JM Coetzee’s 1999 prize winner? : DISGRACE

22-across – See 25 : ROAD

24-across – The Polish capital : WARSAW

25-across – What Richard Flanagan’s characters travelled to the Deep North in his 2014 prize winner? : NARROW

1-down – The __ People, Keri Hulme’s 1985 prize winner : BONE

2-down – 9 and __, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s 1975 prize winner : DUST

3-down – The patient’s nationality in Michael Ondaatje’s 1992 prize winner : ENGLISH

4-down – Claude __, actor who played Captain Renault in Casablanca : RAINS

5-down – Whose life & times JM Coeteze recounted in his 1983 prize winner? : MICHAELK

6-down – The largest city in the Aleutian Islands : UNALASKA

10-down – Much __ About Nothing – Shakespeare play : ADO

13-down – Sir Terence __, playwright whose works include Separate Tables : RATTIGAN

14-down – Person or language of Madagascar : MALAGASY

16-down – District of Tower Hamlets in London : MILEEND

19-down – Author of the so-called Little Red Book : MAO

20-down – Ruling in Islamic law, such as that pronounced against Salman Rushdie : FATWA

22-down – __ Stewart, former Conservative MP : RORY

23-down – __ Barksdale, drug dealer in The Wire : AVON

5-across – See 24 : THE

6-across – See 24 : VALLEY

8-across – See 24 : OF

10-across – Ornamental case, used to hold cosmetics or similar items : ETUI

11-across – 1952 western starring Gary Cooper : HIGHNOON

12-across – Ancient civilisation based in northern Mesopotamia : ASSYRIA

13-across – 24/5/6/8/__ – where the 26/15 rode, according to Tennyson : DEATH

16-across – Joseph __, composer and mentor to Mozart : HAYDN

18-across – WH Auden poem made famous by Four Weddings and a Funeral : FUNERAL

21-across – What unbeatable warships and excuses may be? : IRONCLAD

23-across – The captain of the Pequod? : AHAB

24-across – Where David met Goliath? : IN

25-across – Peggy and Pete __, US folk singers : SEEGER

26-across – It’s DC, when written in Roman numerals : SIX

1-down – Body of water surrounding the Solovetsky Islands : WHITESEA

2-down – __ 6, area whose ownership is disputed by Pakistan and India : KASHMIR

3-down – Mary J __, singer whose hits include Family Affair : BLIGE

4-down – Extinct bird : DODO

7-down – Sir George __, British politician after whom Toronto’s main street is named : YONGE

9-down – __ 8/5/6 – sweet-smelling flowering plant : LILY

14-down – Brand of coffee and rum liqueur : TIAMARIA

15-down – See 26 Across : HUNDRED

17-down – Claire __, star of Homeland : DANES

19-down – See 24 Across : ELAH

20-down – See 18 Across : BLUES

22-down – The South African currency : RAND

7-across – __ Dorries, culture secretary : NADINE

8-across – A jubilee city? : BANGOR

9-across – 2007 film directed by Sean Penn – or a family festival in Sussex : INTOTHEWILD

10-across – A jubilee city? : STANLEY

11-across – Cuban dance and music genre : MAMBO

14-across – Lord __, proprietor of Private Eye? : GNOME

16-across – Berkshire town where Wilde was imprisoned : READING

19-across – A jubilee city? : DUNFERMLINE

20-across – See 2 Down : KEYNES

21-across – __-Romagna, administrative region of Italy : EMILIA

1-down – Lewis __, racing driver : HAMILTON

2-down – A jubilee city? : MILTON

3-down – British luxury car brand, founded 1919 : BENTLEY

4-down – Henrik __, author of A Doll’s House : IBSEN

5-down – __ Gandhi, India’s third prime minister : INDIRA

6-down – Thomas __, once owner of a cricket ground in London : LORD

12-down – The highest peak in the UK : BENNEVIS

13-down – Johannes __, Dutch artist whose works include A Young Woman seated at a Virginal : VERMEER

15-down – The Spanish for tomorrow : MANANA

17-down – In linguistics, the use of words to give context : DEIXIS

18-down – Bob __, the chief of medicine in Scrubs : KELSO

19-down – Steven Spielberg’s first film for television : DUEL

5-across – 1983 gangster film starring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer : SCARFACE

7-across – Music festival held annually in Novi Sad, Serbia : EXIT

9-across – Bruce __, anti-nuclear campaigner who died this year : KENT

10-across – Birds of prey found throughout Europe : KESTRELS

11-across – __ Bunton, Baby Spice : EMMA

12-across – Music genre unlikely to have been heard at this year’s 2 in Manchester : INDIEPOP

14-across – Rap festival held annually in London : WIRELESS

16-across – Area of Boston MA popular with artists and designers : SOWA

17-across – Market town in Carmarthenshire : LLANELLI

19-across – Rival to Othello? : IAGO

20-across – The Thames at Oxford? : ISIS

21-across – The capital of Malta : VALLETTA

1-down – __ Franklin, the queen of soul : ARETHA

2-down – 1994 song and album by Blur : PARKLIFE

3-down – River reaching the sea between Hartlepool and Redcar : TEES

4-down – Margaret __, author of The Memoirs of Cleopatra : GEORGE

6-down – Club music festival held in Cheshire : CREAMFIELDS

8-down – Site of Bestival 2004-2016 : ISLEOFWIGHT

13-down – __ Hammett, author of The Maltese Falcon : DASHIELL

15-down – __ Hemingway, author of The Old Man and the Sea : ERNEST

16-down – Music festival held annually in Budapest : SZIGET

18-down – Peace & __, music festival held most years in Borlänge, Sweden : LOVE

6-across – Cole Porter musical based on The Taming of the Shrew : KISSME

7-across – __ Capote, author of Breakfast at Tiffany’s : TRUMAN

8-across – Mountain in Provence – and frequent feature of 21 : MONT

9-across – __ traverse; method for crossing between two points using rope : TYROLEAN

10-across – BBC television arts show discontinued in 2003 : OMNIBUS

12-across – Host of the 2022 Fifa World Cp : QATAR

14-across – Museum and art gallery in Madrid : PRADO

16-across – Controversial vegetable extract favoured by food manufacturers : PALMOIL

18-across – Archipelago and country situated in the Indian Ocean : MALDIVES

20-across – See 6 : KATE

22-across – Friedrich __, author of The Condition of the Working Class in England : ENGELS

23-across – The second astrological sign : TAURUS

1-down – Nickname for one of the three major stage races in cycling : GIRO

2-down – South African crime movie that won the 2006 Oscar for best foreign language film : TSOTSI

3-down – See 8 Across : VENTOUX

4-down – Nickname for one of the three major stage races in cycling : VUELTA

5-down – Desert straddling South Africa, Namibia and Botswana : KALAHARI

7-down – A hill near Glastonbury, topped by St Michael’s Tower : TOR

11-down – Gold medal winner in the 2012 Olympics women’s road race : MARIANNE

13-down – Madeline __, Bertie Wooster’s on-off fiancee : BASSETT

15-down – What a bumper car was called before they started bumping? : DODGEM

17-down – Soft boot usually made of reindeer or sealskin : MUKLUK

19-down – See 11 : VOS

21-down – Nickname for one of the three major stage races in cycling : TOUR