This month's podcast has a “New Year, New You” theme, so we asked a selection of our authors to provide some inspiration for 2012. First, so we can all remember why we made those brutal new years resolutions, we're starting with some "retox" from Ben Masters, who will be reading an extract from his debut, Noughties, published by our Hamish Hamilton imprint. Next we have Dr. Mike Dow, author of Diet Rehab, with his top tips for starting a healthy 2012. We’ve also got John Tierney, co-author of Willpower: Rediscovering Our Greatest Strength, who will be answering some questions about the importance of willpower in success and happiness and finally we’ve got some career advice from Mrs. Moneypenny, who will be reading an extract from her new book, Mrs Moneypenny's Careers Advice for Ambitious Women.
In this special podcast, recorded with producer and engineer Roger Moutenot and accompanied by musician Ryan Norris, Hollis Hampton-Jones reads from the opening of her novel, Comes the Night. Drawing on her personal experiences as a model in Paris, she produces an eye-opening insight into the fashion world as well as dealing boldly and compassionately with a range of taboo and controversial subjects. A stark, unflinching novel with a dark heart, Comes the Night chronicles 19 year old Meade’s fevered and tormented journey through the frothy, glossy world of fashion and the shadowy recesses of love.
For more information about Comes the Night click here.
Hello and Merry Christmas from everyone here at Penguin! We’ve got a very Christmassy themed episode with a big focus on food , so if you’re not hungry now you certainly will be by the end. There's a talk from Pen Vogler, publicist here at Penguin and co-Editor of the Great Food series. She’s going to be telling us all about the history of Christmas food and how things like turkeys and mince pies became associated with Christmas dinner. After that there's a brillantly funny extract from the audiobook edition of India Knight’s festive novel Comfort and Joy. If you've ever been to Oxford Street for some last minute christmas shopping you'll understand her pain. And lastly we have Juliet Annan, the Publishing Director of Fig Tree, reading a lovely recipe for blinis from Felicity Cloake’s Penguin Short, Perfect Christmas Day.
For more information on the Great Foods series click here.
In this month’s podcast we’re celebrating the release of the Penguin Shorts, our new straight-to-digital series featuring some of our best writers.
The podcast features an interview with Venetia Butterfield, Publishing Director at Viking, in which she explains the thinking behind the Penguin Shorts. There’s also an extract from the audiobook edition of Colm Tóibín’s contribution, A Guest at the Feast, a captivating memoir of a writer coming of age and his connections between home, work and love. And finally we have an interview with Colm himself, in which he discusses a writer's approach to the short form and how it works for memoir.
Click here for more information on the Penguin Shorts.
Solitude is a familiar burden for Elizabeth Warner. She lives in a basement flat near Victoria and leaves the house only to go shopping and to have her hair done…
On 22 January 1879, at Isandlwana in Zululand, South-East Africa, the British Army suffered one of the worst defeats in its history. A camp of 1,700 men…
Christmas dinner is perhaps the one meal of the year where even the most relaxed cook feels the pressure of perfection - and, although few menus can be…
As Elif Shafak stands in line at the airport, she overhears a Turkish father expressing to a friend his bewilderment at the cultural differences he's experienced…
A turning point in the Second World War, the battle of El Alamein was the culmination of a military campaign like no other. Fought across desolate arid…
In this special podcast, TV personality Rob Brydon reads an extract from his autobiography, Small Man in a Book. Before his much-loved performances in shows including The Trip, Gavin and Stacey, Human Remains and Marion and Geoff, Rob Brydon had a difficult ascent to fame. In this extract, he discusses his college years and the trials and tribulations of starting your career.
Growing up in South Wales, Rob had a passion for radio (his hero was DJ Jimmy Savile) and even on-air humiliation aged just thirteen was not to put him off. For years the Welsh airwaves resounded to his hearty burr while he later became the voice of just about every household brand in the country - if appliances could talk they'd speak like Rob. All of them.
A Small Man in a Book has hit the shops today! You can get it in hardback, audiobook, ebook and a special enhanced ebook which includes loads of extra content. You can watch Rob talk about it on the video below.
Eli Pariser visited Penguin to speak to us (and now you) about his new book The Filter Bubble - What the Internet is Hiding from You.
Eli's 'filter bubble' is a concept that's about to change the way you think about the internet – it certainly changed the way we do. And if you're at all interested in online privacy, or the dilemmas involved in having companies like Google and Facebook tailor your internet landscape for you, we can't recommend the book enough.
For your Summer Reading Special enjoyment, we've got holiday book tips from Nicci French (Blue Monday), Felix Riley (The Set-up) and Jussi Adler-Olsen (Mercy). And then there's Matthew De Abaitua (The Art of Camping) on the countercultural side of camping, and Robert Penn (It's All About the Bike) on the democratic and genetic benefits of cycling.
Don't go on holiday without this episode. Unless you've already left. In which case we hope you're having fun!
For this episode of the podcast, five of our favourite authors sat down to discuss their shared experiences writing historical fiction, as well as their own unique perspectives on the past.
Harry Sidebottom (author of the Warrior of Rome series) discusses how the 3rd century was an era of rapid change that is wonderfully obscure to most. A. L. Berridge (Honour and the Sword) talks about why the contrasts between nobility and brutality in 17th Century England fascinate her. Karen Maitland (The Gallows Curse and Company of Liars) considers why she finds the myth and magic of the Middle Ages so captivating, as well as how she creates parallels between the historical and the modern to create a sense of familiarity for the reader. Stewart Binns (Conquest) talks about turning to his own time at school to find a heroic adventure from the 11th Century Norman Conquest. And Kate Williams (The Pleasures of Men) discusses the expansion of Britain and of cities in the Victorian era, and the, often overlooked, dark underworld that flourished.
Back in April we held the inaugural Penguin Bloggers' Night. Think of it like an evening of speed dating, where the internet had a gaggle of new books and authors vie for its affections. And here's your chance to listen to that gaggle:
Joe Dunthorne, author of the fantastic, film-spawning debut novel Submarine, read from the equally fantastic Wild Abandon, out in August.
Luke Williams, introduced his debut novel The Echo Chamber, and its narrator Evie, who hears things other people can't hear.
Jean Kwok explained the autobiographical background to her Girl in Translation.
Ross Raisin braved a Glaswegian accent to read from his second novel Waterline.
Rebecca Hunt brought Churchill's Black Dog of depression to shaggy, slobbery life in Mr Chartwell.
Helen Gordon gave her art critic narrator an awkward car journey in a reading from her debut, Landfall, published in October.
And Booker-shortlisted author Hisham Matar read from Anatomy of a Disappearance, his profound, moving new book about a young boy struggling to deal with the loss of his mother.
Thanks for listening! And thanks to Suzi Feay for hosting the night. And if you were at the event, please do leave us a comment letting us know!
Historical fact and historical fiction take over the Penguin Podcast for this episode all about writing and the past. Sarah Blake talks about her World War II novel The Postmistress, as well as the difficulties and rewards of writing about a different time; John Stubbs takes us back to the 17th Century to introduce us to two reprobates of the English Civil War; and Penguin audiobooks editor Ravina Bajwa introduces an excerpt from Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl read by Helena Bonham Carter.
The Penguin Podcast is a regular episode of book extracts, author interviews and features from Penguin Books UK. From debut writers to much loved prize winning authors; from your favourite celebrities to cutting edge thinkers; popular science to historical fiction and much more ...
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