What is The Idler? The Idler is a magazine (well, OK, like Granta it's published in book form, so perhaps it's a 'periodical') that celebrates freedom, fun and the fine art of doing nothing. The Idler team believe that idleness is unjustly criticised in modern society when it is, in fact, a vital component of a happy life. Each issue we bring you a unique and varied collection of features, reviews, interviews, short stories, photography, cartoons, art - and lots and lots of humour. We aim to comfort and inspire you with uplifting philosophy, satire and reflection, as well as giving practical information to help in the quest for the ultimate idle life. Contributors to this edition: 1. Pete Doherty some exclusive writings 2. Keith Allen his A-Z of life and nude photos from his Naked Keith 2005 Tsunami Appeal calendar 3. Nicholas Blincoe on his ancestor who was the model for Oliver Twist 4. Chris Donald with a view from the loo 5. Jeremy Dellar contributing something folk art-ish 6. Richard Donkin (Financial Times columnist) on medieval warriors and their distaste for work 7. Pat Kane attacks Will Hutton and the tradition of joyless pro-work propaganda 8. Holiday in Cambodia why Pnom Phen is an idler's paradise 9. Alex James on the joy of sheds 10. and Damien Hirst

Britain's coolest magazine', Alex James, Blur .'Uniquely engaging... devoted to idleness in all its forms... surprisingly energetic in its sagacious coverage of trends and trendiness... Packed with ideas', Time Out .'The thinking person's Loaded', Select .'Full of good things... genuinely radical, irreverent and iconoclastic', the Rt Hon Alan Clark, .'I'd read it even if I didn't write for it', Louis Theroux,

Tom Hodgkinson is the editor of the Idler, which he co-founded in 1993. He is also the author of the best-selling How To Be Idle. He lives in Devon with his