Three questions for… Robert Rowland Smith

George Miller asks an interviewee three questions – no tricks or traps, but no forewarning either. This time, his guest is writer Robert Rowland Smith, who has just published a book entitled Breakfast with Socrates: The Philosophy of Everyday Life.

Dan Cruickshank on the seamier side of Georgian London

Architectural historian Dan Cruickshank talks to George Miller about his history of the sex industry in Georgian London and its influence on all aspects of the city’s life.

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Canongate’s fiction highlights of 2009

2009 has been an amazing year. It really kicked off with a bang with the Presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, and Canongate really has had a fun time publishing fiction we love. Before looking towards the publishing about to come, here are some highlights from our 2009 fiction list.

Hilary Mantel reading from Wolf Hall

Enjoy this Bookhugger audio exclusive – Hilary Mantel reading from the Man Booker Prize 2009 winning Wolf Hall. Running time: 13 minutes.

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The Crusades – download an exclusive extract

Download an exclusive extract from Thomas Asbridge’s The Crusades, which is published in January 2010.

Oscar Wilde, a “Jester at the Court of English Literature”?

Though perhaps better known for his plays and his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde published three collections of short stories during his lifetime. John Sloan introduces Oscar Wilde’s literary career and the place of the short story within it.

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Independent Bookseller of the Month: The Gutter Bookshop, Dublin

Every month we feature a different bookshop – we ask them to tell us what makes them special and what they like most about what they do. This month we visit a brand new bookshop in the heart of Dublin’s fair city.

Short Story Collection Wins Guardian First Book Award 2009

An Elegy for Easterly by Petina Gappah, published by Faber, has won the Guardian First Book Award 2009, in association with Waterstone’s.

Listen to an interview with Petina Gappah

Read an extract from An Elegy for Easterly

Michael Slater on Charles Dickens

In this Bookhugger exclusive, Michael Slater reads from his new biography of Charles Dickens, the first major life of the novelist to appear in nearly twenty years.

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Join Hector in his search for happiness

Can we learn how to be happy? Hector is a successful young psychiatrist. He’s very good at treating patients in real need of his help. But many people he sees have no health problems: they’re just deeply dissatisfied with their lives. Hector can’t do much for them, and it’s beginning to depress him.

See Going West brought to life

A scalpel has brought to life a classic Kiwi novel in a compelling ad produced for The New Zealand Book Council.

Read an extract from Zombies

Zombies are making a big splash in our popular culture at the moment – and this frightening new contribution to the massively popular zombie resurgence will keep fans on the edge of their seats right up to the very end.