• True Things About Me, by Deborah Kay Davies (Canongate)
• The Lost City of Z, by David Grann (Simon & Schuster)
• When a Billion Chinese Jump, by Jonathan Watts (Faber)
• The Predator of Batignolles, by Claude Izner (Gallic Books)
• One Day, by David Nicholls (Hodder Paperbacks)

True Things About Me, by Deborah Kay Davies

This is the story of a woman brave enough to risk it all. She understands better than most the things that we keep hidden. She comes to learn how the heart is usually stronger than the head. And she cannot help, despite her better instincts, being drawn into a sexually charged and highly volatile relationship. True Things About Me is a brilliantly written novel of survival that reveals simultaneously the strength and vulnerability of one ordinary woman.

With great honesty and unexpected humour, Deborah Kay Davies takes us deep into the mind of her unforgettable protagonist, and in doing so asks us to consider seriously what we might sacrifice for our desires.

The Lost City of Z, by David Grann

Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett was the last of a breed of great British explorers who ventured into ‘blank spots’ on the map with little more than a machete, a compass and unwavering sense of purpose. In 1925, one of the few remaining blank spots in the world was in the Amazon. Fawcett believed the impenetrable jungle held a secret to a large, complex civilization like El Dorado, which he christened the ‘City of Z’. When he and his son set out to find it, hoping to make one of the most important archeological discoveries in history, they warned that none should follow them in the event that they did not return. They vanished without a trace. For the next eighty years, hordes of explorers — shocked that a man many deemed invincible could disappear in a land he knew better than anyone, and drawn by the centuries-old myth of El Dorado — searched for the expedition and the city. Many died from starvation, disease, attacks by wild animals, and poisonous arrows. Others simply vanished.

• David Grann discusses The Lost City of Z

When a Billion Chinese Jump, by Jonathan Watts

When a Billion Chinese Jump tells the story of China’s – and the world’s – greatest crisis. With filthy water, choking emissions and an unsustainable appetite for resources, China’s development has taken our planet to the environmental edge. Now it faces a stark choice that will affect us all: accept catastrophe or make radical change.

To explore the response, award-winning correspondent Jonathan Watts travels from mountain paradise to blasted desert, through eco-cities, coal mines and industrial wastelands, examining the challenges facing those at the top of society and the problems and hopes of those below. His travelogue will interest anyone concerned with economic development, energy security, globalisation or climate activism. At heart, it is not a call for panic, but an expression of hope that – despite political constraints – individual choices can make a difference.

Consistently attentive to human detail, Watts vividly portrays the diversity of a country too often viewed as a faceless machine. No reader of his book – no consumer in the world – can be unaffected by what he presents.

The Predator of Batignolles, by Claude Izner

In the turbulent Parisian summer of 1893,Victor Legris has vowed to give up the dangerous hobby of amateur sleuthing to concentrate on selling books.

But a murderer is at large in Paris, intent on revenge for events that took place many years before during the Commune.

And when a bookbinder friend of Victor’s becomes the latest victim of the mysterious Leopard, the young bookseller feels impelled to resume his detective work and uncover the identity of the Batignolles predator.

One Day, by David Nicholls

`I can imagine you at forty,` she said, a hint of malice in her voice. `I can picture it right now.`

He smiled without opening his eyes. `Go on then.`

15th July 1988. Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways.

So where will they be on this one day next year?

And the year after that? And every year that follows?

Twenty years, two people, One Day. From the author of the massive bestseller Starter For Ten.

The Question

To win, answer one simple question, the answer to which can be found somewhere on Bookhugger…

• Question 1: In whose foootsteps does David Grann follow deep into the heart of the Amazon jungle in The Lost City of Z?

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Terms and conditions

1. Closing date for entries: 5th August 2010.
2. Open to residents of the United Kingdom only.
3. Entry to the competition is by completion of the above form only. Anyone submitting multiple entries will be disqualified.
4. The winners will be selected at random from those correct entries received before the closing date.
5. Only the winning entrants will be contacted by Bookhugger. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
6. The winner’s name(s) may be published on the Bookhugger website after the closing date of the competition.
7. The competition is not open to Bookhugger employees and their families, or to employees of Bookhugger publishers and their families.

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Octavia Frost is no stranger to life’s twists of fate.

She has mourned a husband and a daughter.

She has watched her son become a rock star, following his progress through gossip magazines: they have not spoken in four years.

And in her own, less spectacular way, she has built a name for herself as a writer.

But the news she receives today will make her rethink everything. And though the situation seems bleak, it could give her a chance to redeem the mistakes she’s made in the past. She may still have time to bring her own story to a different ending.

To win one of the ten copies that are up for grabs, answer the following question: What news story led Carolyn Parkhurst to write The Nobodies Album?

Complete the form below to enter – and don’t forget to read Carolyn Parkhurst’s essay.

Terms and conditions

1. Closing date for entries: 27th July 2010.
2. Open to residents of the United Kingdom only.
3. Entry to the competition is by completion of the above form only. Anyone submitting multiple entries will be disqualified.
4. The winners will be selected at random from those correct entries received before the closing date.
5. Only the winning entrants will be contacted by Bookhugger. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
6. The winner’s name(s) may be published on the Bookhugger website after the closing date of the competition.
7. The competition is not open to Bookhugger employees and their families, or to employees of Bookhugger publishers and their families.

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‘Disgusting,’ said the nurse.

And when no more could be done, they put her away, aged eleven.

On her first day at the Briar Mental Institute, Grace meets Daniel. He sees a different Grace: someone to share secrets and canoodle with, someone to fight for. Debonair Daniel, who can type with his feet, fills Grace’s head with tales from Paris and the world beyond.

This is Grace’s story: her life, its betrayals and triumphs, disappointment and loss, the taste of freedom; roses, music and tiny scraps of paper. Most of all, it is about the love of a lifetime.

To be in with a chance to win a copy, answer the following question:

Q: Emma Henderson based the novel in part on her real life experiences with a disabled sister. How many siblings does she have in all?

The answer can be found right here on Bookhugger.

Terms and conditions

1. Closing date for entries: 14th July 2010.
2. Open to residents of the United Kingdom only.
3. Entry to the competition is by completion of the above form only. Anyone submitting multiple entries will be disqualified.
4. The winners will be selected at random from those correct entries received before the closing date.
5. Only the winning entrants will be contacted by Bookhugger. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
6. The winner’s name(s) may be published on the Bookhugger website after the closing date of the competition.
7. The competition is not open to Bookhugger employees and their families, or to employees of Bookhugger publishers and their families.

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• Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel (Canongate)
• My Friend the Mercenary by James Brabazon (Canongate)
• Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty (Faber)
• Full Circle by Ferdinand Mount (Simon & Schuster UK)
• Grace Williams Says it Loud, by Emma Henderson (Sceptre)
• Proof copies of The Baker Street Phantom, by Fabrice Bourland (Gallic Books)

For one other winner, we have a set of Andrea Japp’s Agnes De Souarcy Chronicles: The Season of the Beast, The Breath of the Rose, and The Divine Blood, courtesy of Gallic Books.

Not a bad haul, we think you’ll agree? To win, answer a few simple questions, the answers to which can all be found right here on Bookhugger…

• Question 1: From which country does the remarkable refugee Zoya Phan originate?
• Question 2: Which author recently won the Orange Prize for Fiction?
• Question 3: Which African government was James Brabazon involved in discussions about overthrowing?

Terms and conditions

1. Closing date for entries: 8th July 2010.
2. Open to residents of the United Kingdom only.
3. Entry to the competition is by completion of the above form only. Anyone submitting multiple entries will be disqualified.
4. The winners will be selected at random from those correct entries received before the closing date.
5. Only the winning entrants will be contacted by Bookhugger. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
6. The winner’s name(s) may be published on the Bookhugger website after the closing date of the competition.
7. The competition is not open to Bookhugger employees and their families, or to employees of Bookhugger publishers and their families.

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Each pair of tickets is worth £26, and each winner will also be able to select as an additional prize one of Hilary Mantel’s books (in case you’ve read Wolf Hall already!). Perhaps the winners will read their books on their way to the Borders Book Festival, held at Melrose in the Scottish Borders, where the event takes place at 8pm on Friday the 18th of June in the Festival Marquee, sponsored by the National Library of Scotland.

To be in with a chance to win, answer the following question correctly:

Question: Having won the Booker Prize for 2009 with Wolf Hall, which other literary award is that book shortlisted for?

Terms and conditions

1. Closing date for entries: 11th June 2010.
2. Open to residents of the United Kingdom only.
3. Open to persons over 18 years of age only
4. Entry to the competition is by completion of the above form only. Anyone submitting multiple entries will be disqualified.
5. The winners will be selected at random from those correct entries received before the closing date.
6. Only the winning entrants will be contacted by Bookhugger. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
7. The winner’s name(s) may be published on the Bookhugger website after the closing date of the competition.
8. The prize has no equivalent cash value.
9. The book element of the prize is to be selected from a list of options, and is to have an RRP of no more than £10.
10. Winners must pay their own travel and accomodation costs.
11. The competition is not open to Bookhugger employees and their families, or to employees of Bookhugger publishers and their families.

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• The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and his friend Marilyn Monroe, by Andrew O’Hagan (Faber)
• Africa United, by Steve Bloomfield (Canongate)
• The Gourmet, by Muriel Barbery (Gallic Books)
• The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, by David Mitchell (Sceptre)
• The Temptress, by Paul Spicer (Simon & Schuster)

To enter, answer the following questions, all the answers to which can be found right here on Bookhugger:

• Question 1: What is the name of the central character in Muriel Barbery’s The Gourmet?
• Question 2: David Mitchell’s new novel is set on a tiny island attached to which country?
• Question 3: What is DBC Pierre’s forthcoming novel called?

Terms and conditions

1. Closing date for entries: 7th June 2010.
2. Open to residents of the United Kingdom only.
3. Entry to the competition is by completion of the above form only. Anyone submitting multiple entries will be disqualified.
4. The winners will be selected at random from those correct entries received before the closing date.
5. Only the winning entrants will be contacted by Bookhugger. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
6. The winner’s name(s) may be published on the Bookhugger website after the closing date of the competition.
7. The competition is not open to Bookhugger employees and their families, or to employees of Bookhugger publishers and their families.

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Set at a turning point in history on a tiny island attached to mainland Japan, David Mitchell s tale of power, passion and integrity transports us to a world that is at once exotic and familiar: an extraordinary place and an era when news from abroad took months to arrive, yet when people behaved as they always do – loving, lusting and yearning, cheating, fighting and killing.

Bringing to vivid life a tectonic shift between East and West, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is dramatic, funny, heartbreaking, enlightening and thought-provoking. Reading it is an unforgettable experience.

To win one of twelve copies that are up for grabs, answer the following question: David Mitchell has had two novels shortlisted for which literary award?

Complete the form below to enter – and don’t forget to watch the trailer and read the first chapter.

Terms and conditions

1. Closing date for entries: 1st June 2010.
2. Open to residents of the United Kingdom only.
3. Entry to the competition is by completion of the above form only. Anyone submitting multiple entries will be disqualified.
4. The winners will be selected at random from those correct entries received before the closing date.
5. Only the winning entrants will be contacted by Bookhugger. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
6. The winner’s name(s) may be published on the Bookhugger website after the closing date of the competition.
7. The competition is not open to Bookhugger employees and their families, or to employees of Bookhugger publishers and their families.

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Jack Rosenblum is five foot three and a half inches of sheer tenacity. Through study and application he intends to become a Very English Gentleman.

Jack is compiling a list, a comprehensive guide to the manners, customs and habits of this country. He knows that marmalade must be bought from Fortnum & Mason, he’s memorised the entire British monarchy back to 913 A.D and the highlight of his day is the BBC weather forecast. And he never speaks German, apart from the occasional curse.

From the moment he disembarked at Harwich in 1937 he understood that assimilation was the key. But the war’s been over for eight years and despite his best efforts, his bid to blend in remains fraught with unexpected hurdles. Including his wife.

Sadie finds his obsession baffling. She doesn’t want to forget who they are or where they come from. She’d rather bake cakes to remember the people they left behind than worry about how to play bridge.

But Jack is convinced they can find a place to call home. In a final attempt to complete his list, he leads a reluctant Sadie into the English countryside. Here, in a land of woolly pigs, bluebells and jitterbug cider, they embark on an impossible task…

Win a copy of Mr Rosenblum’s List

We have 12 copies of the book to give away – to be in with a chance to win, watch the video and answer this simple question:

According to item 95 on Mr Rosenblum’s list, what is best?

Complete the form below to enter.

Terms and conditions

1. Closing date for entries: 11th May 2010.
2. Open to residents of the United Kingdom only.
3. Entry to the competition is by completion of the above form only. Anyone submitting multiple entries will be disqualified.
4. The winners will be selected at random from those correct entries received before the closing date.
5. Only the winning entrants will be contacted by Bookhugger. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
6. The winner’s name(s) may be published on the Bookhugger website after the closing date of the competition.
7. The competition is not open to Bookhugger employees and their families, or to employees of Bookhugger publishers and their families.

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• Rosie Alison, The Very Thought of You
• Barbara Kingsolver, The Lacuna
• Attica Locke, Black Water Rising
• Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
• Lorrie Moore, A Gate at the Stairs
• Monique Roffey, The White Woman on the Green Bicycle

To enter, answer a few simple questions about the Orange Prize:

1. Which anniversary is the Orange Prize celebrating in 2010?
2. Which prize did one of the shortlisted titles already win in 2009?
3. Which publisher has two books on the shortlist this year?

Once you’ve found the answers, fill in the form below and keep your fingers crossed…

Terms and conditions

1. Closing date for entries: 8th May 2010.
2. Open to residents of the United Kingdom only.
3. Entry to the competition is by completion of the above form only. Anyone submitting multiple entries will be disqualified.
4. The winners will be selected at random from those correct entries received before the closing date.
5. Only the winning entrants will be contacted by Bookhugger. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
6. The winner’s name(s) may be published on the Bookhugger website after the closing date of the competition.
7. The competition is not open to Bookhugger employees and their families, or to employees of Bookhugger publishers and their families.

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