The Times Literary Supplement (TLS) today launches a weekly digital edition, offering subscribers a new way to read the distinguished literary title, wherever they are in the world.

The TLS was established in 1902, appearing as a weekly supplement to The Times. It was the ambition of its first great Editor Bruce Richmond that it should be “the first Literary Paper” – meaning the leading one – and, over the century since it became a standalone title in 1914, it has been just that: the leading literary journal in the English-speaking world and beyond.

Today, the TLS remains unrivalled for literary insight, with contributors including Martin Amis, Julian Barnes, William Boyd, Mary Beard, Frederic Raphael, Marina Warner, Joyce Carol Oates, Elaine Showalter, Linda Colley, Amanda Foreman and Peter Stothard, who edits the paper, sharing their knowledge and expertise.

The launch of the TLS app means there are now three new subscriber packs on offer to readers around the world.

Digital access only for 12 months: £75 for subscribers in UK, Europe and Rest of World (ROW) and $115 for subscribers in the United States and Canada.

The Complete Works – digital tablet access + delivered print edition for 12 months:  £120 for subscribers in the UK; £145 for Europe; £170 for ROW; $185 for The United States and $230 for Canada.

Print edition only for 12 months: £115 for subscribers in the UK; £140 in Europe; £165 for ROW; $175 for The United States and $225 for Canada

The TLS app – available for download every Friday – provides a vibrant new way of reading comprehensive reviews of the most important publications across the humanities and sciences, along with the latest in theatre, opera, exhibitions and film.

This week’s edition leads with a study of Robert Browning: a man sensitive to criticism and disdainful of literary scholars. “The activity on which I have spent a good part of my career is one which I have every reason to believe the poet thinks impertinent, stupid and (to use his own words) ‘absolutely contemptible’”, comments our reviewer, Daniel Karlin.

Other literary highlights this week include a review of a book on Arthur Conan Doyle which addresses the vexed question of whether the author was himself more Watson than Holmes. There is advice from Nicola Shulman on how to get out of a sports car; Phil Baker reflects on how the Gothic has “climbed out of the cellar”; Lynsey Hanley considers what television meant to the British in the 1970s. In Fiction, Alex Clark enjoys Donna Tartt’s “dazzling and profound” new novel, The Goldfinch; Verdi and the Almeida Theatre's Ibsen are the focus of the Arts. There is also a special feature on a selection of Learned Journals ranging from Folklore to “Ecocriticism”.

The new edition, available from Friday 8 November, opens with Seamus Perry on the “boisterous, bloody-minded” D. H. Lawrence. Gwendoline Riley enjoys the “disturbances” wrought by Morrissey; Kate McLoughlin considers the “performance anxiety” around the impending centenary of the First World War; and Hal Jensen celebrates Flann O’Brien’s most distinctive qualities: “his ability to capture voices and his favourable opinion of drink”.

Available on electronic devices including iPad, iPhone and Kindle Fire, the TLS app is fully searchable, with enhanced graphics and user-friendly navigation. Further features such as audio clips and an interactive crossword will be introduced in due course.

For the best value for money and exclusive access to past issues – including unlimited access to the TLS online archive – subscribers are encouraged to purchase digital subscriptions directly from the TLS at www.the-tls.co.uk and, for the first time, readers in the United States, Canada and ROW can now opt to pay in monthly instalments.

Peter Stothard, Editor of the Times Literary Supplement, commented: “Today’s launch heralds the next chapter in the TLS’s long history. By offering an exciting digital version of each week’s paper we are making the best literary opinions and cultural insights more accessible to people right around the world”.

The TLS app is available now to download from the iTunes App Store and Kindle Fire Store. It will be available on Android devices via Google Play shortly. The app stores all offer the TLS app for purchase priced at £2.49 (UK) / $3.99 (U.S.) for a single issue or £6.99 (UK) / $9.99 (U.S.) per month.

To celebrate the launch of the digital edition of the title, the TLS will run a five-week book review competition via Twitter from November 15, with an iPad to be won each week.  Readers will be invited to tweet a review of a book of their choice in 140 characters or fewer to stand a chance of winning an iPad. The TLS editorial team will select the top entries from each week for publication on the website. Further information on the Twitter competition will be made available at www.the-tls.co.uk nearer the start date.