Podcasts by Bookclub

Donal Ryan: The Spinning Heart from 2023-12-03T16:45

Donal Ryan discusses his book The Spinning Heart with a group of readers, It's a powerful, moving novel told through twenty one individual voices. Set in Ireland in the immediate aftermath of t...

Katherine Heiny: Standard Deviation from 2023-11-05T16:45

Katherine Heiny answers readers questions about Standard Deviation, her hilarious novel about marriage, parenting and the road not travelled. Audra is married to Graham, who is divorced from El...

Bernardine Evaristo: Mr Loverman from 2023-10-01T15:45

Bernardine Evaristo joins James Naughtie and readers to discuss Mr Loverman, her 2013 novel about Barrington Walker, a married man with a secret life. Ever since his teens in Antigua, Barry has ...

Denise Mina: The Long Drop from 2023-09-03T15:45

James Naughtie is joined by Denise Mina to talk about her book The Long Drop. This intriguing true-crime story is set in 1950s Glasgow when notorious serial killer Peter Manuel spread fear th...

Mick Herron: Slow Horses from 2023-08-06T15:45

Mick Herron answers readers' questions about his novel, Slow Horses, the first in his hugely popular Slough House series. In it we meet the 'Slow Horses’ for the first time; failed spies who i...

Julian Barnes: Arthur and George from 2023-07-02T15:45

To mark our 25th anniversary, Julian Barnes returns to Bookclub. He’s answering readers' questions about his Booker-shortlisted novel Arthur and George. It's based on real events and tell...

Mary Lawson: Crow Lake from 2023-06-04T15:45

Mary Lawson joins James Naughtie and a group of readers to answer questions about her novel, Crow Lake. An international bestseller, it tells the story of four siblings, orphaned by a road acci...

Sarah Winman: Tin Man from 2023-05-07T15:45

James Naughtie and readers are joined by novelist Sarah Winman, answering questions about her novel Tin Man. It's a moving and intimate portrait of three characters, Michael, Ellis and Annie. T...

Tan Twan Eng: The Garden of Evening Mists from 2023-04-02T15:30

Tan Twan Eng talks to James Naughtie and a group of readers about The Garden of Evening Mists. A lyrical novel set largely in 1950s Malay (now Malaysia), it tells the story of Yun Ling, impr...

Nadifa Mohamed: The Fortune Men from 2023-03-05T16:45

Nadifa Mohamed joins James Naughtie and readers to talk about her award-winning novel The Fortune Men. Set in Cardiff in the 1950s, the novel is based on the real-life trial of Mahmood Mattan,...

Cal Flyn: Islands of Abandonment from 2023-02-05T16:45

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to Cal Flyn about her acclaimed book, Islands of Abandonment, an exploration of places which have been reclaimed by nature. She talks about her trave...

Ross King: Brunelleschi's Dome from 2023-01-01T16:45

Historian Ross King answers listener questions about his book Brunelleschi's Dome. An incredible story of one man's determination to build an apparently impossible structure, it's a tale of inge...

AJ Pearce: Dear Mrs Bird from 2022-12-04T16:45

James Naughtie is joined by writer A J Pearce and a group of listeners, as she answers their questions about her bestselling novel Dear Mrs Bird. Set in London in the 1940s, it’s the story of E...

Juan Gabriel Vasquez: The Sound of Things Falling from 2022-11-06T16:45

Juan Gabriel Vasquez answers audience questions about The Sound of Things Falling. Set in Colombia, the novel examines the personal and private impact of the drug wars that ravaged the country d...

Curtis Sittenfeld: American Wife from 2022-10-02T15:45

Curtis Sittenfeld answers listener questions about American Wife, a novel which follows Alice Lindgren's path from school librarian to First Lady, and is based on the life of former First Lady L...

Hilary Mantel - Bring Up the Bodies from 2022-09-26T09:05

In a special programme first broadcast in 2013, Hilary Mantel discusses Bring Up the Bodies, her second Man Booker Prize-winning novel with James Naughtie and his Bookclub audience.

Englan...

Kathleen Jamie: Selected Poems from 2022-09-04T15:45

Bookclub travels to Edinburgh where Scotland's Makar Kathleen Jamie answers readers questions about her Selected Poems, and her writing life.

Many poems here celebrate the natural world; ...

Kevin Barry from 2022-08-07T15:45

For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, James Naughtie is joined by an in-person audience who are putting their questions to Kevin Barry, about his novel Night Boat To Tangier. I...

John Preston: The Dig from 2022-07-03T15:45

John Preston talks to a group of readers about his novel The Dig, a fictional take on the excavations at Sutton Hoo. Set in the summer of 1939, with war looming, the novel re-imagines this celeb...

Diana Evans from 2022-06-05T15:45

Diana Evans answers listener questions about Ordinary People, her page-turner of a novel about contemporary black middle class experience in the London of today. An absorbing tale of two couple...

Nick Harkaway from 2022-05-01T15:45

Nick Harkaway answers listener questions about his extraordinary novel Angelmaker. A blend of fantasy, thriller and adventure the novel tells the stories of a young, disillusioned clock maker ...

Karen Joy Fowler from 2022-04-03T15:45

Novelist Karen Joy Fowler joins James Naughtie to answer listener questions about her Booker shortlisted novel We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, a surprising story about an unusual family,...

Sarah Moss from 2022-03-06T16:45

Sarah Moss joins James Naughtie to answer listener questions about her novel The Tidal Zone - a story of healthcare, parenting, and the echoes of the past.

Adam and Emma are parents to 1...

Stacey Halls from 2022-02-07T00:15

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to Stacey Halls about her novel The Foundling, set in 18th century London. It's the story of Bess, who gives up her new born baby to the Foundling Hosp...

Abir Mukherjee from 2022-01-02T16:45

James Naughtie and Bookclub readers talk to Abir Mukherjee about A Rising Man, the first in his Wyndham and Bannerjee detective series, set in Calcutta during the time of the Raj. Sam Wyndham ...

Rachel Joyce: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry from 2021-12-05T16:45

James Naughtie is joined by bestselling writer Rachel Joyce who is answering listener questions about The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. This moving, heartwarming story follows Harold as on...

Maja Lunde - The History of Bees from 2021-11-07T16:45

The History of Bees by Maja Lunde is set in three different times and in three different countries - nineteenth century England, present day Ohio and Beijing at the end of the 21st century. Ea...

Anthony Doerr - All the Light We Cannot See from 2021-10-03T15:45

Anthony Doerr talks to James Naughtie and a group of readers about his novel All the Light We Cannot See, which won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Set largely in St Malo in the 1940's, It...

Lissa Evans - Old Baggage from 2021-09-05T15:45

Lissa Evans talks to James Naughtie and a group of her readers about her novel Old Baggage.

Set in 1928, it tells the story of Matilda Simpkin, who was an activist during the Women’s Suffr...

Tahmima Anam - A Golden Age from 2021-08-01T15:30

A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam is set fifty years ago, during the Bangladesh War of Independence. The conflict is seen through the eyes of Rehana, a fiercely protective mother, whose children jo...

Tahmima Anam - A Golden Age from 2021-08-01T15:30

A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam is set fifty years ago, during the Bangladesh War of Independence. The conflict is seen through the eyes of Rehana, a fiercely protective mother, whose children join ...

Francis Spufford - Golden Hill from 2021-07-04T15:30

Francis Spufford’s novel Golden Hill won the Costa Book Award, the Ondaatje Prize and the Desmond Elliot Prize and was shortlisted for a host of others. It’s been described by critics as ‘a crac...

Melissa Harrison - All Among the Barley from 2021-06-06T15:30

Melissa Harrison is an acclaimed nature writer, novelist and podcaster. She joins James Naughtie and a group of her readers to discuss her novel All Among the Barley, set in Suffolk in the mid 1...

Liane Moriarty - Big Little Lies from 2021-05-04T11:13

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to Australian author Liane Moriarty about her New York Times bestselling novel Big Little Lies. Set in the sunny world of Pirriwee Public Primary Schoo...

Liane Moriarty from 2021-05-02T17:30

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to Australian author Liane Moriarty about her New York Times bestselling novel Big Little Lies. Set in the sunny world of Pirriwee Public Primary School i...

Amor Towles - A Gentleman in Moscow from 2021-04-04T15:30

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to Amor Towles about his bestselling novel A Gentleman in Moscow. The 30 year story of Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov takes in the sweep of Russian hist...

Kei Miller - The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion from 2021-03-07T16:30

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to award winning poet, novelist and essayist Kei Miller about his Forward Prize Winning poetry collection The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion.<...

Tana French - The Wych Elm from 2021-02-08T18:03

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to acclaimed Irish crime writer Tana French about her novel The Wych Elm, which was named a New York Times Notable Book of 2018, and a Best Book of 201...

Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go from 2021-01-03T16:30

Kazuo Ishiguro, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, discusses his novel Never Let Me Go with James Naughtie and a group of invited readers.

In one of the most acclaimed novels of rece...

David Vann - Legend of a Suicide from 2020-12-06T16:30

David Vann discusses his novel Legend of a Suicide with James Naughtie and this month's group of readers.

Legend of a Suicide is an intimate and profound account of a family tragedy, told ...

Tayari Jones - An American Marriage from 2020-11-01T16:30

Tayari Jones discusses An American Marriage, which won the Women's Prize for Fiction 2019. The novel tells the story of Roy and Celestial, a newly wed and successful African-American couple in ...

Joseph O'Connor - Star of the Sea from 2020-10-04T15:45

Joseph O'Connor talks about his novel of Irish emigration at the time of the Famine, Star of the Sea with James Naughtie and readers.

In the winter of 1847, the Star of the Sea sets sails ...

Oyinkan Braithwaite - My Sister, The Serial Killer from 2020-09-06T15:30

Oyinkan Braithwaite talks about her novel My Sister, The Serial Killer, a story full of deadpan wit and dark humour about two sisters in Lagos.

Korede is bitter and jealous of her beautifu...

Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson from 2020-08-02T15:30

August's edition is a Classic Bookclub - Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped - and is part of BBC Radio 4's ongoing support for students during the Covid-19 crisis. In the absence of Stevenson, our ...

Scott Turow - Presumed Innocent from 2020-07-05T15:30

Scott Turow talks about his first thriller, Presumed Innocent, with James Naughtie and a group of readers. The novel was first published in Britain in 1987 and Scott's books have since sold more t...

Max Porter - Lanny from 2020-06-07T15:30

Max Porter talks about his highly acclaimed novel Lanny, which was nominated for the Booker Prize 2019, and recently released in paperback. Max is one of the most exciting literary talents to em...

Rebecca Solnit - The Faraway Nearby from 2020-05-03T15:30

Rebecca Solnit is a leading American essayist and writer. She talks to James Naughtie and a group of invited readers about The Faraway Nearby, her recollections of her mother's advancing Alzheimer'...

Jenny Offill – Dept. of Speculation from 2020-04-06T12:26

American novelist Jenny Offill talks to James Naughtie and readers about her novel Dept. of Speculation. The novel is the story of a relationship between two people whose names we never know. They...

Marian Keyes - Rachel's Holiday from 2020-03-01T16:30

Marian Keyes talks about one of her most popular novels, Rachel's Holiday. Rachel Walsh is an Irish woman in her late 20s living in New York, but whose life is disintegrating around her. She's los...

James Meek - The People's Act of Love from 2020-02-02T16:30

Journalist James Meek talks about his novel The People's Act of Love, first published in 2005, a bold and imaginative work based in the wilds of Siberia where a strange and violent group of indivi...

Erin Morgenstern - The Night Circus from 2020-01-05T16:30

American author Erin Morgenstern talks about her fantasy novel The Night Circus which has become a cult favourite with readers. James Naughtie presents and an invited group of readers ask the ques...

Ben Lerner - Leaving the Atocha Station from 2019-12-05T16:00

American author Ben Lerner talks about Leaving the Atocha Station, his first novel narrated by a young man living outside his usual experience. Adam Gordon is a brilliant, if highly unreliable, y...

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding from 2019-11-03T16:30

To mark Bookclub's 21st birthday Helen Fielding talks about her creation Bridget Jones, with the first novel in the series, Bridget Jones's Diary. Bridget has now become an iconic figure in modern ...

Colson Whitehead - The Underground Railroad from 2019-10-08T14:46

Colson Whitehead talks about his novel The Underground Railroad with James Naughtie and readers The novel is a devastating and imaginative account of a young slave's bid for freedom from a brutal ...

Aminatta Forna - The Memory of Love from 2019-09-01T15:30

Aminatta Forna discusses her novel The Memory of Love with James Naughtie and a group of readers. The Memory of Love has as its background three decades of unrest and violence in Sierra Leone, A...

Owen Sheers - I Saw A Man from 2019-08-04T15:30

Owen Sheers talks about his novel I Saw A Man with James Naughtie and a group of readers at the Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea. After the sudden loss of his wife, Michael Turner moves from Wales to ...

Gail Honeyman - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine from 2019-07-08T10:04

Gail Honeyman talks about her novel Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine which won the 2017 Costa First Novel Award and has been a runaway success since. Gail was inspired to write her debut nove...

David Szalay - All That Man Is from 2019-06-02T15:30

David Szalay discusses his novel All That Man Is which was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize in 2016. All That Man Is is a meditation of modern man told through the stories of nine men from a...

Louise Doughty - Apple Tree Yard from 2019-05-05T15:30

Louise Doughty talks about her novel Apple Tree Yard, which went on to be a popular BBC television drama. It is the story of Yvonne, a high-flying married scientist, whose personal life is, by turn...

Richard Holmes - The Age of Wonder from 2019-04-09T12:58

Richard Holmes talks about The Age of Wonder, his non-fiction account of the Romantic age, as scientific and artistic thinking began to diverge. In the book he describes the scientific ferment th...

Simon Mawer - Tightrope from 2019-03-07T16:44

Simon Mawer talks about Tightrope, an espionage story featuring the enigmatic agent Marian Sutro which is set during World War II and the years into the Cold War. Tightrope opens as Marian return...

Alice Oswald - Falling Awake from 2019-02-03T16:30

Alice Oswald, Radio 4's Poet in Residence, discusses her collection Falling Awake which won the Costa Poetry Prize 2016. Falling Awake explores two of Alice Oswald’s recurring preoccupations - w...

Jessie Burton - The Miniaturist from 2019-01-06T16:30

Jessie Burton discusses The Miniaturist, her debut novel which was the subject of a bidding war between 11 publishers at the 2013 London Book Fair. Set in Amsterdam in 1686–87, the novel was inspir...

Poet Simon Armitage on his translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight from 2018-12-11T15:43

Simon Armitage talks to James Naughtie about his translation of the Middle English epic.

Meg Wolitzer - The Interestings from 2018-12-02T16:30

American author Meg Wolitzer discusses her novel The Interestings, which follows a group of friends from teenage years through to middle age and marriage and children. Aged 15, the group first mee...

Historian Antonia Fraser discuss her book The Gunpowder Plot from 2018-11-05T11:19

The Gunpowder Plot by Antonia Fraser.

Andrew Michael Hurley - The Loney from 2018-11-04T16:30

Andrew Michael Hurley discusses his book The Loney which won the Costa First Novel Award in 2015. Recorded with an audience at the Liverpool Literary Festival and presented by James Naughtie.First...

Karl Ove Knausgaard - A Death in the Family from 2018-10-07T15:30

Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard discusses A Death in the Family, which is the first part of My Struggle, his series of memoirs which have a devoted following. Already a successful novelist in...

Madeline Miller - The Song of Achilles from 2018-09-02T15:30

James Naughtie and Madeline Miller discuss her debut novel The Song of Achilles which won the Orange Prize for Fiction 2012. In The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller presents a love story against...

John Irving - A Prayer for Owen Meany. from 2018-08-23T16:21

A treat from the Bookclub archive celebrating our 20th anniversary

Neel Mukherjee - The Lives of Others from 2018-08-05T15:30

Neel Mukherjee talks about his Man Booker Prize nominated book The Lives of Others, which explores the way an Indian family's history is disrupted when one member becomes involved in extremist poli...

Doris Lessing - The Grass is Singing from 2018-07-20T14:22

A treat from the Bookclub archive celebrating our 20th anniversary.

Colm Tóibín - Brooklyn from 2018-07-01T15:30

Colm Tóibín discusses his best-selling novel Brooklyn with James Naughtie and a group of invited readers. Brooklyn follows the fortunes of a young Irish woman Eilis Lacey as she leaves home to ma...

Jan Morris discusses her classic travel book Venice from 2018-06-14T10:17

A treat from the Bookclub archive celebrating our 20th anniversary

Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale from 2018-06-03T15:15

Margaret Atwood discusses her dystopian masterpiece The Handmaid's Tale with James Naughtie and a group of readers. This edition celebrates Bookclub's 20th anniversary and includes contributions fr...

William Trevor discusses his short story collection After Rain from 2018-05-17T10:58

A treat from the Bookclub archive celebrating our 20th anniversary

Jo Nesbo talks about his book, The Snowman from 2018-05-06T15:30

Jo Nesbo talks to James Naughtie about his book, The Snowman.

Thomas Keneally discusses his Booker Prize-winning novel Schindler's Ark from 2018-04-17T08:37

A treat from the Bookclub archive to celebrate our 20th anniversary.

Sarah Perry discusses her novel, The Essex Serpent from 2018-04-01T15:30

Sarah Perry speaks to James Naughtie about her novel, The Essex Serpent.

Muriel Spark discusses the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie from 2018-03-15T17:40

A treat from the Bookclub archive to celebrate our 20th anniversary

Patrick Gale - A Place Called Winter from 2018-03-04T16:30

Patrick Gale discusses his novel, A Place Called Winter, set at the beginning of the 20th century. The life of Patrick's own great-grandfather Harry Cane provides the backdrop for a fictional story...

Douglas Adams discusses The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy from 2018-02-14T12:04

A treat from the Bookclub archive to celebrate our 20th anniversary

Eimear McBride talks about her debut novel, A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing from 2018-02-04T16:30

Eimear McBride discusses her book, A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing.

Colin Thubron - In Siberia from 2018-01-07T16:30

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to the renowned travel writer and novelist Colin Thubron about his account of travelling through Russia in the late 1990s, In Siberia. It's the story of ...

Clive James from 2017-12-31T20:30

James Naughtie and readers talk to Clive James about the first volume of his autobiography, Unreliable Memoirs, which has sold over a million copies. Clive James is a poet, essayist, novelist, doc...

Jennifer Egan discusses her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, A Visit from The Goon Squad. from 2017-12-03T16:30

In an extended version, Jennifer Egan talks about A Visit from The Goon Squad.

Edward St Aubyn - Mother's Milk from 2017-11-05T16:30

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to author Edward St Aubyn, who is best known for his five autobiographical Patrick Melrose novels, which dissect the agonies of family life with honesty, ...

Peter Hoeg - Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow from 2017-10-01T15:30

Peter Høeg's internationally bestselling Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow was the original Scandi-crime thriller. First published in 1992 the novel's runaway success was due to its extraordinary cent...

Patrick McCabe discusses his novel The Butcher Boy from 2017-09-03T15:30

Patrick McCabe speaks to James Naughtie about his novel, The Butcher Boy

Anne Patchett talks to James Naughtie about her novel, Bel Canto. from 2017-08-06T15:30

Anne Patchett on her award winning novel, Bel Canto.

James Naughtie talks to Deborah Levy from 2017-07-02T15:30

Deborah Levy talks about her novel, Swimming Home.

Michael Chabon - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay from 2017-05-07T15:30

Michael Chabon talks about The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier&Clay with James Naughtie and a group of readers. The novel follows the story of the teenage Josef Kavalier, who makes a daring escape...

Sunjeev Sahota - The Year of the Runaways from 2017-04-02T15:30

Sunjeev Sahota discusses his novel The Year of the Runaways which was shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize. The Year of the Runaways follows the stories of three undocumented Indian men who ...

Jonathan Safran Foer - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close from 2017-03-05T16:30

Jonathan Safran Foer talks about his acclaimed novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Set in the aftermath of 9/11, it is the story of a young boy coming to terms with the tragedy of his fath...

Kamila Shamsie on Burnt Shadows from 2017-02-07T16:32

James Naughtie and audience talk to Kamila Shamsie about her novel Burnt Shadows

Barbara Trapido - The Travelling Hornplayer from 2017-02-05T16:30

Novelist Barbara Trapido has been delighting readers over a forty year career. In The Travelling Hornplayer (1998) she spins a tale of betrayal, misunderstanding, coincidence and the passions of yo...

John Lanchester - Capital from 2017-01-01T16:30

John Lanchester talks to James Naughtie and a group of readers about his novel Capital, which was a major BBC TV drama in 2015. The residents of an affluent street in London are busy getting on wi...

Jay McInerney - Bright Lights, Big City from 2016-12-29T12:08

American writer Jay McInerney discusses his debut novel Bright Lights, Big City with James Naughtie and a group of readers. Bright Lights, Big City not only cemented Jay McInerney as a superstar a...

Bookclub - Helen Macdonald on H is for Hawk from 2016-10-02T15:32

James Naughtie discusses H is for Hawk with Helen Macdonald

Bookclub - Don DeLillo on Underworld from 2016-09-04T15:32

James Naughtie talks to Don DeLillo about his novel Underworld

Bookclub - Evie Wyld on After the Fire a Still, Small Voice from 2016-08-07T15:32

James Naughtie talks to Evie Wyld about After the Fire a Still, Small Voice

Bookclub - Maggie O'Farrell on The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox from 2016-07-03T15:32

James Naughtie talks to Maggie O'Farrell about The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

Bookclub - Tony Harrison's poem 'v' from 2016-06-05T15:32

James Naughtie and Tony Harrison discuss the poem 'v'

Bookclub with Javier Marias from 2016-05-01T15:32

James Naughtie talks to Javier Marias about The Infatuations

Bookclub with Elizabeth Strout - Olive Kitteridge from 2016-04-03T15:32

James Naughtie and audience talk to Elizabeth Strout about Olive Kitteridge

Bookclub with Michael Holroyd - A Strange Eventful History from 2016-03-06T16:32

James Naughtie and audience talk to Michael Holroyd about A Strange Eventful History

Bookclub with Kamila Shamsie on Burnt Shadows from 2016-02-08T10:42

James Naughtie and audience talk to Kamila Shamsie about Burnt Shadows

Bookclub with Richard Flanagan - The Narrow Road to the Deep North from 2016-01-03T16:32

James Naughtie talks to Richard Flanagan about The Narrow Road to the Deep North

Bookclub with Colum McCann - TransAtlantic from 2015-12-06T16:32

James Naughtie talks to Colum McCann about TransAtlantic.

Bookclub with China Mieville - The City and the City from 2015-11-01T16:32

James Naughtie talks to China Mieville about The City and the City

Tessa Hadley on Married Love from 2015-10-04T15:32

James Naughtie talks to Tessa Hadley about Married Love

David Nicholls - One Day from 2015-09-07T12:20

David Nicholls talks to James Naughtie and a group of readers about his novel One Day

Bookclub with A M Homes - May We Be Forgiven from 2015-08-02T15:32

A M Homes talks to James Naughtie about her book May We Be Forgiven

Bookclub with Jon McGregor - If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things from 2015-07-06T09:53

Jon McGregor discusses his novel If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things

Henry Marsh - Do No Harm from 2015-06-07T15:30

With James Naughtie. Doctors work under the oath 'do no harm', but the neurosurgeon Henry Marsh says the decision whether to operate on a brain is rarely that simple. His account of his working l...

Hisham Matar - In the Country of Men from 2015-05-03T15:30

James Naughtie and readers talk to Hisham Matar about his gripping debut novel In The Country Of Men. This international bestseller is set in Colonel Gaddafi's Libya of 1979, as the narrator Sulei...

Adam Foulds - The Quickening Maze from 2015-04-05T15:30

Adam Foulds discusses his Man Booker shortlisted novel The Quickening Maze with James Naughtie and a group of readers. Set in the 1840s, The Quickening Maze tells the story of the poet John Clare,...

Wilbur Smith - When the Lion Feeds from 2015-03-01T16:40

Wilbur Smith discusses his novel When the Lion Feeds with James Naughtie and a group of readers.

Judith Kerr - When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit from 2015-02-01T16:35

With James Naughtie. Judith Kerr discusses her novel When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. First published in 1971, she wrote it for her son in order to explain the story of her own family's flight from ...

Marina Lewycka - A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian from 2015-01-04T16:30

James Naughtie's first guest on Bookclub for 2015 is Marina Lewycka. Marina was born in Kiel, Germany, after the war, and moved to England with her family when she was about a year old.Her first n...

Patrick O'Brian - Master and Commander from 2014-12-07T16:30

With James Naughtie. In a special 200th edition of the programme we celebrate the centenary of author Patrick O'Brian and Allan Mallinson is our guide to the first in his hugely popular series of N...

Blake Morrison - And When Did You Last See Your Father? from 2014-11-02T16:30

With James Naughtie. Poet Blake Morrison talks about his memoir of growing up in Yorkshire in the fifties and sixties, the son of two local GPs. It's an honest account of family life, father-son re...

Tim Winton - Dirt Music from 2014-10-05T15:30

With James Naughtie. Celebrated Australian writer Tim Winton discusses his novel Dirt Music with a group of readers. Tim reveals how after seven years of writing Dirt Music, he was unable to hand ...

Allan Massie - A Question of Loyalties from 2014-09-07T15:30

With James Naughtie. Recorded at the BBC at the Edinburgh Festivals, Allan Massie discusses his novel A Question of Loyalties. First published in 1989, the book is widely acclaimed as his finest. ...

Sadie Jones - The Outcast from 2014-08-03T15:30

With James Naughtie. Sadie Jones talks about her novel The Outcast which won the Costa First Novel award in 2008. The book is about a boy called Lewis - his childhood and adolescence - as he grows...

Lorrie Moore - Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? from 2014-07-06T15:30

With James Naughtie. The celebrated American writer Lorrie Moore discusses her short novel Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? In the early nineties, Lorrie Moore was wandering through an art gallery...

Emma Donoghue - Room from 2014-06-01T15:30

With James Naughtie. Emma Donoghue discusses her novel Room with an invited group of readers. Donoghue, an Irish writer living in Canada, tells the story of a five-year-old boy, Jack, who has been...

Christos Tsiolkas - The Slap from 2014-05-06T10:30

With James Naughtie. Australian novelist Christos Tsiolkas responds to readers' questions about his award-winning debut The Slap.The book generated considerable debate - should you slap a child wh...

John Banville - The Sea from 2014-04-06T15:30

With James Naughtie. Celebrated Irish writer John Banville discusses his novel The Sea which won the Man Booker prize in 2005. In The Sea, middle-aged art historian Max Morden loses his wife to ca...

Disobedience - Naomi Alderman from 2014-03-02T16:30

With James Naughtie. Naomi Alderman, listed as one of Granta's Best Young Novelists 2013, responds to readers' questions about her first novel Disobedience.Alderman, herself a product of London's ...

Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner from 2014-02-02T16:30

With James Naughtie. Khaled Hosseini talks about his global bestselling novel, The Kite Runner with a group of invited readers.The book describes how the happiness of an afternoon's kite flying co...

Donna Tartt - The Secret History from 2014-01-05T16:30

With James Naughtie. Donna Tartt discusses her cult debut novel The Secret History, first published in 1992."I suppose at one time in my life I might have had any number of stories, but now there ...

Lee Child - Killing Floor from 2013-12-01T16:30

With James Naughtie. Lee Child discusses the first in his hugely successful Jack Reacher series, Killing Floor, and published in 1997. He's now gone on to write 18 books featuring his grizzled act...

Matthew Hollis - Now All Roads Lead to France from 2013-11-03T16:35

With James Naughtie. Matthew Hollis discusses his Costa winning biography of the poet Edward Thomas, Now All Roads Lead to France.The book is an account of the final years of Thomas who died in ac...

Paul Theroux - Dark Star Safari from 2013-09-01T15:30

With James Naughtie. The celebrated travel writer Paul Theroux discusses Dark Star Safari. The book is his account of an overland journey from Cairo to Cape Town, which he made 35 years after fir...

Deborah Moggach - Tulip Fever from 2013-08-04T15:30

Deborah Moggach talks about her bestselling novel Tulip Fever, a story of love, greed and betrayal in 17th Century Amsterdam. Artist Jan van Loos falls for his married subject Sophia during 'tulip...

Audrey Niffenegger - The Time Traveler's Wife from 2013-07-08T10:45

Audrey Niffenegger discusses her bestselling novel The Time Traveler's Wife with James Naughtie. It's a romantic story about a man - Henry - with a gene that causes him to involuntarily time trave...

Jim Crace - Quarantine from 2013-06-02T15:30

Jim Crace talks about his novel Quarantine. The novel is a re-working of the biblical account of Jesus' forty days spent in the wilderness; and, he says, has its roots in a 'Care in the Community' ...

Poet Gillian Clarke - Ice from 2013-05-05T15:30

The National Poet of Wales Gillian Clarke discusses her collection Ice which was shortlisted for last year's TS Eliot prize. Inspired by the snowy winters of 2009 and 2010, the poems in Ice move t...

Elif Shafak - The Forty Rules of Love from 2013-04-07T15:30

Turkey's leading female novelist Elif Shafak discusses her novel The Forty Rules of Love. The novel is about finding love and is written in two strands. One is the friendship between a whirling de...

Andrew Miller on his Costa award-winning novel Pure from 2013-03-03T16:30

Andrew Miller discusses his novel Pure, winner of the 2011 Costa Prize. Set in pre-revolutionary Paris, the book is a gripping, earthy story about the clearing of a huge cemetery in the area now kn...

George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia from 2013-02-03T16:33

John Simpson, the BBC's World Affairs Editor and writer Hilary Spurling discuss George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia, as part of the Radio 4 Real Orwell Season. Homage to Catalonia was first publi...

Ben Macintyre - Agent Zigzag from 2013-01-06T16:30

Ben Macintyre discusses Agent Zigzag - his bestselling book on the true story of a professional criminal named Eddie Chapman, a successful British double agent who infiltrated the Nazi intelligence...

Sathnam Sanghera - The Boy with the Topknot from 2012-12-02T16:30

Sathnam Sanghera discusses his memoir The Boy With The Topknot, which won the 2009 Mind Book of the Year. Born to Punjabi parents in the West Midlands, the book is his account of his childhood in ...

David Almond - Skellig from 2012-11-04T16:30

David Almond talks about his prize winning novel, Skellig, which is loved by children and adults alike. Skellig is the story of what happens when a Newcastle boy finds a strange man living in the ...

Marilynne Robinson - Gilead from 2012-10-07T15:30

American writer Marilynne Robinson talks to James Naughtie and readers about her novel Gilead, winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize. Marilynne Robinson enjoyed great success with her first novel, Hou...

Victoria Hislop - The Island from 2012-09-02T15:30

Victoria Hislop talks to James Naughtie and readers about her debut novel The Island, a fictional account of a real life leper colony, the island of Spinalonga, just off the coast of Crete. First p...

Michael Ondaatje - The English Patient from 2012-08-05T16:00

Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje talks to James Naughtie and readers about his 1992 Booker prize-winning novel The English Patient. The novel tells the story of the entanglement of four damaged li...

David Baddiel talks about Elizabeth Taylor's Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont from 2012-07-01T15:45

To celebrate the centenary of novelist Elizabeth Taylor, David Baddiel is our guide to her best known book, Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont. Like many writers, David Baddiel thinks that Elizabeth Ta...

Philippa Gregory: The Other Boleyn Girl from 2012-06-03T15:30

Philippa Gregory, queen of historical fiction, talks about her best-selling tale of lust, jealousy and betrayal, The Other Boleyn Girl. James Naughtie presents and a group of readers ask the questi...

Ross Raisin - God's Own Country from 2012-05-08T10:41

Ross Raisin is a young writer who won much praise for his debut novel God's Own Country in 2008. He discusses the book with James Naughtie and a group of readers. It's the story of Sam Marsdyke wh...

Anne Enright - The Gathering from 2012-04-01T15:45

Anne Enright talks to James Naughtie and readers about her 2007 Man Booker prize-winning novel The Gathering. The book was the surprise win of that year - beating Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach. Cha...

Alan Hollinghurst - The Line of Beauty from 2012-03-05T11:15

Alan Hollinghurst talks to James Naughtie and readers about his 2004 Man Booker prize-winning novel The Line of Beauty. Framed by the general elections of 1983 and 1987 which returned Margaret Tha...

Art Spiegelman - Maus from 2012-02-05T16:30

James Naughtie and readers talk to the American writer and artist Art Spiegelman about his graphic novel Maus. First published in short frames in his experimental comic RAW in the 1970s, Maus the ...

Hunter Davies on The Beatles from 2012-01-01T17:50

Hunter Davies talks to James Naughtie and readers about his biography of The Beatles, first published in 1968. Recorded at the Cavern, Liverpool. In 1966-68 Hunter Davies spent eighteen months wit...

Sebastian Barry: The Secret Scripture from 2011-12-04T16:30

December's Bookclub author is Sebastian Barry. Well known as a successful dramatist and novelist, his literary career became stellar when he won the 2008 Costa Book of the Year Award with this mont...

Iain Banks: The Wasp Factory from 2011-11-06T16:33

Iain Banks meets James Naughtie and readers at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh to talk about his debut novel The Wasp Factory, first published in 1984. This shocking novel is an insi...

Arundhati Roy - The God of Small Things from 2011-10-02T15:30

Arundhati Roy talks to James Naughtie and readers about her Booker prize winning novel The God of Small Things. It's Arundhati Roy's first and so far only book of fiction and it took the literary ...

Mohsin Hamid - The Reluctant Fundamentalist from 2011-09-04T15:45

Mohsin Hamid talks to James Naughtie and readers about his bestselling book The Reluctant Fundamentalist. This edition of Bookclub will be broadcast just two days after the novel has been featured ...

Donna Leon - Death at La Fenice from 2011-08-07T15:45

Donna Leon talks to James Naughtie and a group of readers about the first in her hugely successful crime series set in Venice, Death At La Fenice. The book launched the career of her fictional det...

William Fiennes - The Music Room from 2011-07-03T15:30

James Naughtie and readers talk to William Fiennes about his memoir The Music Room. The book is his account of growing up in a castle with an epileptic brother. It's an honest yet discrete story o...

Nicole Krauss - The History of Love from 2011-06-05T15:45

James Naughtie and readers talk to American writer Nicole Krauss, shortlisted for this year's Orange Prize. Our chosen novel is her critically acclaimed The History of Love.It's a complex tale o...

Andrew O'Hagan - Be Near Me from 2011-05-01T15:45

Andrew O'Hagan is a rising star in the literary world. He joins James Naughtie and readers to discuss his novel Be Near Me, the story of Father David, an aesthetic English Catholic priest working i...

Jennifer Johnston from 2011-04-03T15:45

Recorded at the Verbal Arts Centre in Londonderry/City of Derry, James Naughtie and readers talk to one of Ireland's finest writers - Jennifer Johnston. Now in her eighties, Jennifer has been cal...

Benjamin Zephaniah from 2011-03-04T11:24

James Naughtie and readers talk to Benjamin Zephaniah, the poet and novelist who's equally popular with both adults and children. Our chosen novel is Refugee Boy, written for young adults. Benjam...

Tim Butcher from 2011-02-03T15:26

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to journalist Tim Butcher about his bestselling travel book Blood River. When Tim Butcher was appointed the Daily Telegraph's correspondent to South Afr...

Howard Jacobson from 2011-01-05T13:21

James Naughtie and readers talk to this year's Man Booker prize winner - Howard Jacobson. The chosen book for this edition of Bookclub is the one he says he wants people to read : The Mighty Walzer...

Sarah Hall - The Carhullan Army from 2010-12-05T16:45

James Naughtie and readers talk to Sarah Hall about her novel The Carhullan Army, recorded at the Chapter and Verse Literature Festival in Liverpool. Sarah Hall is being tipped as one of the most ...

Claire Tomalin (on Thomas Hardy) from 2010-11-07T16:45

James Naughtie and readers talk to award winning biographer Claire Tomalin about her life of Thomas Hardy - The Time-Torn Man. Claire Tomalin is celebrated for her ability to create an intimacy of...

Roddy Doyle from 2010-10-01T11:31

James Naughtie and readers talk to the Irish writer Roddy Doyle about his Booker prize winning novel Paddy Clarke HA HA HA. In the novel ten year old Paddy rampages through the streets of suburb...

Yann Martel from 2010-09-05T15:30

James Naughtie and readers talk to the Canadian writer Yann Martel about his novel Life of Pi, which won the 2002 Man Booker prize and went on to be a global phenomenon. James Naughtie chairs th...

Siri Hustvedt from 2010-08-01T15:00

James Naughtie and readers talk to American writer Siri Hustvedt about her novel What I Loved. Siri Hustvedt's novel is part love story, thriller, and part family saga.It's set in New York's glamo...

Henning Mankell from 2010-07-04T15:00

James Naughtie and readers talk to the Swedish thriller writer Henning Mankell about his novel Sidetracked, featuring his detective Kurt Wallander. Henning Mankell's character is now in the panth...

Lynne Reid Banks from 2010-06-06T15:00

James Naughtie and readers talk to the celebrated author Lynne Reid Banks about her first novel, The L-Shaped Room. It was an instant success and has been in print ever since it was published exac...

Orhan Pamuk from 2010-05-02T15:00

Orhan Pamuk, Turkey's most prominent writer and winner of the Nobel Prize for Fiction, joins James Naughtie and readers to discuss My Name is Red. The novel is a complicated mixture of murder myst...

Jeanette Winterson from 2010-04-04T15:00

James Naughtie and readers talk to Jeanette Winterson about her breakthrough first novel Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, about a girl growing up in an Evangelical Christian group. This Spring Jean...

Douglas Coupland from 2010-03-07T16:00

James Naughtie and readers talk to Canadian author Douglas Coupland about his cult novel Generation X. First published in 1991, it became a worldwide bestseller and defined a generation. Set duri...

Alexander McCall Smith from 2010-01-03T16:00

World-wide bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith meets readers to discuss the first in his series of humorous novels set in Edinburgh - 44 Scotland Street. The presenter is James Naughtie. The...

John Irving from 2009-12-06T16:00

James Naughtie and readers talk to celebrated American author John Irving about his novel, A Prayer for Owen Meany. The novel starts with a shock - the eponymous hero hits a foul ball in a baseba...

Linda Grant from 2009-11-01T16:00

James Naughtie and readers talk to Linda Grant about her novel When I Lived in Modern Times, winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2000. Linda is known for bringing a strong Jewish identity t...

Gillian Slovo from 2009-10-04T15:00

James Naughtie and readers talk to Gillian Slovo about her novel Red Dust, a courtroom drama set in post-apartheid South Africa. Gillian is the daughter of Joe Slovo, one of the founding members ...

Robert Macfarlane from 2009-09-06T15:00

James Naughtie and readers talk to travel writer and literary critic Robert Macfarlane about his book The Wild Places, in which he sets out to discover if there remain any genuinely wild places in ...

CJ Sansom from 2009-08-02T15:00

James Naughtie and readers meet the best-selling writer CJ Sansom. They discuss Dissolution, the first in his series of Tudor mysteries featuring the investigator Matthew Shardlake. Shardlake is ...

Bernard MacLaverty from 2009-07-05T15:00

James Naughtie and readers meet Northern Irish writer Bernard MacLaverty to discuss his Booker Prize-shortlisted novel Grace Notes, which concerns a young female composer very much in a man's world...

Kate Grenville from 2009-06-07T15:00

Orange Prize winner Kate Grenville talks to James Naughtie about her novel The Secret River and answers questions from a group of readers. Told through the eyes of 19th-century deportee William T...

Xiaolu Guo from 2009-05-03T15:00

James Naughtie and readers meet Chinese author Xiaolu Guo to talk about her novel A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers. It is a story about discovery, language and understanding, and how...

Andrew Motion from 2009-04-05T15:00

As he prepares to leave the post, Andrew Motion talks to James Naughtie about his 10 years as Poet Laureate. He discusses his collection Public Property, which was the first to be published after h...

AL Kennedy from 2009-03-01T16:00

James Naughtie talks to the author and part-time stand-up comedian AL Kennedy about her 2007 Costa prize-winning novel, Day, the story of RAF gunner Alfred Day and how he comes to terms with the en...

Bernard Cornwell from 2009-02-01T16:00

James Naughtie talks to the novelist Bernard Cornwell. He joins an audience of readers to discuss the first novel in his series set in Saxon England, The Last Kingdom. The novel centres on the stor...

Oliver James from 2009-01-04T16:00

James Naughtie talks to the psychologist Oliver James. He joins an audience of readers to put his case against 'affluenza', a virus which he says is sweeping through the English-speaking world. Wri...

Amitav Ghosh from 2008-12-07T16:00

James Naughtie talks to the Indian writer Amitav Ghosh. He joins an audience of readers to discuss his novel The Glass Palace.

Fay Weldon from 2008-11-02T16:00

James Naughtie and Fay Weldon join an audience of readers to discuss her novel The Cloning of Joanna May, first published in 1989. She has written over 30 novels but maintains that this is the one ...

Michael Morpurgo from 2008-10-05T15:00

James Naughtie talks to Michael Morpurgo about his novel Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea, inspired by the history of English orphans transported to Australia after the Second World War.

Gore Vidal - Point to Point Navigation from 2008-09-07T15:00

James Naughtie talks to one of the great American men of letters - novelist, screenwriter, playwright, essayist, raconteur and notorious wit Gore Vidal. Now in his eighties but with his acerbity st...

Colm Toibin from 2008-08-03T15:00

Irish writer Colm Toibin joins James Naughtie and readers to discuss his Man Booker shortlisted novel The Master, a fictionalised account of five years in the life of Henry James. James is often th...

Asne Seierstad from 2008-07-06T15:00

With James Naughtie. Norwegian author Asne Seierstad discusses The Bookseller of Kabul, the novelisation of her time in Afghanistan as a foreign correspondent just after 9/11.

Jan Morris from 2008-06-01T15:00

Jan Morris joins James Naughtie and readers to talk about her portrait of the city of Venice. The book, simply entitled Venice, was written nearly fifty years ago.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie from 2008-05-04T15:00

Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie joins James Naughtie and readers to talk about Half of a Yellow Sun, winner of last year's Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction.

Simon Armitage from 2008-04-06T15:00

Poet Simon Armitage joins James Naughtie and readers to discuss his translation of the Middle English epic Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

William Hague from 2008-03-02T16:00

James Naughtie and an audience of readers are joined by William Hague to discuss his biography of William Pitt the Younger, who became the youngest ever prime minister in 1783.

Sarah Dunant from 2008-02-03T16:00

James Naughtie and an audience of readers discuss Sarah Dunant's The Birth of Venus, an erotic thriller set in Renaissance Florence.

Alice Sebold from 2008-01-06T16:00

James Naughtie and readers meet American author Alice Sebold to discuss her debut novel The Lovely Bones, which remained on the New York Times hardback bestseller list for a year.

Thomas Keneally from 2007-12-02T16:00

James Naughtie and readers meet the 1982 Booker Prize winner Thomas Keneally. The chosen book is Schindler's Ark, which remains one of the best evocations of the Holocaust.

Barbara Kingsolver from 2007-11-04T16:00

James Naughtie and an audience of readers discuss American author Barbara Kingsolver's novel The Poisonwood Bible.

James Robertson from 2007-10-07T15:00

James Naughtie and an audience of readers talk to James Robertson about his historical novel Joseph Knight, winner of two major Scottish literary prizes in 2003/4.

Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City from 2007-09-02T15:00

James Naughtie and an audience of readers discuss Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, which began as a newspaper column and became a best-selling series of novels.

Colin Dexter from 2007-08-05T15:00

James Naughtie and an audience of readers talk to Colin Dexter about The Remorseful Day, Chief Inspector Morse's last case.

Germaine Greer from 2007-07-01T15:00

James Naughtie is joined by Germaine Greer to discuss her groundbreaking book The Female Eunuch. Published in 1970, the book changed women's lives and has been in print ever since.

David Mitchell from 2007-06-03T15:00

From the Hay Festival, James Naughtie and an audience of readers talk to David Mitchell about Cloud Atlas, the novel that made him an overnight literary star.

Jodi Picoult from 2007-05-06T15:00

James Naughtie and an audience talk to author Jodi Picoult. Her novel My Sister's Keeper is about a young girl who sues her parents for the right to make her own decisions.

Jonathan Coe from 2007-04-01T15:00

James Naughtie and an audience of readers talk to comic fiction author Jonathan Coe, who discusses his novel What A Carve Up!

Alison Weir from 2007-03-04T16:00

Eleanor of Aquitaine was the most powerful and enigmatic woman of her age. Historian Alison Weir discusses her biography of Eleanor with James Naughtie and a group of readers.

Val McDermid from 2007-02-04T16:00

Val McDermid joins readers to discuss The Mermaids Singing, the story of a serial killer who stalks the gay subculture of a northern town. James Naughtie presents.

Jonathan Franzen - The Corrections from 2007-01-07T16:00

The author Jonathan Franzen discusses his novel The Corrections with James Naughtie and a group of readers at the British Library in London.

Salley Vickers from 2006-12-03T16:00

James Naughtie discusses Miss Garnet's Angel with its author Salley Vickers. The novel tells the tale of a retired teacher discovering love and art in Venice.

Lewis Wolpert from 2006-11-05T16:00

Under discussion is the scientist Lewis Wolpert's account of his experience of depression in Malignant Sadness. Wolpert joins readers and James Naughtie to discuss his approach to this debilitating...

Jane Gardam from 2006-10-01T15:00

James Naughtie talks to author Jane Gardam about her book Old Filth.

Matthew Kneale from 2006-09-03T15:00

James Naughtie is joined by author Matthew Kneale, whose book English Passengers won Whitbread Book of the Year in 2000. They discuss this rampant and ambitious piece of writing that deals with big...

Elmore Leonard from 2006-08-06T15:00

In the 100th edition of Bookclub, James Naughtie is joined by American crime writer Elmore Leonard to discuss his book Rum Punch. The novel is set in Florida and features the character Jackie Burke...

John Berendt from 2006-07-02T15:00

James Naughtie is joined by John Berendt to talk about his book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The story tells of what John Berendt experienced in Savannah, Georgia, in the early 1990s wh...

Lindsey Davis from 2006-06-04T15:00

James Naughtie is joined by Lindsey Davis to discuss her thriller Time to Depart, about investigator Marcus Didius Falco, a kind of 1950s gumshoe detective, operating in the teeming bustle of Rome.

Ali Smith from 2006-05-07T15:00

James Naughtie is joined in Brighton by novelist Ali Smith to talk about her book Hotel World.

Malorie Blackman from 2006-04-02T15:00

Malorie Blackman joins James Naughtie and readers to discuss Noughts and Crosses, her novel set in an alternative reality in which people are either a Cross, with money, prospects and position, or...

Lionel Shriver - We Need to Talk About Kevin from 2006-03-05T16:00

Lionel Shriver joins James Naughtie and a studio audience to discuss her book We Need to Talk About Kevin, a novel about an unloved son who grows up to commit a horrifying crime.

P J O'Rourke from 2006-02-05T16:00

James Naughtie is joined by American satirist P J O'Rourke to discuss Holidays in Hell, his account of his experiences as foreign correspondent for Rolling Stone Magazine in the late 1980s.

George Macdonald Fraser from 2006-01-01T16:00

James Naughtie is joined by George Macdonald Fraser to talk about his Flashman books which use Thomas Hughes' bully character from Tom Brown's Schooldays.

Joyce Carol Oates from 2005-12-04T16:00

American writer Joyce Carol Oates joins James Naughtie and readers to discuss We Were the Mulvaneys, the story of the break-up of a family after the random disaster of a rape.

Antonia Fraser from 2005-11-06T16:00

James Naughtie is joined by historian Antonia Fraser to discuss her book The Gunpowder Plot.

Hanif Kureishi from 2005-10-02T15:00

Playwright, screenwriter, novelist and film-maker Hanif Kureishi discusses his semi-autobiographical book The Buddha of Suburbia with James Naughtie and readers.

Alain-Fournier from 2005-09-04T15:00

Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier was Radio 4's Classic Serial in August. The novel cast a spell over a whole generation of French readers in the twentieth century, with its romanticism, its port...

Michael Dibdin from 2005-08-07T15:00

James Naughtie talks to crime writer Michael Dibdin in front of a group of readers, about his novel Blood Rain, the ninth in his Aurelio Zen series.

Oliver Sacks from 2005-07-03T15:00

James Naughtie talks to Dr Oliver Sacks about The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat, a collection of case studies into neurological disorders, all written from the point of view of the Dr.

Sue Townsend from 2005-06-05T15:00

James Naughtie is joined by Sue Townsend to discuss the life of her best loved comic creation Adrian Mole.

Andrea Levy from 2005-05-01T15:00

Andrea Levy, who won last year's Orange Prize and Whitbread Prize for her novel Small Island joins readers to discuss the book.

Richard Ford from 2005-04-03T15:00

James Naughtie is joined by American writer Richard Ford to discuss his novel, Independence Day.

Stephen Fry from 2005-03-06T16:00

The multi-talented Stephen Fry discusses and reads from his acclaimed novel The Hippopotamus, about a failed poet turned whiskey-sodden critic.

Bill Bryson from 2005-02-06T16:00

James Naughtie talks to author Bill Bryson about his book A Short History of Nearly Everything.

Zadie Smith from 2005-01-02T16:00

James Naughtie talks to Zadie Smith about the impact of her debut novel White Teeth.

Carol Ann Duffy from 2004-12-05T16:00

James Naughtie's guest is Carol Ann Duffy, one of the most widely read British poets, talking about her inventive and funny collection, The World's Wife.

Pat Barker from 2004-11-07T16:00

Booker prize winner Pat Barker joins James Naughtie to discuss Regeneration, her novel about the impact of the First World War on a variety of characters including poet Siegfried Sassoon.

Will Self from 2004-10-07T15:00

Will Self talks to James Naughtie and readers about his novel How The Dead Live.

Paul Auster - New York Trilogy from 2004-09-05T15:00

James Naughtie speaks to author Paul Auster about the novellas in his New York Trilogy and their themes of identity, mystery and ambiguity.

Muriel Spark from 2004-08-01T15:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers are joined by Muriel Spark to discuss her novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

Terry Pratchett from 2004-07-04T15:00

James Naughtie presents a special interview with Terry Pratchett to talk about Mort, his fourth installment of the Discworld series.

Minette Walters from 2004-06-06T15:00

James Naughtie presents a book discussion as Minette Walters talks with readers about her new novel The Scold's Bridle.

David Lodge from 2004-05-02T15:00

David Lodge is both a leading comic novelist and a renowned literary critic. He dicusses his novel Nice Work with James Naughtie.

Elizabeth Jane Howard from 2004-04-04T15:00

Elizabeth Jane Howard joins James Naughtie and a group of readers to discuss her book Falling, based on a real life failed relationship.

Sarah Waters from 2004-03-07T16:00

Sarah Waters, creator of Victorian romps, joins James Naughtie to talk about Fingersmith, a gothic tale of crime, swapped identities and mysterious parentage.

Peter Carey from 2004-02-01T16:00

Peter Carey joins James Naughtie and a group of readers, to discuss his novel the True History of the Kelly Gang.

Sir John Mortimer from 2004-01-04T16:00

Sir John Mortimer joins James Naughtie and a group of readers to discuss Rumpole and the Younger Generation as well as his first volume of memoirs.

Peter Ackroyd from 2003-12-07T16:00

Peter Ackroyd joins James Naughtie and a group of readers to discuss, and read from, his spooky novel Hawksmoor.

Esther Freud from 2003-11-02T16:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to Esther Freud about her semi-autobiographical first novel Hideous Kinky.

Melvin Burgess from 2003-10-05T15:00

Melvin Burgess joins James Naughtie and a group of younger readers to discuss Junk, his hard hiting novel about teenage runaways and heroin. Recorded at Longsight Library, Manchester.

Edna O'Brien from 2003-09-07T15:00

Edna O'Brien joins James Naughtie and a group of readers at the British Library to talk about her book Down by the River.

Amanda Foreman from 2003-08-03T15:00

Amanda Foreman joins James Naughtie and a group of readers to talk about her hugely sucessful biography of the 18th century socialite, Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire. Recorded at the British Library.

T. C. Boyle from 2003-07-06T15:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to T. C. Boyle about his novel The Tortilla Curtain.

Sally Beauman from 2003-06-01T15:00

Sally Beauman, author of the story of the first Mrs De Winter in Rebecca's Tale, joins James Naughtie and a group of readers at the Daphne Du Maurier literary festival in Cornwall to discuss Rebecca.

P. D. James from 2003-05-04T15:00

James Naughtie and an audience of readers meets crime writer P. D. James to discuss her novel Original Sin. Recorded at Shakespeare's Globe theatre in London.

Beryl Bainbridge from 2003-04-06T15:00

James Naughtie and an audience of readers meet the distinguished novelist Beryl Bainbridge to discuss her novel An Awfully Big Adventure, which draws on her days as an actress in the Liverpool Play...

William Trevor from 2003-03-02T16:00

William Trevor, long recognised as a master of the short story, talks to James Naughtie and an audience about his collection After Rain. Reading by the author recorded at Dr Johnson's House, in th...

Salman Rushdie from 2003-02-02T16:00

James Naughtie presents a discussion with Salman Rushdie about his Booker Prize-winning novel Midnight's Children.

Alan Bennett from 2003-01-05T16:00

James Naughtie and an audience of readers meet the much-loved author Alan Bennett to discuss his memoir Writing Home.

Jilly Cooper from 2002-12-01T16:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers at Beaufort Polo Club, talk to bestselling author Jilly Cooper about her racy novel Polo.

Jacqueline Wilson from 2002-11-03T16:00

James Naughtie and a younger than usual audience meet bestselling children's author Jacqueline Wilson to discuss her award-winning book the Illustrated Mum.

Barbara Vine  from 2002-10-06T15:00

Barbara Vine, otherwise known as Ruth Rendell, meets James Naughtie and a small audience at a Readers' Day in Scunthorpe to talk about her haunting novel A Dark Adapted Eye.

William Dalrymple from 2002-09-01T15:00

James Naughtie and a studio audience talk to travel writer William Dalrymple about his book From the Holy Mountain.

Maya Angelou from 2002-08-04T15:00

James Naughtie and a studio audience talk to Maya Angelou about volume one of her groundbreaking autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

David Grossman from 2002-07-07T15:00

A group of readers join James Naughtie to talk to David Grossman about his book See Under Love.

Michael Frayn from 2002-06-02T15:00

James Naughtie and a studio audience meet Michael Frayn to talk about Headlong, his prize-winning romp through the corrupt corridors of the art world past and present.

Mario Vargas Llosa from 2002-05-05T15:00

James Naughtie talks to one of South America's leading writers Mario Vargas Llosa, about his remarkable novel Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter.

Kazuo Ishiguro from 2002-04-07T15:00

A group of readers join James Naughtie to talk to Kazuo Ishiguro about The Remains of The Day, his acclaimed novel about life above and below stairs in the years leading up to World War II.

Rose Tremain from 2002-03-03T16:00

James Naughtie and a studio audience meet Rose Tremain to discuss her winner of the 1999 Whitbread Novel award about 17th century Denmark, Music and Silence.

J G Ballard from 2002-02-03T16:00

James Naughtie and a studio audience talk to acclaimed writer J G Ballard about his classic Second World War novel Empire of the Sun.

Ian Rankin from 2002-01-10T16:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers meet bestselling Edinburgh crime writer Ian Rankin in Inspector Rebus' favourite watering hole The Oxford Bar to talk about two of his novels: Knots and Crosse...

Nick Hornby from 2001-12-02T16:00

James Naughtie and a studio audience meet novelist Nick Hornby to discuss About A Boy; his insight into laddishness, masculine wish-fulfilment, fear and love.

Helen Dunmore from 2001-11-04T16:00

James Naughtie and a studio audience meet prize-winning novelist Helen Dunmore to discuss her compelling novel of maternal passions and sisterly intrigue, Talking to the Dead.

Wendy Cope from 2001-10-07T15:00

James Naughtie and a group of listeners celebrate National Poetry week by looking at the work of Wendy Cope, one of Britain's most popular poets. With readings of some of her best known poems.

Doris Lessing from 2001-09-02T15:00

A group of readers join James Naughtie to talk to the Nobel Prize-winning author Doris Lessing about her first novel The Grass is Singing.

Martin Amis from 2001-08-09T15:00

Martin Amis is this month's guest on Bookclub to discuss his acclaimed novel London Fields with a small group of readers and presenter James Naughtie.

Amy Tan - The Kitchen God's Wife from 2001-07-01T15:00

James Naughtie and a studio audience talks to Chinese-American writer Amy Tan about her acclaimed novel The Kitchen God's Wife.

Annie Proulx - The Shipping News from 2001-06-03T15:00

James Naughtie meets with Annie Proulx and a group of readers to discuss her acclaimed novel of life, love and death in far-flung Newfoundland, The Shipping News.

James Ellroy - The Black Dahlia from 2001-05-06T15:00

James Naughtie and acclaimed American crime author James Ellroy are guests of the Royal Navy on HMS Illustrious where they and the crew discuss Ellroy's classic thriller noir, The Black Dahlia.

Margaret Drabble from 2001-04-01T15:00

James Naughtie meets Margaret Drabble and a group of readers to talk about her searing portrait of English middle class life, The Witch of Exmoor.

Joe Simpson from 2001-03-04T16:00

James Naughtie meets mountaineer Joe Simpson to talk about his nail-biting, prize-winning book Touching the Void.

Penelope Lively from 2001-02-04T16:00

James Naughtie meets Penelope Lively and talks to her about her Booker Prize winning novel Moon Tiger in the company of the reading circle at Nightingale residential Home for Older People.

Tony Parsons from 2001-01-07T16:00

In a special edition of the programme, James Naughtie visits HMP Coldingley with writer Tony Parsons to discuss his hugely successful book Man and Boy with the prisoners' reading circle.

Graham Swift from 2000-12-03T16:00

James Naughtie and an audience meet Booker-prize winning novelist Graham Swift to talk about Waterland, his much acclaimed novel of love, loss and madness in the Fens.

Geoffrey Chaucer from 2000-10-22T15:00

James Naughtie discusses The Miller's Tale from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer with Dr Ruth Evans and an audience of readers.

Ian McEwan from 2000-10-01T15:00

The author Ian McEwan discusses his novel Enduring Love with a group of his readers and presenter James Naughtie. He reads an extract from the book and talks about how the novel was a voyage of exp...

Joanna Trollope from 2000-09-03T15:00

This month's choice is Joanna Trollope's Other People's Children; a multi-layered contemporary tale of broken homes and family imperfections, and where the step-mother defies convention and has the...

Anthony Beevor from 2000-08-06T15:00

This month's choice is Antony Beevor's Stalingrad; a gripping account of the horrors of the battle that was Hitler's big mistake and the turning point of World War II. James Naughtie and readers di...

Anita Desai from 2000-07-02T15:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers discuss the novel Fasting, Feasting with its author, Anita Desai, who also reads an extract from the book.

Susan Hill from 2000-06-04T15:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers discuss the novel In The Springtime Of The Year with its author Susan Hill, who also reads an excerpt from her book.

Philip Pullman from 2000-05-07T15:00

The author Philip Pullman discusses his fantasy novel Northern Lights with James Naughtie.

Charles Frazier - Cold Mountain from 2000-04-02T15:00

Author Charles Frazier discusses his bestseller Cold Mountain with James Naughtie and a group of readers. Recorded at the Politics and Prose book in Washington DC.

Carol Shields from 2000-03-05T16:00

Pulitzer prize-winning author Carol Shields discusses her book Larry's Party with presenter James Naughtie and a group of readers. She also reads an excerpt from the novel.

Isabel Allende from 2000-02-06T16:00

Author Isabel Allende discusses her novel The House of the Spirits with presenter James Naughtie and a group of readers, and reads an excerpt from the book.

Douglas Adams from 2000-01-02T16:00

In a special edition of the programme, James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to author Douglas Adams about his classic world-wide bestseller The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Julian Barnes from 1999-12-05T16:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to writer Julian Barnes about his fascination with the 19th century French novelist Gustave Flaubert.

Dava Sobel from 1999-11-07T16:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to author Dava Sobel about her international bestseller Longitude.

Anne Michaels from 1999-10-03T15:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to Canadian writer Anne Michaels about her prize-winning novel, Fugitive Pieces.

Margaret Forster from 1999-09-05T15:00

James Naughtie visits Cumbria where he and author Margaret Forster talk to a group of readers in Cockermouth Library about her novel Private Papers.

J K Rowling from 1999-08-01T15:00

James Naughtie a group of young readers talk to author J. K. Rowling about her phenomenally successful book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, from which she also reads an extract.

Kate Atkinson from 1999-07-04T15:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to writer Kate Atkinson about her prize-winning novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum.

David Guterson from 1999-06-06T15:00

James Naughtie is joined by author David Guterson to discuss his novel Snow Falling on Cedars.

Margaret Atwood from 1999-05-02T15:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to Margaret Atwood about Cat's Eye, her highly successful novel depicting the agonies of childhood cruelty.

Joseph Heller - Catch-22 from 1999-04-04T15:00

James Naughtie is joined by the author of Catch 22, Joseph Heller, and a group of readers to discuss the book which captivated a generation.

William Boyd from 1999-03-07T16:27

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to author William Boyd about his prize-winning book, Brazzaville Beach.

John Le Carré from 1999-02-07T16:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers from the Morrab Library, Penzance, Cornwall talk to John Le Carré about his Cold War spy trilogy Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; The Honourable Schoolboy and Smi...

Jane Smiley from 1999-01-03T16:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to American author Jane Smiley about A Thousand Acres, her novel based on the King Lear story.

A S Byatt from 1998-12-06T16:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to author A S Byatt about her novel Possession.

Andrew Davies/William Thackeray from 1998-11-01T16:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to Andrew Davies about William Makepeace Thackeray's classic novel, Vanity Fair, which he has adapted for BBC television.

Frank McCourt from 1998-10-04T15:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to the Irish-American author, Frank McCourt about his bestselling memoir Angela's Ashes.

Jung Chang from 1998-09-06T15:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to writer Jung Chang about her award-winning family history Wild Swans.

Louis de Bernières from 1998-08-02T15:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to author Louis de Bernières about his international best-seller Captain Corelli's Mandolin, set in Greece during the Second World War.

Robert Harris from 1998-07-05T15:00

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to author Robert Harris about his international bestseller Fatherland.

Toni Morrison - Beloved from 1998-06-07T15:00

James Naughtie talks to author Toni Morrison about her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Beloved.

Sebastian Faulks from 1998-05-03T15:00

In the first edition of this new programme, James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to author, Sebastian Faulks, about his best-selling novel, Birdsong.