Edinburgh International Book Festival: Recent Episodes
Edinburgh International Book Festival
The Edinburgh International Book Festival is one of the largest public celebrations of the written word in the world. Internationally renowned writers and thinkers from around the world gather at the Festival Village to trade stories, share ideas, discuss the hot topics of the day, inspire audiences and answer questions. The result is a wonderfully diverse programme of creative, joyful, interactive experiences. You can listen to some of the author events and discussions in this free series of podcasts – a small selection of what goes on in Edinburgh during August each year. There are also videos of selected events on Edinburgh International Book Festival’s website and YouTube channel (edbookfest).
Local writers and poets from across Edinburgh come together to create a collective love letter to the city they call home.
Episode 3:
Flic McCann
Jacqueline Gilchrist
Hilary Birch
Anne Hogarth
Local writers and poets from across Edinburgh come together to create a collective love letter to the city they call home.
Episode 2:
Elaine Harris
Sylvia Trotter
Janet Lewis
Susan Cheney
Marian Keyes didn’t start writing until her twenties, she felt that she was ‘all washed up at 30.’ But readers have had a love affair with Keyes that has lasted over two decades now.
It’s hard to imagine a greater, more reliable comfort than a new book by Marian Keyes landing solidly in your lap, promising all the qualities that have come to define her work: complicated family dynamics, bountiful quantities of laughter, skeletons in the closet and uncomfortable moments of truth that lie close to the bone. Her latest, Grown Ups, centres around Cara Casey, who after a bang on the head finds herself incapable of keeping mum on the family secrets.
With more than 35 million copies sold of her 13 novels to date, Keyes’s own brand of irrepressible, generous, hilarious storytelling goes from strength to strength. Join Keyes and writer Jenny Colgan for an hour of unforgettable grown-up fun in this event recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival.
‘You were always sitting in character, you were just never sure which one.’ So says Norah to the memory of her mother in Actress, the new novel by Anne Enright. The mother in question is Katherine O’Dell, who died aged 58 – the same age Norah has now reached.
Actress is a portrait of life in the theatre, of one woman’s rise to fame and her subsequent decline, with all the challenges that women on stage faced in the years before the #MeToo movement shone light on them. But this novel is also a tender examination of the relationship between mother and daughter – the reconstruction of an emotional landscape in which fame has left a trail of newspaper articles, photographs and public performances.
For this event, recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival, the Booker Prize-winning novelist is joined by Vicky Featherstone, Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre and the first Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Scotland, to discuss this sensitive portrayal of a life lived in the spotlight.
While the Summer of Love is about to unfold across the Atlantic, life in 1967 isn’t so easy for a young would-be musician in London’s shabby Charing Cross Road. Yet from this modest starting point, David Mitchell builds a joyful fictional biography of a band that will take the world by storm. Utopia Avenue is the finest prog-folk band you have never heard of, and the novel of the same name is a stylish romp through the rags-to-riches lives of drummer Griff, singer Elf, guitarist Jasper and bass player Dean.
Organised around the song titles of the band’s albums, Utopia Avenue's clever structure also gives it a powerful narrative drive – with added zest from a series of cheeky cameo appearances by real-life rock legends including David Bowie and Leonard Cohen.
Funny, whip-smart and occasionally veering into the fantastical, it is one of the most compellingly entertaining reads of 2020. Join Mitchell in this event recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival as he shares his notes with folk singer and musician Sam Amidon, who also plays some of his most recent music.
Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency is more than just a collection of Olivia Laing’s essays over decades. Ranging from interviews and profiles to reflections and confessionals, Laing’s characteristic generosity of spirit and optimism of purpose inspires hope in the midst of the unsettling weather of the present emergency.
But this book is also a manifesto for the power, the value and the need for art: ‘Art is… political in the sense of being available as a tool for protest and activism… but it’s also political in that it continually offers new perspectives, new ways of seeing, other consciousnesses with which to view reality.’
With Fiona Bradley, Director of the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh, Laing unpacks our political, emotional and creative selves in this event recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival, drawing us in to her career-spanning conversations with art, with artists, and with herself.
2020 was, without doubt, a banner year for challenging our understanding of what constitutes a global problem and how equipped we are to address that task collectively. At the start of that year — what feels like an age ago — after generations of scientific findings and urgent calls to action, a unified, collective response to the global climate crisis remained elusive. But there were some green shoots of hope.
Late in 2019, the European Commission announced the formation of the European Green Deal, a body that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared was Europe’s ‘Man on the Moon moment’: a plan to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent. Dutch politician and diplomat Frans Timmermans was named Executive Vice-President for the project and planning, and began negotiating with vigour. Then the pandemic hit.
In this special conversation recorded live at the 2020 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Timmermans sits down with former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to discuss the politics of environmental change. How much action is needed for meaningful change? What are the roadblocks to genuinely ending Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels? And what does a green recovery from COVID-19 look like?
As a war correspondent in the Balkans, through to her time as senior policy advisor to Barack Obama, and her appointment in 2013 as US Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power has spent her career committed to resolving international conflict and protecting human dignity.
In her intimate and candid memoir, Education of an Idealist, Power offers an urgent response to the pressing question of our times, ‘What can one person do?’.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and Professor of Human Rights talks with Allan Little in our annual Frederick Hood Memorial Lecture, recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival.
‘Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.’ So said Abraham Lincoln in one of his rousing speeches, but it is a sentiment that could come straight out of the playbook of popular Dutch historian Rutger Bregman.
Bregman's compelling ‘hopeful history,’ Humankind, is a bracingly optimistic account of human nature. Essentially, in his view, the vast majority of people are pretty decent. He contrasts this idea with biologist Frans de Waal’s ‘veneer theory’ which posits that beneath a thin skin of human decency, there’s a savage waiting to burst forth.
Superbly readable and full of fascinating evidence, Bregman’s book also looks at how his optimistic analysis of human nature could play out in policy terms. Hyper-local participatory democracy? Schools with little or no curriculum? A change to the tough treatment of people serving time in prisons? In this event recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival, Bregman shares his invigorating thesis with Lee Randall.
Earmarked as ‘the voice of our communal consciousness’ by Edinburgh International Book Festival’s 2018 Guest Selector Afua Hirsch, it’s hard to believe that Roger Robinson hasn’t been a staple of British public life since time immemorial.
A fixture of the UK spoken word scene for many years, Robinson rocketed to national prominence in 2019 when his third poetry collection, A Portable Paradise, bagged the prestigious T S Eliot Prize.
Firmly rooted in the dub poetry tradition of his Trinidadian heritage, Robinson’s plain-speaking, fizzy, often joyous verse journeys through our contemporary preoccupations with a seasoned insight few could replicate. From the ongoing injustices of Grenfell to the pains and pleasures of family life, he unpacks the cosmos of ideas that make up A Portable Paradise with fellow poet Kei Miller in this event recorded for the 2020 Book Festival.
With Val McDermid’s iconic detective soon set to hit our screens, it couldn’t be a more perfect time to revisit Police Scotland's Historic Cases Unit and the savvy, no-nonsense DCI Karen Pirie.
A thrilling new head-scratcher from the undisputed ‘Queen of Crime,’ Still Life sees the much-loved detective inspector confronted by a decade-old cold case, drawing her into a historical cover-up that someone would do anything to keep under wraps. With all the dizzying narrative trickery and canny characterisation we’ve come to expect from one of our finest literary minds, this sixth instalment in the bestselling series is Val McDermid at the top of her game.
Inspired in part by the wildly popular Portrait Artist of the Year competition, the ever-inventive author teases the mysterious connection between Still Life and the Sky Arts series in a conversation with one of its widely-admired presenters, Dame Joan Bakewell,recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival.
‘Life is just a party, and parties weren’t meant to last.’ The post-punk protagonists of Andrew O’Hagan’s Mayflies would probably describe the lyrics of Prince’s hit pop song 1999 as ‘Yankee pish,’ but O’Hagan’s novel catches exactly the mood of the song. The ephemeral nature of life, burning brightly and then so soon extinguished, lies at the heart of this soulful story of two lads from small-town Scotland.
Tully and James are growing up in Irvine, steeped in the music of the Fire Engines, the Fall and the poetry of John Cooper Clarke. Together they rush towards the climax of their youth in an unforgettable, friendship-defining weekend in Manchester. Thirty years later, Tully calls his old pal with some troubling news.
The fine grain of working-class teenagers’s lives; the blether, the binge-drinking and nights on the pull: Mayflies sees Andrew O’Hagan in scintillating, heartbreakingly good form. He talks with fellow Scottish writer, columnist and doyen of the literary salon, Damian Barr in this event recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival.
One of Scotland’s most gifted and unpredictable writers, Michel Faber has always defied categorisation. His previous novels including Under the Skin, The Crimson Petal and the White and The Book of Strange New Things have been described as ‘unbelievably clever,’ ‘wildly entertaining’ and ‘impossible to put down.’
Now he returns with D, his most shape-shifting book yet. Like The Wizard of Oz, Faber’s novel is a political adventure that will be enjoyed by children and adults alike. Its heroine is brave, resourceful Dhikilo who lives in a faded English seaside town. When the letter ‘d’ suddenly disappears from the alphabet and only Dhikilo notices it’s gone, she embarks on a journey to the land of Liminus to get the ‘d’ back.
Reminiscent of Charles Dickens and of Lewis Carroll, Michel Faber’s fable is a delightful sideways look at the evils of our times. He joins us to discuss Dhikilo’s wild odyssey with literary critic Stuart Kelly in this event recorded for the 2020 Book Festival.
Rarely does a novel set the Scottish literary scene abuzz in the way Scabby Queen has, counting amongst its fans figures as wide-ranging as Janice Galloway, Ian Rankin and Nicola Sturgeon.
Sexy rock starlet, veteran political activist, symbol of a nation in decline — who really was Clio Campbell? In Kirstin Innes’s effervescent follow-up to her Not the Booker Prize-winning Fishnet, she invites you on a whistle-stop tour of the fictional Glasgow chanteuse’s life in the days following her suicide, so that someone might finally be able to answer that question.
Written from the perspective of those who loved (and hated) her most, and taking in everything from Top of the Pops to IndyRef along the way, Scabby Queen will have you hooked. Kirstin Innes joins Heather Parry in this event recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival, to discuss how she ended up creating a novel that zips between daffy state-of-the-nation meditation and fantastic, elastic character study.
‘When we read and write, when we love our fellow creatures, when we walk on the beach, when we just listen and notice, we are not little cogs in the machine, but part of the remedy.’ These luminous words by Kathleen Jamie form part of the introduction to Antlers of Water, an outstanding collection of contemporary Scottish writing about nature and landscape.
The generosity of Jamie’s approach as editor of the collection goes beyond the stellar selection of contributors such as Amy Liptrot, Karine Polwart and Malachy Tallack: she also invokes the agency of readers to make a difference. ‘If, by reading, you are encouraged or confirmed in your love of the natural world, if you’re inspired simply to… look outside, then our job is done.’
In a discussion recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival and led by the BBC's Clare English, Jamie is joined by award-winning journalist Chitra Ramaswamy as well as visual artist and writer Amanda Thomson – both contributors to the anthology – to discuss Scotland, landscape and the more-than-human world around us.
‘Hamnet and Hamlet are in fact the same name, entirely interchangeable in Stratford in the late sixteenth century.’ This epigraph to Maggie O’Farrell’s new novel, Hamnet, dispels any doubt that Shakespeare’s son and his most celebrated character are meaningfully linked.
In a short but scorchingly emotional book, O’Farrell brings us into the 16th century world of Shakespeare’s family living in Stratford. It is the time of the bubonic plague and with one of the family members falling into a fever, the novel charts the emotional journey of Shakespeare’s wife Agnes as trauma approaches.
Surely Maggie O’Farrell’s most accomplished novel to date, Hamnet centres around the emotional life of a deeply intuitive woman, charting the terrain of her grief at the loss of a child. Join the Edinburgh-based writer as she discusses her latest critically acclaimed novel with Scottish author and journalist Stuart Kelly in this event recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival.
Following on from his acclaimed trilogy about the American soul music scene in the 1960s, much-loved Scottish broadcaster and writer Stuart Cosgrove returns to the American post-war era with his highly topical new book.
In Cassius X: Six Months That Shaped The Sixties, Cosgrove charts the journey of a young Kentucky boxer named Cassius Clay. Alongside his rise as a fighter, Clay begins to embrace the ideas of the Black Power movement and the teachings of Malcolm X. Thus, Clay changes his name to Cassius X, before eventually changing it again to his Islamic name: Muhammad Ali.
As well as documenting the meteoric rise of one of the all-time sporting greats, Cosgrove shows how soul music formed a soundtrack to an era of social and political turmoil. Join him in this event recorded for the 2020 Book Festival as he talks to Scottish author Val McDermidabout this landmark moment for American culture, and its parallels with the USA today.
When Shokoofeh Azar received the news that she was the first ever Iranian writer to be shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, she was transported back to when she was 15 years old, ‘in the village, surrounded by rainforest and rice fields, and dreamed of someday I would win this award as an Iranian writer.’
The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree is an incandescent novel that intertwines Persian history and folklore with magical realism, to tell the story of one family in the decade following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. It is a celebration of life and imagination in the face of chaos and brutality, as well as a lyrical response to curbs on freedom of expression. Azar herself settled in Australia as an asylum seeker in 2011, but her translator — shortlisted alongside her for the prize — wishes to remain anonymous, for fears for their safety. She talks to Marjorie Lotfi Gill in this event recorded for the 2020 Book Festival.
In Maaza Mengiste’s latest novel, the shadowy nature of figures from the past is played out in complex and interlocking ways. The Shadow King is powerful, stirring historical fiction that centres women within stories of war and battle that have traditionally excluded them, eliding their contribution and their fight.
Against the backdrop of Italy’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia, this is a story of Africa and Europe, of resistance and exile, of tradition and modernity, that is sweeping in vision and intimate in affect.
A Fulbright scholar and the author of Beneath the Lion’s Gaze — named by the Guardian as one of the 10 best contemporary African books — Mengiste talks to Jess Brough in this event recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival about giving life to the stories of her parents and grandparents, and unpicking ‘faded documents’ to better understand the heroism and loss of the past.
We have all become familiar with living through these strange times but for Ian Rankin 2020 was unusual in more ways than one.
For starters, even though the number one bestselling writer thought he was taking a year off, he found himself topping the charts with a book he once hoped would ‘never see the light of day again.’ That book is Westwind, first published in 1990 in an edition of just 1000 copies, but strikingly relevant today in its brand-new edition.
What’s more, his new Rebus novel, finished just a few months ago, carries a prescient (Brecht-inspired) title despite not being about the COVID-19 pandemic at all. A Song for the Dark Times is released in October and sees John Rebus travelling to the north of Scotland to help his daughter, who is in a spot of bother. In this event recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival, Rankin joins us for a conversation, in our Edinburgh studio, with leading Scottish journalist Ruth Wishart about Westwind, and a hint of the Dark Times to come.
Celebrated Mexican author Fernanda Melchor’s first book translated into English, Hurricane Season, has been shortlisted for the International Booker Prize.
In a piece for Granta, the book’s translator Sophie Hughes reflected: ‘Melchor goes with her characters to the edge of the precipice. As her English translator, I followed her there and was left changed and with many questions about her method and influences, manipulating readers, and the unavoidable lure of darkness.’
Ahead of the Award’s announcement, author and translator come together with poet Juana Adcock in this event recorded for the 2020 Book Festival, to discuss these unavoidable darknesses, and share the processes — limitations, challenges and delights — of translating such a layered, densely playful work as Hurricane Season. Brutal, unflinching, depraved and profane, this is a story of small towns and violence, claustrophobia and rage. Unique and unforgettable.
Over the years that James Naughtie has been reporting on world politics, the USA has undergone seismic changes. Naughtie first visited the States in 1970 as a student, when the Vietnam War was raging and Richard Nixon was in the Oval Office. Since then, Naughtie has grown into one of the BBC’s best-respected reporters and has covered every election since the triumph of Ronald Reagan.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, it appeared that the US would reign as the world’s only superpower – leading to Francis Fukuyama’s suggestion that this may be ‘the end of history.’ But a rapid rise of Chinese economic and political power, combined with the election of a president whose slogan is ‘America First’ has led to a period of US nativism, and a country where (according to Naughtie), self-doubt has crept in.
On the Road is Naughtie’s compelling memoir of his American experiences during this period of change. In this event recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival, he discusses his adventures – and a rollercoaster half-century of USA life - with fellow BBC journalist Allan Little.
Of the five women who died in the Autumn of 1888 at the hands of Jack the Ripper, the most salient thing that has remained in the public imagination has been the brutal manner of their murders. While the identity of the murderer has been the subject of relentless, salacious speculation, only now have the stories of those who were killed been told.
Hallie Rubenhold’s landmark publication, The Five, reconstructs the lost lives of Mary Ann 'Polly' Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly. So compelling is Rubenhold’s book that it won last year’s Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.
In this event redorded for the 2020 Book Festival, Rubenhold discusses a new essay, The Problem with Great Men, commissioned by Edinburgh International Book Festival as a follow-up to The Five, with support from Baillie Gifford and the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.
Many people are calling into question the histories handed down to us by our ancestors. With statues of so-called ‘great men’ being torn down, how can we celebrate ordinary people who – like the Ripper’s victims – have routinely been airbrushed out of history? Rubenhold discusses her ideas with Scottish broadcaster Sheena McDonald.
Please note: there is no PDF download of Rubenhold’s new essay, as mentioned in the event.
‘Given the right conditions, any society can turn against democracy. Indeed, if history is anything to go by, all of our societies eventually will.’ Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Anne Applebaum’s bleak prognosis for liberal democracy lies at the heart of her intriguing new book, Twilight of Democracy, which blends deeply-felt memoir with cool political analysis.
Applebaum’s personal approach carries weight because she’s witnessed the rise and fall of democratic sentiment first hand in her adopted Poland. A staff writer for the Atlantic, she is also deeply connected to the US and British political scenes.
From the recently-converted Post-Communist states in Eastern Europe to those bastions of western liberal democracy, Britain and the USA, Applebaum analyses the rise of a nativist, authoritarian leadership style. Join her in this event, recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival, as she discusses the fractured present and tenuous future of liberal democracy with BBC special correspondent Allan Little.
In the words of the Kirkus review: ‘You will never forget Shuggie Bain. Scene by scene, this book is a masterpiece.’
This astonishing debut is a powerful and heartbreaking story about the love between a boy and his mother, about poverty and addiction, about Thatcher’s Glasgow, about sexuality, coming of age and finding one’s way. Roaming through public housing, wandering in and out of pubs and neighbourhoods, it asks how we might protect those we love most of all, and at what cost.
Hugh ‘Shuggie’ Bain and his mother Agnes are two of the great characters of literature and in this event recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival, their creator, Douglas Stuart, answers your questions after a conversation with author Damian Barr. Inviting comparisons to the works of Alan Hollinghurst, Frank McCourt, and Hanya Yanagihara, you will not finish it unscathed, and you will not forget Shuggie Bain.
At last year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival, bestselling author Val McDermid and professor of geography Jo Sharp were inspired by the festival theme, We Need New Stories. So inspired, in fact, that they turned to a loveable rogues gallery of Scottish cultural folk to submit a piece of writing about their dreams for a better future.
Edited by McDermid and Sharp, Imagine A Country is the fascinating, eclectic and often inspiring result. In this event, recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival, Val McDermid and Jo Sharp host acclaimed writers Doug Johnstone, Jo Clifford and Leila Aboulela, who read their contributions and discuss how we might create a better future for the greatest number of people.
How do you get the upper hand on a world you don’t yet understand? That’s the burning question at the heart of two striking debuts that scrape away the coming-of-age clichés, breathing through the aches and pains of growing up.
With echoes of early Baldwin, Paul Mendez’s Rainbow Milk, one of the Observer’s top 10 debuts of 2020, mines the author’s upbringing as a lapsed Jehovah's Witness and, later, sex worker, to tell an intergenerational story of two men stalled at an impossible intersection of sexuality, spirituality and race.
Derek Owusu’s ‘virtuosic debut’ That Reminds Me — the first novel to be released on Stormzy’s new imprint #Merky Books — pieces together the fragments of K’s short life, as memories of addiction, racism and trauma threaten to flatline an already faltering recovery.
In this event recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival, join Owusu and Mendez as they interrogate the forces that seek to cast a shadow over the blossoming of young Black men in the UK today with former Lord Mayor of Sheffield Magid Magid - and fall in love with two writers soon to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue.
Since 2010, the award-winning blog MsAfropolitan has connected feminism with critical reflections on contemporary culture from an Africa-centred perspective. Its founder is Nigerian-Finnish writer and lecturer Minna Salami, a powerhouse of feminist thinking and organising whose first book of essays is Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone.
Salami joins our event alongside writer and activist Lola Olufemi, author of Feminism, Interrupted. Olufemi is an organiser with the London Feminist Library and co-founder of FLY, Cambridge University’s network for women and non-binary people of colour.
In conversation with feminist historian Jade Bentil recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival, Salami and Olufemi discuss the big ideas around empowerment, inclusion and activism and how (in Salami’s words) ‘we see ourselves, our history, and our world’.
In May 2019, Jokha Alharthi became the first Arabic language writer to win the Man Booker International Prize for her searing novel Celestial Bodies. She also became the first female Omani novelist to be translated into English thanks to Marilyn Booth, with whom she shares the prize. Alharthi joins the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2019 to discuss her path to success as well this work of incredible depth, which follows the lives of three sisters in the village of al-Awafi through heartbreak, marriage and duty with tenderness and subtlety. Expect to hear an enlightening introduction to Omani literature and celebration of international ideas chaired by Fiammetta Rocco.
Warnings of looming environmental catastrophe rain down on us with increasing frequency, and only the most ardent climate change sceptics deny we live at a crucial point for the Earth's future. Join sustainability expert Mike Berners-Lee in a live conversation with WWF’s Tanya Steele at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019, as he cuts through the noise with practical advice on how we can avoid calamity, drawn from his book There is No Planet B, a ‘Handbook for the Make or Break Years’.
In a pair of moving memoirs, Guyana-born Canadian writer Tessa McWatt and Zeba Talkhani, who was raised in Saudi Arabia, explore themes of race, feminism, heritage and belonging. McWatt’s Shame On Me is a journey through the multiple threads of her identity. In My Past Is a Foreign Country, Talkhani charts her experiences as a British Muslim feminist with nuance and generosity. They come together at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 to share their stories in an event chaired by Nadine Aisha Jassat.
Photo credit: Chris Boland, www.chrisboland.com
While the realities of climate change are not always visible, the realisation that our grandchildren will live in troubled times can catalyse action. After becoming a grandmother, former Irish president and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson travelled the world to learn about the fight back. In her book Climate Justice, she describes the people working to overcome the threat. In a live event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 she shares her hopeful account in conversation with Ruth Wishart.
Whenever the latest dieting fad comes along, those promoting new theories are well fed on the proceeds, while many people trying to shed pounds are left wondering why nothing seems to work. Meet Giles Yeo, geneticist and presenter on BBC’s Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, who has spent 20 years researching the brain’s relationship to food intake. In his book Gene Eating, he describes his work and why he’s determined to break this cycle. Hear all about it in this live recording from the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 chaired by Ruth Wishart.
‘Heartbreaking stories of heroism’ set against a backdrop of ‘political cynicism and scientific ignorance'. That’s how judges described the winner of 2018's Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction – Serhii Plokhy’s Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy. The Harvard history professor and expert on the 1986 nuclear disaster presents a specially commissioned paper linking Chernobyl to the demise of the Soviet Union. Hear him shed light on the incredible book in a live event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 chaired by James Crawford.
‘It’s official. We’ve fallen (back) in love with poetry’ the Metro declared earlier this year, reporting a 12% increase in poetry book sales in 2018. Underpinning the boom are bold new voices exploring issues from politics to mental health on page, stage and social media. Three of the most exciting new talents – Charly Cox, Theresa Lola and Tayi Tibble – perform from their well-received debut collections at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 in an event chaired by fellow poet Becky Fincham.
Meet two British writers of cleverly conceived and suspenseful stories, Louise Doughty and Stuart Turton, who come together to talk about their new novels at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019. The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle, Turton’s 2018 Costa First Novel Award-winning debut, sees its central character killed afresh daily until her would-be saviour tries to solve the riddle. Doughty, author of the hugely successful Apple Tree Yard, talks about Platform Seven, which has her protagonist trying to prevent people taking their own lives at a railway station. Their conversation is chaired by Lee Randall.
The modern world can make us feel like the walls are closing in, but a vanguard of writers are here to help us cope – and none more so than Matt Haig. After the storming success of Reasons to Stay Alive comes Notes on a Nervous Planet, a wise and witty guide to kicking the habits around everything from sleep to social media to work that are making us less happy. Enjoy an hour of conversation at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 that will soothe your 21st century anxieties. Chaired by Lennie Goodings.
Meet two authors chronicling the off-kilter experiences of upbeat millennials. Candice Carty-Williams’s novel Queenie sees a Jamaican British woman search for identity. Jojo Moyes called it ‘brilliant, timely, funny, heartbreaking’. Annaleese Jochems’s classy debut Baby made waves back home: fellow New Zealander Eleanor Catton called it ‘sultry, sinister, hilarious and demented’. Their lively conversation at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 is chaired by Sasha de Buyl-Pisco.
It’s clear that antisemitism remains a problem for British society. But recent headlines have brought more confusion than clarity in debates about the definition of what is understood by the word ‘antisemitic’. Westminster peer and West London Synagogue’s Senior Rabbi Julia Neuberger makes a vital intervention with her book Antisemitism, a succinct study of where it comes from and what it is now. She shares her expertise in a lively conversation with Richard Holloway at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019.
Joint winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, Venki Ramakrishnan’s work has gone past the whys and wherefores of DNA and on to the ribosome, the structure which helps decode our genetic make-up. In a live event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 the President of The Royal Society and Gene Machine author shares stories about his first uncertain experiments and making genuine scientific breakthroughs. An enlightening hour of conversation with Steve Brusatte.
The vile practice of upskirting wasn’t an offence in Britain until activist Gina Martin came along. With no legal or political background, Martin changed the law within 18 months. Now, she wants to help others do the same. Be the Change is a campaigning handbook written to advise and empower. Listen to an inspiring force of nature live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 in conversation with Heather Parry and learn how to follow in her footsteps.
The Booker Prize-winning Australian author of Schindler’s Ark, Thomas Keneally comes to the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 having woven another masterpiece in The Book of Science and Antiquities. Ancient human remains are found in Western Australia, causing controversy: was the man Aboriginal, or does he signify an even older culture? Documentary maker Shelby investigates, sure that ‘Learned Man’ connects the planet’s earliest inhabitants with our troubled environmental future. Hear Keneally discuss the novel live with Lesley McDowell.
One of Britain's best loved poets, Lemn Sissay is a performer of rare passion. But growing up with foster families and in care homes, Sissay struggled with his identity. The discovery of his birth name and Ethiopian background is the catalyst for reflection in his memoir My Name is Why. At the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 he meditates on home and identity as he discusses his insightful book with Jenny Lindsay, exuding the creative energy that's made him a literary phenomenon.
Spend an hour with master of suspense Stuart MacBride as he introduces his latest dark, thrilling novel in this event recorded live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival, in conversation with Lee Randall. With the nation at boiling point, someone’s sending messages in blood. Inspector Logan Macrae is back after a year off, but there’s no rest when a high-profile anti-Independence campaigner disappears amid growing tensions between those fighting for Scotland’s future. Can Logan survive in the cauldron of Scottish politics?
Returning to our roots can be tough, revealing and, as Tracey Thorn discovers in Another Planet, inspiring. The singer-songwriter behind Everything But The Girl follows up her bestselling Bedsit Disco Queen with a wonderfully witty walk through the maligned suburbia of her youth. In this event recorded live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Thorn shares hilarious recollections of the physical and emotional cul-de-sacs of her Green Belt upbringing and its lasting impact.
We all occasionally do things that are racist, yet often fail to recognise them. Ibram X Kendi is a founding director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center in Washington DC. How To Be an Antiracist is his extraordinary, inspiring guidebook which helps build a vital new understanding of racism – and how to work against it. In this event recorded live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival, this superb teacher and storyteller talks to educator and activist DeRay Mckesson, a key figure in the Black Lives Matter movement.
The publishing world is finally waking up to the barriers that have prevented working class voices from being heard in books. Kit de Waal grew up in Birmingham’s Irish community and she has successfully broken into the mainstream with two highly acclaimed novels. In this event recorded live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival she talks to Damian Barr about Common People, her book of essays by working class writers, featuring coruscating pieces by authors including Barr himself.
Only dreamers or the desperate would cross the vast saltland deserts of Western Australia. So which is Jaxie Clacton, the lonely boy at the heart of Tim Winton’s brutal, tender novel The Shepherd’s Hut? It’s the latest masterful work by one of the world’s greatest living novelists. In this event recorded live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Winton’s first visit to Edinburgh since 1993, he looks back over an oeuvre that includes classics such as Dirt Music, Cloudstreet and Breath, in conversation with John Williams, Daily Books editor and writer for The New York Times.
In this event recorded live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival, we are thrilled to welcome back Fatima Bhutto to discuss her second novel The Runaways. Published against the backdrop of the Shamima Begum controversy, Bhutto’s novel could hardly feel more topical: set between Portsmouth and Karachi, it charts the lives of three vividly-drawn characters from contrasting backgrounds. The Runaways offers compelling reasons why jihadis are able to lure rootless, marginalised people into terrorism.
What did Arundhati Roy do between the publication of her Booker-winning debut The God of Small Things in 1997 and her extraordinary follow-up, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness two decades later? In a stunning new book of essays, we have the definitive answer. My Seditious Heart is much more than a series of illuminating observations on justice, rights and freedoms: it’s a memoir of the Indian author’s life – as a writer and as a citizen. In this event recorded live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Roy discusses her novels, her essays and her astonishing experiences with Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.
Supported by James and Morag Anderson
Sixteen years on from the death of young Niamh on a holiday in Portugal, the glamorous Temple clan hold a fateful family reunion in Fallen Angel, Chris Brookmyre’s new standalone thriller. For Amanda, a neighbouring nanny, fascination gives way to suspicion – what did happen to the girl? Among our finest crime writers and funniest speakers, Brookmyre is back with one of his best stories yet. He talks to Brian Taylor in this event recorded live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Footballer Mark Walters is remembered for his wing wizardry, but while he’s revered by the Rangers faithful who cheered him for four trophy-laden years, he also endured racist chants – an issue he campaigns against now. In this event recorded live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Walters talks to Pat Nevin about new memoir Wingin’ It, working for Graeme Souness, great moments at Liverpool and Aston Villa, and his views about the modern game.
If The Great British Bake Off is your first encounter with Prue Leith, you’ve missed a great deal. Founder of Leith’s School of Food and Wine, restaurateur, journalist, novelist and now TV judge – she is one of the nation’s most respected foodies. In this event recorded live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Leith introduces her first recipe book for 25 years, Prue: My All-Time Favourite Recipes, and shares suppers, showstoppers, and the personal stories behind her recipes with Sue Lawrence.
In conversation with Sally Magnusson, award-winning feminist campaigner and writer Caroline Criado Perez exposes the hidden systematic discrimination women face every day. Invisible Women is her clarion call for change, bringing together new research and stories revealing the gender data gap; a lack of knowledge which has created unseen bias against women everywhere from public policy to technology, business and the media. This event was recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019.
In his early novels City of Bohane and Beatlebone as well as his short stories, Kevin Barry showed clear signs of his prodigious talent as a writer. But the Booker Prize-longlisted Night Boat to Tangier is his best book yet – a modest masterpiece of a novel dripping with tenderness, remorse and laconic humour. Join Barry live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 with Peggy Hughes to hear about his two fading but irresistible Irish gangsters trying to piece together the shards of their shattered lives.
Called ‘extraordinary’ and ‘electrifying’ by Marlon James and Colm Tóibín, Texan writer Casey Gerald’s powerful memoir traces fault lines in American racial and masculine identity. There Will Be No Miracles Here examines how Gerald grew up underprivileged, black and gay in Dallas but went on to study at Yale and Harvard, and work on Wall Street. It’s an American Dream story; so why does he spurn the classic rags-to-riches narrative? In this event, recorded live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he shares his thoughts with educator and Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson.
Thirteen years since his multi-million bestseller The Book Thief, Markus Zusak joins us for his first Book Festival appearance with his much-anticipated follow-up, Bridge of Clay. In this conversation with author and presenter Janet Ellis recorded live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Zusak discusses his ambitious portrait of a family, introducing us to the Dunbar brothers, who are living and fighting in a house with no parents, and no rules. To find peace and beauty, one brother, Clay, sets out to build a bridge, unaware of the secrets he will uncover.
One of the most significant writers of our age, Salman Rushdie joins the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 for the worldwide launch of epic novel Quichotte. Veering from wildly comic to heartbreaking, Rushdie discusses his playful retelling of Don Quixote with James Naughtie. Set in present day USA, ageing salesman Quichotte embarks on a quest for love in his Chevy Cruze, driving with his imaginary son Sancho through a country on the brink of moral collapse.
Two coming-of-age tales come under the microscope in this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival. Shahad Al Rawi’s poignant debut The Baghdad Clock (winner of the Book Festival's 2018 First Book Award) takes us back to 1991 with the Iraqi capital under fire as two girls bond against the backdrop of military bombardment. Michael Donkor’s moving and unexpectedly funny debut novel Hold, switches between Ghana and Britain as a wayward girl finds kinship with a sensible teenager.
In histories written by men, good women have rarely been given much credit. In Scotland, there’s a growing urge to redress the balance and, with her new collection Quines, Gerda Stevenson has produced a very necessary corrective. These unforgettable poems recognise the salt sellers, the fish-gutters, scientists and politicians who have made such a key contribution to Scotland’s history. In this event, recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival, she discusses the collection with Jackie McGlone.
Considered by many to be one of America’s great literary voices, National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Richard Powers presents The Overstory, his seductive and beguiling novel of interlocking stories (now also shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize). Neil Griffiths’s first book won awards, his second was shortlisted for the Costa Best Novel; in this event, recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he discusses his third, As a God Might Be, a Guardian Book of the Week hailed as ‘an ambitious, generous novel about the limits of faith and love.’
Just what does it take to write a page-turning bestselling crime novel? Dumbarton-born, Aberdeen-raised Stuart MacBride can offer plenty of advice on that front, given his Logan McRae series keeps on hitting the heights of popularity. Fellow writer Stephanie Merritt joins him in this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival to delve into The Blood Road, his 11th Logan mystery, out now. It’s time to get on board and see what the fuss is about.
Fans of Naomi Alderman’s The Power will appreciate these ambitious political novels about women defying restrictions. Sophie Mackintosh’s The Water Cure centres on three women raised in total isolation and the men who come to find them. Leni Zumas’s Red Clocks sees four women drawn together in resistance in an imagined America where abortion is illegal and a new law grants property rights to every embryo. Hear the pair discuss their stories in this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
The exceptional emotional breadth of British poetry is on display in this event featuring Sean Borodale and Ruth Padel, recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival. Borodale, described by Carol Ann Duffy as ‘the most exciting new poet I’ve read since Alice Oswald’, brings Asylum, a new collection that nods to the Underworld. Prize-winning poet Padel presents Emerald, a beautiful elegy for her mother, who died at the age of 97.
A renowned poet whose work often hauntingly evokes the lives of Scottish outsiders, and a mesmerising reader of his own work, Robin Robertson strikes out with a breathtaking new project, The Long Take. In this verse novel, Walker is a war veteran from Nova Scotia who sets out for Los Angeles in 1948. Robertson’s book demonstrates the origins of ‘noir’, presented here with period filmic and musical accompaniment.
Robertson has won multiple prestigious awards for his writing and is regarded as one of Scotland’s finest poets. He has been shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize for The Long Take – about which the judges said: ‘it’s an extraordinary evocation of the debris and the ongoing destruction of war even in times of peace. Robin Robertson shows the flexibility a poet can bring to form and style.’ In this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival, we meet a writer at the height of his powers.
‘Remember you will die’, said the slave to the Roman general. Richard Holloway’s new book, Waiting for the Last Bus, is a reflection on the final curtain we must all face. Thoughtful, engaging and often quietly moving, it’s a manual for dying elegantly and a plea to make the best of the days we have left. Join the good Reverend for a lighthearted look at death, and the lives we live before it in this event chaired by Jane Fowler and recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Rachel Kushner’s much-anticipated follow-up novel to the dazzlingly successful The Flamethrowers is The Mars Room, a fearless and brutally honest portrayal of Romy, a woman starting a double life sentence in a US correctional facility, leaving her young son with her mother. In this event, filmed live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival, we welcome Kushner back to Scotland to discuss her latest book (which has subsequently been shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize) with American-Mexican novelist and human rights activist Jennifer Clement.
'To back down an inch is to give up a mile,' says Maria Alyokhina in Riot Days, her account of Pussy Riot’s extraordinary rise to infamy in 2012. Following an iconoclastic balaclava-clad performance in a Moscow cathedral, Alyokhina and two of her collaborators were arrested and sentenced to two years in a prison in the Urals. In this unmissable event, Yanis Varoufakis, DiEM25’s co-founder, discusses with Maria Alyokhina the different varieties of totalitarianism that we are currently threatened with, her fight for free speech against the forces of Vladimir Putin’s regime, her hunger strike protest while in prison, as well as the work she is now doing to help Russian prisoners at home. This event was recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
As a School Role Model for the charity Stonewall, Juno Dawson is well versed in communicating the nitty gritty to young adults. She returns to the Festival with her razor sharp novel about one young girl's rise from the lows of heroin addiction. A gripping and edgy portrait of addiction and tackling demons, Clean is an important and clever book. Juno discusses it with her characteristic open and honest style in this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
As deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats and a former Government minister, Jo Swinson has seen all too clearly how power can be concentrated in the hands of men right across the business, cultural and political spectrum. Equal Power is the East Dunbartonshire MP’s call to arms; a practical and optimistic guide to what we can all do to make society truly gender equal, and she shares her ideas in this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Donal Ryan's novels are a thrilling journey into the psyche of everyday Irish folk, but From a Low and Quiet Sea departs from his previous three books by extending its setting beyond rural Ireland into war-torn Syria. Kamila Shamsie’s highly praised Home Fire is another transnational novel, a contemporary take on the Antigone myth, looking at why people become radicalised in the modern world. In this event, recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival, the authors discuss their Man Booker longlisted works.
In this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival, meet two new writers whose debuts are turning heads. Guy Gunaratne’s In Our Mad and Furious City follows three young men in a London estate where riots are spreading after the killing of a British soldier. Imran Mahmood has spent his career as a barrister and he puts his experience to electric use in You Don’t Know Me, a courtroom drama which places the reader in the position of the jury.
Gina Miller came to prominence when she successfully took the British government to the Supreme Court, challenging its authority to trigger Article 50, the formal notification to leave the EU, without parliamentary approval. Guyana-born Miller became the target of racist and sexist abuse, and physical threats. Rise is an unflinching account of what it means to stand up for justice, and for yourself, no matter what the cost. In this event, recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival, she discusses her book and why she felt compelled to write it with Ruth Wishart.
A former footballer, financial analyst and the lead singer of a chart-topping band in his homeland, Norway’s Jo Nesbo struck gold with the crime-writing career which has made his name. His latest bestseller, Macbeth, is a fresh take on Shakespeare’s ‘Scottish play’, relocating it to a police department where Inspector Macbeth is plagued by paranoia.
Working a 97 hour week doesn’t sound much fun for anyone, but when we’re talking about an NHS doctor, such a schedule could become a matter of life and death. In This is Going to Hurt, comedian and ex-junior doctor Adam Kay reflects on the often horrific conditions he was working under and what finally happened to make him hang up the white coat. He discusses the book with chairperson Lee Randall in this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Race and class have shaped the world of MOBO award-winning hip hop artist, poet and political commentator Akala. In Natives, his searing polemic on race in the UK, he considers his own experiences in both childhood and as an adult, and connects them to the social, political and historical context that have led us to where we are now. He discusses these issues and more in this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
The Sunday Times called him ‘One of our most sensitive and stylish writers’ and with his latest book, The Executor, it’s easy to see why. The bestselling novelist and poet Blake Morrison has created a biting portrait of male friendship, sexual obsession and the fragile transactions of married life, innovatively interweaving poetry and prose to form a gripping literary detective story. Enjoy an hour in the company of this award-winning writer with this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival. Chaired by Jackie McGlone.
One of Norway’s most celebrated contemporary writers joins us with his latest novel, T Singer. Set in the small Norwegian town of Notodden, Dag Solstad's story is a heartbreaking account of love and loneliness, which lays bare the existential questions of life in the author’s bleakly comic style. Solstad is the only author to have won the Norwegian Critics Prize three times – discover why in this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
How to Survive a Plague is David France’s history of the fight against AIDS, the disease caused by HIV that has killed over 35 million people worldwide. Described as ‘subtle and searing', it won the Baillie Gifford Prize in 2017. In 2018, the Book Festival and the Prize commissioned France to write a new chapter, responding to what he’s learned since his book was published. In this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he presents that follow-up. Chaired by Steven Gale.
Britain's biggest author, David Walliams, brings his unique sense of humour to the Book Festival as he shares with you his latest hilarious bestseller, Bad Dad. Be inspired to get writing your own funny stories as David explains how he became the fastest growing children's author in the UK. Author and BBC Radio 4's Zeb Soanes joins David on stage to tease out his best tales in this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Few people are as familiar with death as Professor Sue Black. As a forensic anthropologist she sees it in the form of human remains; at scenes of murder, at burial sites and in her lab. Black’s astonishing book, All That Remains, offers fascinating insights into mortality and the value of forensic science. In this event, recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival, she compares notes with crimewriter Val McDermid.
Fans of Patrick Gale, and of Rough Music in particular, will be thrilled to learn that he launches his 16th novel, Take Nothing With You, in this conversation with Eleanor Updale recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival. The story of a 50-something gay Londoner undergoing radiation therapy, remembering his eccentric 1970s childhood in Weston-super-Mare and a life-changing recital by a glamorous cellist is described by Gale as ‘a comedy of resilience and survival’.
It seems as if people have been trying to save the rainforests for a very long time. And while approximately half of their area has been effectively destroyed, it’s not too late to do the right thing by the other 50%. After all, it’s only the future of the planet that’s at stake. Environmental campaigner and author of Rainforest,Tony Juniper has some answers about what can still be done in this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
A captivating hour with award-winning playwright and poet Inua Ellams as he performs selections from his 2017 Ted Hughes Award shortlisted work #Afterhours in this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival. His residency at the Southbank Poetry Library took him on a voyage through time and place to the heart of the library’s archive and through his own life story, selecting and responding to poems published during each of the first 18 years of his life.
Laughter is the best medicine, so thankfully comedian Ruby Wax has penned a witty follow-up to her bestselling book A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled, designed to help us live well. Armed with a degree in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy and a knack for hilarity, in this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Wax discusses How to Be Human: The Manual and her tips for having a healthy mind in a world where new equals best and keeping up is tough. Chaired by Jackie McGlone.
Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has written several influential books and has co-founded ‘DiEM25’, a pan-European progressive movement which will be competing in next year’s European parliament elections. Adults in the Room was described as ‘one of the greatest political memoirs of all time’, while Talking to My Daughter About the Economy is a lightning-quick account of how capitalism works and how it fails. In this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he discusses his ideas on democracy, liberty, internationalism and radical Europeanism with Shami Chakrabarti, Labour peer and former director of Liberty.
Jasper Fforde has spent years on the bestseller lists with his Thursday Next books. Now he’s written a standalone novel, Early Riser, creating a world where all humans hibernate except for the Winter Consuls. Fforde’s ability to write alternative worlds with the telling detail of a J K Rowling or Terry Pratchett, coupled with his unabashed silliness and cleverly imagined characters, have won him a well-deserved following. This event was recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival
As part of Muriel Spark's 2018 centenary celebrations, a series of tributes to the great Scottish writer have taken place. In this event, recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Janice Galloway, the internationally-acclaimed Scottish author of novels, short stories, poetry and non-fiction (and more besides), presents Spark’s writing and ideas, encouraging us to ‘hear’ the voice of Spark by reading selections from her most evocative works. Chaired by Jenny Niven.
The Scot who came to international attention when His Bloody Project was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Graeme Macrae Burnet has followed up that astonishing success with an elegant and evocative thriller The Accident on the A35. Set in a sleepy town in southern France, it’s a sophisticated mystery that evokes Maigret, Camus and perhaps a whiff of James Hogg. Hear him talk about his latest tale with Jane Fowler in this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Following the resounding success of the bestselling Adventures in Human Being, Edinburgh-based GP and writer Gavin Francis turns his attention to Shapeshifters or more specifically, the ways in which human bodies are transformed throughout a lifetime. Changes happen in many different contexts: ageing, transgender journeys and plastic surgery being some topical examples that Francis analyses in his new book. This event was recorded at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival and is chaired by Allan Little.
Which came first, the image or the word? It’s hard to tell in The Magic Lamp, Ben Okri’s collaboration with painter Rosemary Clunie. Subtitled Dreams of Our Age, it’s a collection of twenty-five enchanting, haunting stories, each accompanied by a dreamlike painting. In this illustrated book, the Man Booker Prize-winner draws once again on the lineage of Arabian Nights and African mythology. This event was recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
The nation’s premier military historian has analysed conflicts in places that proved pivotal during the Second World War such as Berlin and Stalingrad. Now he turns to Arnhem, where Britain, America and the Netherlands tried in vain to thwart the Nazis’ hopes for dominion. In Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges, 1944, Sir Antony Beevor explores why this project failed, but also why it became ‘the last German victory’. This event was recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival and is chaired by Sheena McDonald.
Acclaimed comedy actress and writer Ruth Jones has turned her talents to novel writing. Never Greener ponders the age-old question of whether the grass is a different shade on the other side. Kate had a fling in her early 20s with a married man and when they meet again years later, she wonders if she missed a trick or had a close shave. Spend an entertaining hour with the writer of the award-winning TV series Gavin & Stacey with this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival. Chaired by Hannah Beckerman.
Whatever your opinion of Richard Dawkins, and few people choose to sit on the fence when it comes to the world’s best-known evolutionary biologist, his passion for science cannot be denied. In Science in the Soul, he asks whether his discipline can be viewed as another religion; whether scientists can be viewed as prophets; and if it’s possible that alien life exists in other worlds. Chaired by Ruth Wishart and recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
It’s a common misconception that black migration to Britain began with the Windrush in 1948. But as Miranda Kaufmann demonstrates in Black Tudors, many black Africans were warmly accepted into 16th century English society. What’s perhaps most striking is they were free – living in a Britain not yet involved in slave trading. In this event recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Kaufmann talks to Guest Selector Afua Hirsch and discusses the implications for our understanding of British history.
The short, sharp and funny shock has been Brian Limond aka Limmy’s forte ever since breaking through with his World of Glasgow web series in 2006. After a Scottish BAFTA-winning TV show, Limmy has turned his attention to books of tiny tales (some hilarious, some sinister) and That’s Your Lot is his latest weird and wonderful collection, which he tells you all about in his own inimitable style in this event recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
In The Strange Death of Europe, Douglas Murray travels from places where migrants land to places where they end up, talking to people who welcome them and others who don't, and finds a continent in a serious muddle. In On Fantasy Island, Conor Gearty, Director of the LSE's Institute of Public Affairs, explores another area of confusion, Europe and the Human Rights Act, and suggests a way forward. Hear the pair discuss their books in this event recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, chaired by Rosemary Burnett.
While comedy still struggles with gender equality, the spoken word scene is well used to its biggest, most exciting exports being female. Following in the footsteps of Kate Tempest and Hollie McNish, we bring you some of the most exciting new talents in spoken word. Jemima Foxtrot, Iona Lee, Sabrina Mahfouz and Sophia Walker perform their work relating to (and not relating to) themes of womanhood. Chaired by Becky Fincham.
Meet the man who is a World Poetry Slam Champion turned full-time poet via a maths degree. Following on from his debut collection, The Sunshine Kid, Harry Baker brings a selection of old favourites and brand new poems to this event recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival. Performing with a mix of hope and humour, he has already won the hearts and minds of audiences all over the world.
The Last Poets were formed in the US in the late 1960s, a period full of hope and a time when the Black Panthers were at the height of their power. Their performance poetry has influenced generations of musicians, securing them the title of ‘the founding fathers of hip-hop’. Coming from New York to Scotland for the first time for this event recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, The Last Poets - Umar Bin Hassan, Abiodun Oyewole and Baba Donn Babatunde - discuss their incredible lives with their friend and author Christine Otten, whose book is based on their story.
What is it to be male? Peep Show actor Robert Webb reckons it involves a heap of unnecessary pressure applied from a very early age. With his call-to-arms memoir How Not To Be A Boy, Webb considers his own inculcation into the cult of man and how bending those stringent rules is not easy in a world which expects males to have a certain, well, maleness about them. Hear from him in this event recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Feats of human endurance never cease to amaze and enthral. In 2012, against all odds, Juliana Buhring became the first woman to circumnavigate the world on a bike, after very little training and with barely any financial backing. In this event, recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Buhring tells us about her upbringing, which is both fascinating and shocking. Saddle up for a classic Book Festival ride.
Brave, intelligent and deeply personal, Where the Line is Drawn shows how the Israeli occupation affects every aspect of Palestinian daily life. Raja Shehadeh, Palestine's premier writer and essayist, winner of the 2008 Orwell Prize and founder of the human rights organisation Al-Haq, asks whether bitter enemies can put aside their differences and find a common cause in the name of peace. This event, recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, is chaired by William Sutcliffe.
Inspired by J B Priestley’s 1949 book Delight, Daniel Gray celebrates 50 reasons to love books in Scribbles in the Margins. His previous book, Saturday, 3pm, did something similar for football. Join the Edinburgh-based author and STV's People's Historian for a joy-filled celebration of our favourite pastime in this event recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
It's been 30 years since the publication of the first Rebus novel and what better way to celebrate that fact than with one of Scotland's most successful writers, Ian Rankin, who comes with his latest tale featuring the troubled Edinburgh cop. Rather Be the Devil drags Rebus back to an unsolved murder four decades prior, while power plays stoke some bitter rivalries and unveil deep-rooted corruption. Rankin chats to Magnus Linklater in this event recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
From Dickens to Vermeer and psychoanalysis to neuroscience, Siri Hustvedt is a writer of remarkable range and insight. In this event, recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, she talks to acclaimed Turkish novelist and writer Elif Shafak about the self, bodily experience and the role of women in public intellectual life. Both writers include novels as well as non-fiction in their oeuvre, and both are fascinated by the power of fiction to identify deeper truths.
Richard Ford is one of America’s greatest writers, capturing the changing face of the USA since the late 70s. He writes of the human condition with wit, passion and an uncanny observational eye. His beloved country has gone through seismic shifts in the past 18 months with many questioning what's next. In this event recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he talks to BBC Newsnight's Kirsty Wark to explore the reality of the American Dream today.
Two of the finest writers working in America today take a tour around the dark history of their country. Paul Auster called Laird Hunt's last novel Neverhome 'magnificent'; The Evening Road is his latest, which he discusses in this event, and it's a novel 'as audacious as it is lyrical'. Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad has already won him the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the National Book Award and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in fiction - listen to the full event, recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, to find out why. Chaired by Jenny Niven.
What makes a woman a woman? Is it her biology? Is it a rite of passage? Is it society? As she transitions from male to female, Juno Dawson's The Gender Games explores feminism and femininity in culture, science and society. Co-founder of the first national group for young LGBTI people in the UK, academic and activist C N Lester's Trans Like Me analyses the most pressing questions of the transgender debate. In this event recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, the pair discuss these issues and more.
One of the most acclaimed writers of his generation, poet, memoirist and novelist John Burnside treats us to two new works. The hugely praised Ashland & Vine is the beautifully woven tale of an unlikely friendship between a grieving, semi-alcoholic widow and the elderly woman of whom she hopes to record the family history; Still Life with Feeding Snake is a poetry collection which hovers with great assurance on the brink of epiphany. Chaired by Stuart Kelly, this event was recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
For decades we’ve been told there's something out there. Jim Al-Khalili, host of Radio 4’s The Life Scientific and an inaugural winner of the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication, has been gathering the latest word from within the science community about those little green folks (if that’s what they'll look like) and their potential existence. An enthusiastic speaker, Al-Khalili brought us his new book, Aliens, in this event recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
When Harriet Harman was elected in 1982, she notes in her memoir A Woman’s Work, the House of Commons was 97% male. Since then, she has led the way on all-women shortlists, introduced laws on equality and domestic violence and has twice become Labour’s Acting Leader. In this event, recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, we meet a feminist politician who has made a real difference. Chaired by Ruth Wishart.
Comic Andy Hamilton has most likely had you bent double with laughter. As well as appearances on panel shows like Have I Got News For You, he co-created Outnumbered and Drop the Dead Donkey, and has written for everything from Not the Nine O’Clock News to The Two Ronnies. In this event, recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he discusses his debut novel, The Star Witness, about a soap star whose life is set to unravel horribly.
In the 1990s, Stephen Baxter won almost every award going for The Time Ships – the sequel to H G Wells’s The Time Machine. In this event, recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he brings us his new book, The Massacre of Mankind, also approved by Wells’s estate, which updates The War of the Worlds, the most popular science fiction book on the planet. The martians, it seems, may not be so vulnerable to our germs after all. Baxter discusses his work with 2017 Guest Selector Ken MacLeod.
As part of our project to explore the Americas, leading Mexican playwright Ximena Escalante travelled across Mexico with Scottish theatre writer Stef Smith. Starting in the US city of San Diego, they journeyed south across the Mexican border, making their way to Mexico City, Oaxaca and Merida before arriving at the country’s southern border with Guatemala. In this event recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival they share some of their unforgettable experiences, and some of the writing inspired by the journey.
Please note: this recording features strong language and adult content.
Part of our Outriders series of events.
Supported through the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund
As part of our project to explore the Americas, Scottish novelist Kevin MacNeil travelled around Argentina with journalist, novelist and short story writer Mariana Enriquez. Starting in Buenos Aires, the writers set off in search of lost voices, both literary and of other citizens within the capital city. MacNeil travelled across the Pampas to the city of Cordoba, while Enriquez embarked on her own journey into the imagination of a Scottish writer, both in search of UFOs. In this event recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival they share some of their unforgettable experiences, and some of the writing inspired by the journey. Chaired by Nick Barley.
Part of our Outriders series of events.
As part of our Outriders project to explore the Americas, Boston novelist Jennifer Haigh travelled with Scottish writer Malachy Tallack on a journey that took in the Midwestern heartlands of Donald Trump’s USA. Starting in Fargo, they visited the site of the Dakota Pipeline protests before travelling south through Tennessee and Mississippi and arriving in Louisiana. Along the way, they met the reclusive writer Wendell Berry and members of the Black Lives Matter movement. In this event, recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, they share some of their unforgettable experiences, and some of the writing inspired by the journey.
Indian poet, novelist, activist and author of The Gypsy Goddess Meena Kandasamy has won many plaudits for her writing. In this event, recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, she discusses When I Hit You, a provocative examination of an abusive marriage. Joining her is Saltire First Book Award-winner Helen McClory, whose Flesh of the Peach describes an artist’s American road trip after her mother’s death. Explore the wilder shores of love and loss with these two rising stars of fiction. Chaired by Lee Randall.
Motorcycle adventurer Charley Boorman experienced every rider’s worst fear when he was involved in a major road accident in 2016. Doubts were raised whether he would ever walk again, never mind get back on his bike, but in this event, recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he recalls a long journey of recovery and how he contemplated many aspects of his life during his difficult rehabilitation. Chaired by Janet Ellis.
In this keynote lecture recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, the country’s foremost essayist and one of our most astute commentators, Andrew O’Hagan, speaks for the first time on the future of Scotland and seeks to define this moment of change. Brexit has fundamentally changed the picture. The question, O’Hagan argues, is now beyond nationalism: it is about Scotland’s potential as a progressive, exemplary, enlightened, international country of the future.
As part of our Outriders project to explore the Americas, poet Harry Giles travelled across Canada with Métis writer Katherena Vermette. Starting in Montreal amid the buzzy Quebecois writing scene, the two writers travelled to Winnipeg, where Lord Selkirk’s Red River colony was set up to house farmers displaced by Scotland’s Clearances. From there, the writers flew north to the small town of Churchill – known as the polar bear capital of the world. In this event, recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, they share some of their unforgettable experiences, and some of the writing inspired by the journey.
Journalist Julie Burchill calls her 'a breath of fresh air, with a dirty laugh'. In Everywoman, Labour politician Jess Phillips shouts long and loudly about the things she cares most about: poverty, equality, the rights of refugees and serving her Birmingham Yardley constituents. If you didn't know before why she's created such a storm in Parliament, you will after listening to this event, recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Anyone who has heard Sebastian Barry read from his work knows he’s one of the best in the business. Anyone who has read Days Without End, his impossibly tender novel set in mid-19th century America, knows that it's another great work from the Costa Book of the Year-winning author and is surely in with a chance of bagging him another clutch of awards. This event, recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, is therefore an unmissable treat.
Two years ago, authors at the Book Festival took part in a major study into the multiple inner voices that make up human consciousness. Now the leader of that project, psychologist Charles Fernyhough, has completed a major book on the subject, which he discusses with Richard Holloway in this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival. The Voices Within weaves human anecdotes with research to demonstrate how inner voices have a far more important role in consciousness than science has previously acknowledged.
Those lucky enough to witness David Millar’s spellbinding Book Festival event in 2011 will recall the athlete’s forthright admissions about calorie counting, secret doping and quirky camaraderie on the pro cycling circuit. Now he's back with The Racer, a love letter to racing and an unparalleled insight into the career of a Scottish cycling legend, which he discusses in this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival. No other rider has so successfully transformed himself into a charmingly anti-establishment communicator.
Dadaab Refugee Camp in Northern Kenya has existed for 25 years. Originally created for 90,000 Somalian refugees it now contains over 350,000 people, including 10,000 third-generation inhabitants. Over a period of four years, Ben Rawlence explored this extraordinary 'temporary' city, getting close to the realities of life for its inhabitants. In this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he discusses City of Thorns, a book that takes us beyond the shock headlines, offering testament to the frailty and resilience of humanity.
Already a wildly popular author thanks to her memoir Love, Nina and bestselling debut novel, Man at the Helm, Nina Stibbe returns with Paradise Lodge. Set in a 1970s ramshackle old people's home, this lovingly created story of chaos, love and elderly people is told from the perspective of a 15 year old girl who works there. If there's an heir to Sue Townsend, it's surely Nina Stibbe. In this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, she talks to James Runcie.
In 2009, then Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill controversially granted the release on compassionate grounds of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only man ever convicted for the Lockerbie Bombing in 1988. Now MacAskill has written his own account of the terrorist attack, the trial and the turmoil that has ensued. With forensic detail he explores the forces at play and why some questions continue to remain unanswered. In this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he discusses his contentious book with Ruth Wishart.
Philip Roth called it Edna O’Brien’s masterpiece; for John Banville it’s savage, tender and true; Claire Messud described it as arduous and beautiful. The Little Red Chairs is the work of a truly great Irish writer at the height of her powers. A decade since she wrote her last novel, O’Brien discusses an astonishing story that charts the consequences of a fatal attraction in this event, recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Kevin Barry’s Beatlebone won the £10,000 Goldsmiths Prize for ‘fiction at its most novel’. The phrase seems apt: even though this is a story built from familiar elements – an imagined John Lennon, post-Beatles in 1978, trying to pay a visit to an isle off the coast of Ireland that the real-life Lennon bought in the 60s – Barry has produced a tour de force that’s funny, raw and dazzlingly novel. In this hilarious event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he reads from the book before talking about where his ideas came from.
In 2002, The Yacoubian Building was an international bestseller, establishing Alaa Al Aswany as one of the Arab world’s most influential voices. Since then, Egypt has changed radically. However, Al Aswany’s latest novel The Automobile Club of Egypt represents another satire on his country’s modern situation. In this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he discusses his book and freedom of speech in a post-2011 Egypt whose government has tried to silence him.
The idea that footballers stay with one club throughout their career is almost laughable in these cash and ego-driven times. But Patrick ‘Packie’ Bonner was one such man, keeping goal for Celtic across three decades while making a global name for himself with a penalty save which took Ireland into the World Cup’s latter stages for the first time. In this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Bonner speaks to Gerard McDade about his extraordinary career.
There is no lawyer quite like Philippe Sands QC. Outspoken on a range of human rights issues, from the illegality of the Iraq war to torture in the Bush administration, the Professor of Law at University College London is also a highly respected barrister who has been involved in the major human rights cases of recent times from Rwanda, Yugoslavia and Guantánamo. In this event, recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Sands explores the deep personal inspirations that drive him professionally to challenge governments and champion just causes.
First he found literary acclaim with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, then he struck gold with a National Theatre play based on the bestselling book. Now, Mark Haddon turns his hand to short fiction, and in this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival he discusses his gripping collection of nine stories, The Pier Falls, which range from the collapse of a seaside pier to the discovery of a huge cave in the Amazon rainforest.
Mid-life crises arrive at different times for different people. For journalist and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer, hers made its presence felt at the age of 44. Out of Time is Sawyer’s investigation of this most challenging of life moments, and in this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival she describes not just her own experiences, but recounts the stories of many others who are navigating the choppy waters of their 40s and 50s.
Nearly a decade after the Great Recession of 2007-09, banking may have become one of the world’s less popular professions, but has the financial system itself actually changed much? If not, what corrections to banking and financial practice do we need? Former Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King discusses his insightful and important book, The End of Alchemy in this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Two debut novels whose lead characters will entrance, unnerve and delight feature in this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival. Evoking the blood, filth and beauty of Georgian London, Janet Ellis’ The Butcher’s Hook introduces us to young Anne Jaccob who embarks on a passionate love affair with shocking consequences. In A Ghost’s Story, Lorna Gibb tells the story of Katie King's life and afterlife. From Victorian Scotland to the present day, she haunts all she meets. Chaired by Jenny Brown.
The acclaimed author of Under the Skin and The Book of Strange New Things reads from a collection of deeply moving poems entitled Undying in this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival. In tender, bittersweet verse, Michel Faber grieves for his wife Eva who died in 2014 after a six year battle with cancer. His fearless poems present brutally honest meditations on Eva’s death – and how it feels to say a long, heartbroken, impotent goodbye. Chaired by Richard Holloway
The bestselling US author of Everything is Illuminated launches. Jonathan Safran Foer’s Here I Am is the story of a fracturing New York family, set against the backdrop of a much wider catastrophe as an earthquake engulfs the Middle East, sparking a pan-Arab invasion of Israel. Clever, courageous and delightfully irreverent, Safran Foer unveils one of this year’s most talked about novels in this event, recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
With the publication of Dirt Road, Scotland’s only Booker Prize winner joins a Scottish publisher for the first time in decades. This brilliantly accessible road movie of a novel arrives with Canongate’s typical panache, alongside a film adaptation of the book. In this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, James Kelman, the writer described by Amit Chaudhuri as ‘the greatest living British novelist’, discusses perhaps his most significant novel yet with Brian Taylor.
With over three million copies of his books sold to date, Mark Billingham’s career as a novelist has been a slam-dunk success. And he’s back for more with Die of Shame, his smartest, most unusual thriller to date. When six people meet each week to discuss addiction, they share their most shameful secrets. So when one of them is murdered, will any of the others testify? He discusses his book with fellow crimewriter Val McDermid in this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Earlier this year, the jubilation upon the arrival of David Bowie’s new album, Blackstar, quickly turned to shock and grief with the announcement of his death. A true and rare musical icon, Bowie influenced generations of artists. Paul Morley, musician, critic and one of the team who curated the massively successful V&A exhibition, joined us in this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival to discuss Bowie’s life, legend and legacy, which he explores in his biography, The Age of Bowie.
In the mid-19th century, what unites the Sami people of Lapland and a band of crofters in north-west Scotland? In the fictional worlds of Cecilia Ekbäck and Graeme Macrae Burnet, each community has witnessed a brutal triple murder. Ekbäck’s In The Month of the Midnight Sun and Macrae Burnet’s 2016 Man Booker Prize shortlisted His Bloody Project are ingenious, gripping noir thrillers, and keenly awaited follow-ups to their authors’ acclaimed debuts. In this event, recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, they discuss their books with Jenny Brown.
For many, the 80s was a decade that taste didn’t just forget, but totally bypassed. Guardian and Vogue columnist Hadley Freeman does not subscribe to that one bit and is so passionate about 80s American movies that she’s written a book about them. Life Moves Pretty Fast features the classics (Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) and explains how they helped forge her worldview. In this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, she discusses the book with Lee Randall.
For years video games have been part of daily life and now two keen players have written insiders’ accounts that explore their effects. In this event, recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Cara Ellison (a ‘cyberpunk hair-dyed Attenborough’) talks about a weird year spent observing game creators to gather experiences for Embed with Games. World-leading video game pundit Simon Parkin presents Death by Video Game, a game-changing overview of gaming as a massive cultural phenomenon.
Gregor Fisher may be best known as Rab C Nesbitt, the funniest string-vested street philosopher in all of Govan, but his own life story is far from amusing. His upbringing was a tale of secrets, deception, tragedy, rejection and death, and only now has he felt able to share it, in The Boy from Nowhere. In this event, recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Fisher is joined on stage by Melanie Reid, the writer he enlisted to help him tell his story.
Back in 1973, Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying introduced the beguiling Isadora Wing and her idea of ‘zipless’ no-strings-attached sex. The book became a bestselling icon of the sexual revolution. Now, in this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Jong presents Fear of Dying, the coming-of-age story of a 60 year old woman who happens to be Isadora’s friend. Alongside a continued appetite for sex, Isadora and friend face their fear of ageing and the spectre of death. Chaired by Ruth Wishart.
For years he’s been regarded as one of Scotland’s best-loved and funniest crimewriters, but Chris Brookmyre’s critical reputation has also steadily grown over that same period and now he counts among the best-respected writers in his field. With Black Widow, Brookmyre bravely strides into new political territory with a thriller that takes in sexism in the workplace, revenge porn and internet trolling. In this event, recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he talks about the book which has since gone on to win the inaugural McIlvanney Prize (previously called the Scottish Crime Book of the Year).
Did David Cameron’s early years in power reveal him as an ‘essay crisis’ leader, or an ambitious reformer? Enjoying unprecedented access to Cameron and his team, Anthony Seldon and Peter Snowdon have written Cameron at 10, an eye-opening authorised analysis of the former Conservative leader’s first term as PM. Why was he never loved by his party’s grassroots and what is his true legacy? The two leading political writers shared their thoughts with Phil Harding in this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
In 2001, almost 150 tattered notebooks were discovered in a skip in Cambridge. They were a small part of an intimate diary that began in 1952 and ended half a century later. It took Alexander Masters five years to uncover the identity and real history of their author. In A Life Discarded he shares the true, shocking and poignant story of this mysterious diarist, and a stunning final revelation in his pursuit. In this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he discusses the book with James Runcie.
The first Muslim woman and first Iranian to win a Nobel Peace Prize, Shirin Ebadi is a leading lawyer and activist who has campaigned fearlessly for freedom of speech and equality before the law in her country, despite being betrayed politically and personally, and forced into exile from Iran. In this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, she discusses Until We Are Free, her account of the fight for dignity, human rights and Iranian reform.
Meet two of Europe's most talented novelists. Swedish writer Steve Sem-Sandberg’s The Chosen Ones follows his towering novel The Emperor of Lies in describing brutality and tenderness in the Nazi era – this time in a home for sick children in Vienna. Icelandic novelist Sjón’s highly anticipated Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was is a moving depiction of a young gay man’s experience in 1918 Iceland. They talk to Rosie Goldsmith in this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
We were thrilled to open the 2016 Festival with two of the most powerful young voices in British poetry. Sarah Howe's debut collection Loop of Jade won the 2016 T S Eliot Prize for Poetry and was described as ‘original, exquisite, erudite and adventurous.’ Stirling-born William Letford has been dubbed by Guardian critic Nicholas Lezard as 'the new Scottish genius'. He launched his highly anticipated second collection, Dirt. Recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
As the longest serving minister of the 20th century, Defence Minister and Foreign Secretary in Thatcher’s government and more recently Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Malcolm Rifkind has witnessed the monumental political moments of recent times. In his event, recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he shares the highs and lows of his astonishing career, as recounted in his serious, funny and self-deprecating memoir, Power and Pragmatism.
The founder of the influential online project Everyday Sexism, Laura Bates was in the 2014 Woman's Hour Power List Game Changers Top 10 and is becoming well known for her refusal to accept the female stereotypes peddled by a normative mainstream media. Incorporating Bates’ views on subjects including sex, body image, pornography and social media, Girl Upis a powerful and refreshing contribution to 21st century feminism. In this event she discusses the book with Jenny Niven. Recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
It's hardly surprising that Frederick Forsyth has wild stories to tell, given his past as an RAF pilot and investigative journalist, but the thriller writer spins such ripping yarns in his dashing autobiography, The Outsider, that a Sunday Times critic described his book as ‘one of the most exciting and enjoyable accounts of an author’s life…that I have ever read.’ The unique memoir of an intriguing man. He spoke to Ian Rankin at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival to share the details.
Global bestselling author of the Shopaholic series, Sophie Kinsella, brings her first novel for teens. Audrey can't leave the house. That is until her brother's friend Linus comes along and starts to teach her that even when you think you have lost yourself, you can still find love. Listen to Sophie talk about Finding Audrey, a warm, smart and funny YA read. Recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
A Girl is a Half-formed Thing was one of the most exciting breakthrough debut novels of recent years. Irish novelist Eimear McBride’s second book emphatically lives up to expectations and confirms her as a writer of international significance. The Lesser Bohemians tells the memorable story of a young woman who arrives in London from Ireland in the 1990s, moving through innocence, discovery, joy and love. Recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, here McBride discusses her brilliant new novel.
As the presenter of BBC's Springwatch, Chris Packham has become one of the nation’s favourite naturalists. But Packham was far from popular as a child: in his brave and lyrical memoir, Fingers in the Sparkle Jar, he recalls life as a solitary child, comfortable only with a menagerie of insects. Then, in an act that would change his life, he took a young kestrel from its nest… In this event, he shares stories from his life with Ruth Wishart. Recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
From ‘A New England’ to ‘Levi Stubbs’ Tears’, Billy Bragg’s songs have captured the mood of modern Britain. Since politics and pop became entwined in the anti-Thatcher Red Wedge movement of the 80s, Bragg’s voice has been synonymous with left-leaning political sentiment – but his love songs chronicle a world more profound than party politics. At the 2016 Book Festival, Bragg presented A Lover Sings, an annotated collection of his best-loved songs, which he discussed with Vic Galloway.
Best known for sci-fi novels such as The Time Machine and The Invisible Man, H G Wells also wrote numerous non-fiction works. His wide-ranging ideas pre-dated many modern concerns, including the internet and the black civil rights movement. Yet Wells was also capable of deeply unpalatable beliefs, including his advocacy of eugenics. In this lecture recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, philosopher A C Grayling explores the intellectual legacy of a complex man.
'Heartbreaking' and 'packed with emotional intensity' say the reviewers about Mary Costello's stunning debut novel Academy Street, while Han Kang's Man Booker International Prize-winning The Vegetarian is lauded by critics as 'haunting', 'seductive' and 'graceful and vivid'. Both Costello (from Ireland) and Han (from South Korea) have already won major awards in their home countries with these unforgettable novels. We were proud to welcome them both to the Festival in 2015 to take part in this event, chaired by the Dundee Literary Festival's Peggy Hughes
Two years ago, fans flocking to see William McIlvanney at the Book Festival shared his exasperation that his seminal crime novels were out of print. Attending that event was Francis Bickmore, editorial director of Canongate, who immediately took action. Thanks to Bickmore we proudly welcomed McIlvanney back in 2013 to celebrate gorgeous new editions of Laidlaw, Strange Loyalties and The Papers of Tony Veitch. Hear him talk about what it was like to have his classic works republished at this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
‘Moving beyond words’ was one critic’s response to The Possibilities Are Endless, a documentary charting Edwyn Collins’ return to relative good health after two massive strokes in 2005. That film, and a recent book, were the subjects of conversation, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, between Collins, his devoted wife Grace Maxwell and Ian Rankin, who has been a fan of the songwriter’s work since the days of 80s indie band Orange Juice and Postcard Records.
S J Watson can count Dennis Lehane and Lionel Shriver among his fans for his crime debut Before I Go to Sleep, which was later made into a movie with Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. The Midlands-born author opens up a shadowy world of identity, lies and secrets as he delivers a follow-up psychological thriller entitled Second Life. Watson reveals all in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Forget about the maths you learned at school; the charismatic Cédric Villani has a gift for revealing the beauty and magic of mathematics at the highest level. Dubbed a ‘rock-star mathematician’, the French winner of the maths world’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize takes us on an inspiring, charming journey through his intellectual discoveries in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Watch two authors who explore the immigrant experience powerfully in their unforgettable new novels. Monica Cantieni’s The Encyclopaedia of Good Reasons, translated by Donal McLaughlin, tells the deeply moving story of a young girl’s long wait for adoption into a Swiss family, and into a German-speaking community. Sunjeev Sahota’s much-anticipated second novel, The Year of the Runaways, describes the dreams and struggles of a group of young Indian men searching for a new life in Sheffield.
Is Tom McCarthy a J G Ballard for the 21st century? Or is he just bullshitting? McCarthy would probably claim he’s somewhere in between. The Man Booker shortlisted author’s hugely entertaining, densely imaginative novel Satin Island introduces us to U, a ‘corporate anthropologist’ commissioned to write an epoch-defining Great Report, only to be overwhelmed by images and information. McCarthy explains his ideas to Stuart Kelly in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
According to UNESCO, every region of the world during the last 20 years has seen gains in literacy rates, but the situation remains highly uneven. To what extent can this improvement be attributed to the urbanisation of populations across the world and the role of libraries in the culture of cities? The panel includes: Sergio Fajardo, one of the best-known political figures in Colombia who as mayor of Medellin oversaw a highly successful campaign to improve literacy in the city by placing libraries in downtrodden and overlooked barrios; and Amina Shah, CEO of the Scottish Library and Information Council who is a key figure in the future of Scotland’s libraries. The event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, is chaired by Jenny Niven, Head of Literature, Languages and Publishing at Creative Scotland. Presented in partnership with Theatrum Mundi.
Award-winning author Siobhan Dowd died in 2007, bequeathing her royalties to a trust which aims to bring the joy of reading to those who need it most. This year the Siobhan Dowd Trust Memorial Lecture was delivered by novelist Matt Haig, whose books for children, teens and adults brilliantly and cleverly explore the stories that connect us and what it means to be human. Chaired by Tony Bradman, this event was recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Winner of the Guardian’s Not the Booker prize, Kirstin Innes’ bittersweet debut, Fishnet takes us deep into the world of sex workers, tracing one woman’s obsessive quest for answers following her sister’s mysterious disappearance. Kirstin speaks to Kate Tough about the research that went into the book, and giving women who work in the sex trade a voice, often unheard in literature. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Greg Proops is well-known for his appearances on the improv comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and for his hit podcast The Smartest Man in the World. Downloaded over 9 million times, it’s a weekly online radio show recorded live from different locations around the world. Now comes The Smartest Book in the World, a compendium of Proops’ insights on a huge array of subjects from politics and history to music and film. Listen to the charming know-it-all comedian in his event chaired by Lee Randall and recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Museums and galleries dominate as destinations, attracting record numbers of visitors to blockbuster shows. Meanwhile libraries are facing a funding crisis and are increasingly asked to justify their existence. What can libraries learn from museums, and what do they offer that museums cannot? Tony Marx, president of the New York Public Library; Richard Sennett, professor of sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science and author of books on culture and cities; and Clementine Deliss, Independent Curator, debate the complementary and contrasting roles of the cultural institutions at the heart of our public life in this event chaired by Ken Worpole. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Images of the 1992 LA riots were beamed across the world as six days of violence left a city bruised and broken. In All Involved, Ryan Gattis concocts a novel from separate voices of those whose story wasn’t told. The 1976 attempted murder of Bob Marley is the starting point for the Man Booker Prize-winning A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James’ multi-character tale featuring ghosts, beauty queens and Keith Richards’ drug dealer. Two ground-breaking novelists discuss their work in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Chigozie Obioma’s thrillingly assured debut novel The Fishermen is set in small-town Nigeria, while Simon Sylvester’s seductive debut The Visitors unfolds on a remote Scottish island. Yet despite their disparate locations, these stories are united by the presence of mysterious outsider figures, whose unsettling effect on the community drives the tension. These two highly promising authors share their ideas with Economist literary editor Fiammetta Rocco in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
In this event entitled “a Rally, a Rant, a Story, a Song, a Protest, a Poem”, women – and men – take to the mike for five minutes each to tell us why they call themselves feminists. Authors Val McDermid, Christopher Brookmyre, Elif Shafak and Andrew O’Hagan; activists Emma Laurie and Caroline Criado-Perez; stand-up comic Nish Kumar; playwright Jo Clifford; and poets Robin Robertson and Natasha Kanapé Fontaine make a stand. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Evie Wyld is fast shooting to international fame as a novelist. Already the winner of Australia’s prestigious Miles Franklin Prize for All the Birds, Singing, her writing career takes a thrilling new turn in a graphic memoir, Everything Is Teeth, that she’s produced together with illustrator Joe Sumner. Their discussion about this beautifully beguiling book is chaired by Joe Gordon and recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Acclaimed actor, screenwriter and author of Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee, Meera Syal returned to Edinburgh for the first time since 2000 to discuss her new novel. The House of Hidden Mothers moves between East London’s Little India and a village in rural India in a devastatingly moving story that shows the lengths some women will go to when they want to have a child. Chaired by Lee Randall, this event was recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
As a child of Kim Il-sung’s North Korea, a teenage Hyeonseo Lee believed the Dear Leader was her saviour, even holding on to that faith after she’d fled the country to live with relatives in China. Subsequently, Lee fought for the rest of her family to join her over the border in the South. In The Girl with Seven Names she tells her incredible story, and reveals human rights abuses that have largely been kept secret. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
It’s a century since drugs were first banned in the United States, thus unleashing a war against narcotics that has raged ever since. Journalist Johann Hari conducted a three-year investigation into the reality of drugs and now presents Chasing the Scream, a game-changing book on the subject. Lively, highly personal and often poignant, Hari’s book questions the notion of ‘drug addiction’ and makes a powerful case for decriminalisation. In his event, chaired by Kevin Williamson, he asks the fundamental question: ‘are drugs really addictive?’. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Author of multi-million bestseller The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, John Boyne has unleashed his next book for younger readers, Stay Where You Are and Then Leave. It tells the story of a boy's search for his father during the First World War. For adults, Boyne looks closer to home with A History of Loneliness, a fiction about the priesthood. Why did it take so long for Boyne to write about his native Ireland? Hear Boyne discuss his books and answer this and other questions in this event recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
One of our finest writers, Julian Barnes first wrote about art in his novel A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Since then, the Man Booker Prize-winning author has written a series of scintillating essays on a range of artists as diverse as Géricault, Cézanne and Lucian Freud. He discusses his ideas and his book Keeping An Eye Open with broadcaster and Royal Academy artistic programmes director Tim Marlow. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Bestselling Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen arrived in Charlotte Square Gardens for his first appearance in Edinburgh, delighting fans and newcomers to his work. The creator of the Department Q novels has sold over 10 million copies of his books worldwide and in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, he discusses his first ever work of fiction, the heart-stopping thriller Alphabet House, now published in English for the first time and translated by Steve Schein.
As special envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Terry Waite spent plenty of time not only in the company of Robert Runcie, but also his son James. Then, he was kidnapped in Beirut. Upon his release, Waite continued his charity work, befriended his former captors, and has now written a comic novel. In this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, he talks to James Runcie (himself now a leading writer) about surviving a nightmare and coping with the aftermath.
Nicola Morgan, author of Blame My Brain and The Teenage Guide to Stress, reveals the science and psychology of teenage brains and the many challenges adolescents face, such as exams, friendships and anxiety disorders. Morgan believes that books can help us make sense of our problems and argues passionately for the power of reading for pleasure and for ‘readaxation’. An enlightening hour. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is one of Britain’s most important commentators on multiculturalism: in Exotic England she describes ‘a curious nation’ that has developed thanks to its long history of immigration. Bidisha is a writer and human rights journalist whose book Asylum and Exile depicts the bravery of people who have left everything behind to seek sanctuary on this island. The two writers get together in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, to discuss what national identity means in an era of multiracial culture.
In Honourable Friends? the first UK Green MP, Caroline Lucas reveals the secret workings of parliamentary life and suggests that we could be governed so much better. As a lone voice at her workplace, Lucas is the perfect outsider – ideally positioned to bring fresh ideas to the creaking Westminster system. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
The blind Chinese dissident and human rights activist, Chen Guangcheng, escaped house arrest in Dongshigu and sought refuge in the US Embassy in 2012. Here he speaks about his memoir, The Barefoot Lawyer, in which he reveals his view of the flawed diplomacy between the US and Chinese governments, and details his work with Chinese women who suffered abuse under the One Child policy. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
One of the most celebrated writers of his generation, David Hare’s notable plays include Plenty, Skylight and The Absence of War. In this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Hare discusses his powerful and often very funny memoir, The Blue Touch Paper, which takes him from his days as a student at Oxford through to the 1970s and his early breakthroughs as a playwright. He talks to fellow playwright and former Channel 4 Head of Drama, Peter Ansorge.
What draws women to the extremes of war? Åsne Seierstad, acclaimed author of The Bookseller of Kabul and a seasoned war reporter, talks about being on the frontline; Erin Saltman, Senior Counter Extremism Researcher from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, tells us what makes young women slip from their families to go to Syria; and Imperial College psychiatrist Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones explores the behavioural science behind it all. Together with Lennie Goodings they discuss women and extremism, in this event recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
If you only read one novel this year, make it The End of Days. A book that takes a series of surprising turns, it confirms German author Jenny Erpenbeck as ‘one of the finest, most exciting authors alive’. That reviewer was fellow novelist Michel Faber, who talks to Erpenbeck about a novel in which the heroine, over the course of a long 20th century life, meets death several times, yet still keeps on going. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Amid a slew of politicians’ memoirs in recent years, Alan Johnson’s This Boy was comfortably among the finest: one critic called it ‘the best political testament I’ve ever read’. The former Home Secretary returns to the Book Festival with his sequel, Please, Mister Postman, which takes a nostalgic journey back in time and paints a vivid picture of Britain in the 1970s and in this Edinburgh International Book Festival event, recorded live, he talks to Scottish journalist and broadcaster Ruth Wishart and thoroughly charms his audience.
The Diamond Dagger-winning Fifer has built a vast fan-base over the years thanks to her number one bestselling novels that have sold over 11 million copies. One of Val McDermid’s better-known readers recently became Scotland’s First Minister and in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Nicola Sturgeon meets McDermid to discuss Splinter the Silence and Stranded, a book of scintillating, nail-biting short stories that range from passion and revenge in St Petersburg to the sleazy flipside of the international publishing scene.
Two of Scotland’s most successful creative talents hook up for this unmissable event. Alan Cumming made waves with a memoir about his tough upbringing, Not My Father's Son, the details of which came flooding back upon receiving a call out of the blue from his estranged father. Cumming discusses his life and acting career that has turned him into the darling of Broadway and Hollywood with bestselling crime novelist Ian Rankin. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
With the world’s knowledge accessible from anywhere via a computer screen, why should we continue to value physical spaces for literacy? In this discussion, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, we hear from key thinkers on libraries. Robyn Marsack is director of the Scottish Poetry Library, the world’s only purpose-built library for poetry. Claire Warwick is Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Research at Durham University and is concerned with the way we encounter reading and cultural heritage in both physical and digital spaces. Dutch architect Francine Houben believes that ‘libraries are the most important public buildings’ and has recently completed Birmingham Central – the largest public library in Europe. The event is chaired by Marc Lambert, the Director of the Scottish Book Trust.
George Mpanga is the 24 year old Cambridge-educated wordsmith who has attracted attention and accolades with his socio-political verse and urban beats, including a nomination for the BBC Music Sound of 2015. Born to Ugandan parents and brought up in London, Mpanga presents Search Party, his first collection of verse brimming with his trademark mix of wit, honesty and rhythm to articulate the voice of a new generation. In this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, George the Poet holds his audience spellbound with his inimitable charm.
Appearing at the Edinburgh International Book Festival for the first time with his first book, Daft Wee Stories, Brian Limond, aka Limmy, has been making a big splash for some years. Having emerged with his online series of dark yet oddly loveable Glasgow characters, he has taken the next step by creating the BAFTA-winning Limmy’s Show. What does he envisage as the future for Dee Dee, Falconhoof and the irrepressible Jacqueline McCafferty? This event was recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Contains strong language.
Hear two internationally acclaimed novelists who now turn their hands to memoir. Etgar Keret was declared ‘a genius’ by the New Yorker: The Seven Good Years, translated into English by Sondra Silverston, Miriam Shlesinger, Jessica Cohen and Anthony Berris, is his account of raising a son in Tel Aviv, while also losing his father. Alain Mabanckou is francophone Africa’s best-loved writer. He left Congo-Brazzaville when he was 22, and The Lights of Pointe-Noire, translated by Helen Stevenson, is a moving account of the enduring meaning of home – but also the town where a million slaves were sold. The event was recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
‘You’re in for a hell of a ride now,’ says Viv Albertine in Clothes, Music, Boys. And she’s dead right: with breathtaking honesty, Albertine describes her wild and often shocking experiences as a guitarist in the all-girl 1970s reggae-punk band The Slits. Equally fascinating is her account of life after punk; of motherhood, family and a return to music. She discusses her rollercoaster story with crime writer and music fan Ian Rankin, in an event recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
One of the best-respected and most formidable civil rights activists of the 20th century, the Reverend Jesse Jackson worked for Martin Luther King in the 1960s. During his later political career, he specialised in high-profile international diplomacy, negotiating with Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milošević among others. In this keynote event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Jackson discusses a life of campaigning for black rights and human understanding with Scottish journalist Ruth Wishart.
Still in her twenties, the ferociously-talented Kate Tempest has been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, won the Ted Hughes Prize for innovation in poetry and secured a novel contract with Bloomsbury. In this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Tempest discusses her full-length poetry collection, Hold Your Own, with the acclaimed Scottish poet Don Paterson. As Tempest’s poetry editor, Paterson is well placed to ask her about the collection one critic called ‘a game changer’.
A day after Shami Chakrabarti joined the campaigning organisation Liberty, New York’s Twin Towers were attacked. Ever since, she has fought a passionate campaign for human rights in the face of ASBOs, control orders and the War on Terror. In her book On Liberty, Chakrabarti argues that national security should never compromise human rights and vows to continue the battle against violations such as slavery and gender inequality. She discusses her work and campaigning with acclaimed author Kate Mosse in an event recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
One of the most intelligent and likeable comics in the land, Paul Merton has had his fair share of darkness and tragedy. The ‘sad clown’ might be verging on a journalistic cliché but with Merton, the death of his second wife and his own manic episode which resulted in him being hospitalised make it all too real. His memoir Only When I Laugh details those unforgettable highs and lows and in this event, recorded live at Edinburgh International Book Festival, he talks to journalist Ruth Wishart about it.
In her powerful, emotive memoir, H is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald recounts her obsessive pursuit to become a falconer. Following the shock of her father’s death and inspired by T H White’s The Goshawk, she embarked on a journey to train her own goshawk and H is for Hawk is a celebratory, elegiac account of her story as well as a beautiful reminder of our deep-rooted connections to the natural world. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Macdonald spoke to Charlotte Higgins from the Guardian about her experience.
People with severe mental health issues are often stigmatized by society. From drugs to psychiatry, solutions are complex and expensive. Eleanor Longden, a voice hearer and a qualified psychologist joins James Ley, a playwright who explores his bi-polar disorder in his writing, and Robin Murray, professor of psychiatric research at King's College London, to discuss how hearing voices can be a creative and ingenious psychological survival strategy. Chaired by Dr Angela Woods, a lecturer in Medical Humanities. This event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, was part of the Festival’s Conversations with Ourselves series of events presented in association with the University of Durham and with the support of the Wellcome Trust.
As part of a series of events examining the key ideas that have shaped the human race, sociologist Saskia Sassen, research director in international economics at Chatham House Paola Subacchi and professor of political economy Robert Skidelsky joined James Anderson, manager of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, to explore the profound and far-reaching effects of capitalism on humanity. Recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Throughout history, divine intervention has influenced great artists, thinkers and leaders, and the voice of God is a distinct and separate presence in the minds of many people today. Author and former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway leads this discussion with writer Sara Maitland and psychiatrist and theologian Chris Cook to explore how religious beliefs and creative inspiration define our consciousness. This event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, was part of the Festival’s Conversations with Ourselves series of events presented in association with the University of Durham and with the support of the Wellcome Trust.
Billy Collins has twice been poet laureate in the US and says he hopes his poems ‘begin in Kansas and end in Oz’. Aimless Love, his first collection of new and selected poems for 12 years, is elegant, poignant and thrillingly accessible. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Collins performs his deeply inspiring poems with great élan.
The last time Martin Amis wrote about the Holocaust was in 1991 in his novel Time’s Arrow. Now he returns to the subject with the much-anticipated The Zone of Interest. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he discusses this acclaimed new work in which he succeeds in finding moments of unexpected comedy as love blossoms in a Nazi concentration camp.
Kuwaiti author Mai Al-Nakib is a thrilling new voice from the Middle East. Educated at Brown University in the USA, her debut short story collection The Hidden Light of Objects peels away the private struggles of adolescence, marriage and middle age with a unique Kuwaiti-American perspective to stunning effect. Tom Barbash is an acclaimed, bestselling San Francisco writer whose new book Stay Up With Me has been glowingly described as ‘the Great American Story Collection’. In this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, they read and discuss their work. Since the event, Mai Al-Nakib has been announced as the winner of the Book Festival's 2014 Readers First Book Award.
Winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, Zakes Mda is regarded as one of the most important novelists to have emerged on South Africa’s literary scene since the end of apartheid. The author of more than 20 novels and plays, Mda is now resident in the USA where he is a professor at Ohio University. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, you can hear him discuss his creative output, including his new mystic-realist epic The Sculptors of Mapungubwe.
The first sign that a book works is when the characters talk back to their author, and books can represent our internal voices unlike any other art form. A panel of award-winning novelists, Nathan Filer, Edward Carey and Matthew Quick talk about their relationships with their characters and their inner voices, exploring how a writer hears and channels the creative voice that drives a narrative or character. This event, which was recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, was part of our Conversations with Ourselves strand of events which explored the medical, spiritual and literary aspects of hearing voices.
Colombian-born writer Oscar Guardiola-Rivera’s riveting Story of a Death Foretold lays bare the Cold War paranoia and rabid anti-communism which led to the downfall of Salvador Allende, Latin America’s first democratically-elected Marxist president. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Guardiola-Rivera looks at why Allende was deposed in a violent coup and explores how business leaders and military officers in Chile been collaborating with the US Government and the CIA for months to end his regime.
Acclaimed comedian and actor Omid Djalili has produced a joyously funny memoir about growing up and finding fame as a young Iranian in London. He beautifully captures his unique childhood in his parents’ guesthouse, describing meetings with an array of remarkable characters and his own desire to escape. His story offers an intriguing perspective on British society today and in this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he talks to author and critic Peter Guttridge.
The much-loved radio show Just a Minute has been delighting listeners for 46 years and every single episode of the programme has been hosted by Nicholas Parsons. Now, Parsons has produced his first book about Britain’s longest-running radio comedy show, and the venerable entertainer joined us at the Book Festival to enjoy some favourite moments and linguistic contortions that have made it such an enduring hit. Recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Only Remembered is a timeless and seminal anthology of First World War literature for children, edited by Michael Morpurgo and featuring artwork from renowned illustrator Ian Beck. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Michael talks passionately about this remarkable collection, which includes contributions from some of the UK’s leading cultural, political and literary figures.
In early 2012, journalists Rhiannon Cosslett and Holly Baxter co-founded The Vagenda blog. An instant hit, it received over 7 million views in year one, and has received votes of approval from the likes of Caitlin Moran and Laurie Penny. The creators discuss the site, their campaigning new book, and how they turn a high-pitched cacophony of negativity about women into something incredibly positive.
Fearsomely incisive interviewer and journalist Lynn Barber faced a Twitter storm after an article on tennis superstar Rafael Nadal, but anonymous cyberhate is nothing for someone who has taken on the likes of Gore Vidal, James Stewart and Salvador Dali. In this event she speaks to Kate Mosse about her life and work and her recent memoir, A Curious Career. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2014.
Two years ago John Gordon Sinclair made his crime-writing debut and now he’s back wrapping a grim tale around the CIA, Serbian gangs and a feisty Glaswegian lawyer with his second novel, Blood Whispers. Hear how Sinclair created a central character who is at her most dangerous when under threat, in this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
His book Road to Referendum is a clear-minded history of Scotland’s journey towards its historic vote in September, and Iain Macwhirter argues that after the poll, constitutional change is inevitable. If so, where will the negotiations between Holyrood and Westminster start, and how are they likely to end? In this event, recorded live at the 2104 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Macwhirter outlines his view of the steps he believes both countries will take.
The Outlander books by Arizona-based author Diana Gabaldon have achieved sales figures that would make your eyes water. Little wonder that Doune Castle was recently besieged by fans keen to see the TV version being filmed. The latest instalment, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, is partly set in 1778, featuring a world in flux. Listen to Gabaldon discussing her epic series in this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Best known in the UK as a dispassionate commentator on BBC Newsnight Review and Question Time, even when sitting beside the leader of the BNP, Bonnie Greer has now written the first volume of her memoirs, A Parallel Life. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book festival, she talks to journalist and broadcaster Ruth Wishart about her tough upbringing and how it feels to be the key character in a real-life rags to riches story.
Best known for As If, his landmark book about the killing of James Bulger, Blake Morrison is also a poet and novelist. He joined us to read from a new publication, This Poem. Bankers’ bonuses, phone hacking, super-injunctions and Jimmy Savile: these are just some of the topics he addresses, in verse that is at once terrifyingly honest and full of wisdom about the state of contemporary Britain. Recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Long before Bradley Wiggins took the world by storm, British cycling already had a hero. Tom Simpson was world champion and the first Briton to wear yellow in the Tour de France. In 1967 he died during a stage of the Tour while climbing the monstrous Mont Ventoux. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Guardian writer William Fotheringham discusses Put Me Back on My Bike - his superb account of Simpson’s life and death.
As the vote on Scotland’s future looms into view, commentators are turning their attention to what might happen next. Gerry Hassan’s Caledonian Dreaming questions some of the key myths Scotland tells about itself, while Lesley Riddoch’s Blossom wonders whether swapping a London elite for an Edinburgh one will make much difference to Scots' lives. Might Scotland flourish if we look elsewhere? Recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Yorkshire-born David Peace’s writing took an exciting turn with GB84, his ambitious novelisation of events during the miners’ strike. Later, Peace turned to football, first with The Damned United, a re-imagining of Brian Clough’s brief tenure at Leeds United, and then with Red or Dead, based on Liverpool manager Bill Shankly. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Peace discusses his work with The Scotsman’s own great Yorkshireman, David Robinson.
Graphic novel dream team Charlie Adlard and Robbie Morrison came to Edinburgh to talk about White Death, a frank graphic novel account of two dead bodies discovered almost 100 years on which highlights how snow was used as a military weapon. In this event, filmed live at 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, they discuss how it’s possible to expose difficult historical truths through the medium of comics.
As part of a series of events exploring key ideas that have shaped humanity, this event – recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International book Festival – discusses the idea and impact of religious belief. Richard Sennett is joined by former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, New York University professor of anthropology Angela Zito and former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway.
For four decades, the Cosmo Agony Aunt has been helping to solve readers’ problems, encompassing everything from eating disorders to bad behaviour in the office. In My Life in Agony, In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Irma Kurtz looks back on the social changes that informed her advice and reflects on the chaos of her own life as an American single mother living in the UK.
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown talks about his new bestseller My Scotland, Our Britain: A Future Worth Sharing. He is in dialogue with Alistair Moffat, author of Bannockburn and many other books dealing with the story of Scotland’s past. Recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Instructions for a Heatwave was described by the Los Angeles Review of Books as ‘perhaps a perfect book’ – high praise indeed but typical of the acclaim that Edinburgh-based Maggie O’Farrell has attracted for her sixth novel. Full of unforgettable characters, the story charts a family descending into crisis against the backdrop of a stifling summer. In this event, recorded live at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Maggie O’Farrell talks about how she constructed her novel.
It’s not too often that an author will so happily embrace the film or TV show adapted from his or her own fiction, but George R R Martin seems more than pleased with the screen adaptation of Game of Thrones. In this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival the author discusses how it feels to see the screen incarnations of his complex fictional universe.
Of Me and Others is as close to Alasdair Gray’s autobiography as we are likely to get. Described by its editor Alistair Braidwood as ‘ribald, humorous, angry and incisive’, this new tome by one of Scotland’s literary superstars describes his meetings with authors such as Anthony Burgess, and explains how he went about writing his masterpiece Lanark and recent Faust adaptation, Fleck. Hear him talking to Ryan Van Winkle about his work at the Book Festival in this recording of his 2014 event.
In his effervescent memoir Maggie and Me, journalist, writer and gifted storyteller Damian Barr explains how his family, living in the shadow of Ravenscraig, learned to thrive in Scotland during Margaret Thatcher’s 1980s. In this event, recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Barr talks honestly to Richard Holloway about his exuberant and moving life story, touching on a turbulent family life, coming out in small–town Lanarkshire, religion and the influence of Margaret Thatcher on his childhood perceptions.
Her novel based on a famous Vermeer portrait sold a staggering 4 million copies worldwide and put Tracy Chevalier straight into the international literary premier league. Now she’s produced The Last Runaway, which has been described by Rose Tremain as ‘the best thing Chevalier’s written since Girl With A Pearl Earring’. Recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival, this event sees Chevalier in conversation with Scottish journalist Jackie McGlone, describing a journey to the sunlit cornfields of Ohio where life is not as idyllic as it may sound.
Sitting at home in 2005, Tracey Thorn realised she was no longer happy to be part of the show business feeding frenzy and decided to tell her story. And so one of the finest pop memoirs in recent times, Bedsit Disco Queen, was formulated. In it she tells of her time as one-half of Everything But The Girl and how writing the book gave her a taste for songwriting once again. She chats to Bob McDevitt in this event recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Tim Burgess’ rock and roll battles and the death of keyboard player Rob Collins are among the events in The Charlatans’ front man’s upbeat memoir, Telling Stories. Full of tales about his rollercoaster ride at the helm of this much-loved indie outfit, Burgess tells rock junkie and crime writing superstar Ian Rankin about musical influences, his best albums, and the importance of a good haircut. This event was recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
In 1983, Salman Rushdie was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for his novel Shame and named among Granta’s inuagural Best of Young British Novelists. Only a few years later, he was forced into hiding by an Iranian fatwa after the publication of The Satanic Verses. Rushdie survived, became a passionate champion of free speech and emerged as the single most influential British writer of our times. In this event, recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Rushdie reflects on a remarkable career with John Freeman, former editor of Granta.
It’s taken the entertainment world six years to recover from Rupert Everett’s first memoir Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins and now he’s back on raucously top form with Vanished Years. With it, the star of Another Country and My Best Friend’s Wedding paints vivid portraits of a career on stage and screen. Talking to the Guardian’s chief arts writer Charlotte Higgins in a sold-out event recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Rupert Everett applies his inimitable wit and charm to tales of love, life and loss.
A decade ago, the death of Dr David Kelly shook the country and for a moment threatened to topple a Blair administration already reeling from dissent against the war in Iraq. The government scientist had died in woods near his Oxfordshire home amid a scandal over the leaking of reports that the case for war was flawed. In this event recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Robert Lewis, author of Dark Actors, recounts the events surrounding an appalling human tragedy in an interview withAl Senter.
Riveting and horrifying in equal measure, Kristen Iversen’s memoir of growing up next to the Rocky Flats nuclear facility near Denver, Colorado describes the secrecy surrounding a plant which made plutonium warhead triggers for the US nuclear arsenal. Full Body Burden is a fascinating story of successive radiation leaks and cover-ups set against a coming-of-age memoir and in this event, recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Iversen tells her story to Stuart Kelly.
Kay Ryan is widely regarded as one of America’s great living poets. Her book The Best of It: New and Selected Poems won her the Pulitzer Prize in 2011, and she was the US Poet Laureate from 2008-2010. However, despite the plaudits, Ryan is no creature of the establishment: she once said ‘it’s poetry’s uselessness that excites me.’ Both Ryan’s poetry and personality are on show in this event, recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival. With Robyn Marsack, Director of the Scottish Poetry Library.
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and twice the winner of a Whitbread Award, Jane Gardam also received a Heywood Hill Literary Prize for her distinguished literary career. But she’s not stopping yet: with Last Friends Gardam has completed her bestselling trilogy about a Hong Kong QC nicknamed Old Filth (acronym for ‘failed in London, try Hong Kong’). She joined audiences in Edinburgh to share the secrets of a lifetime of literary achievement with Literary Editor of the Guardian, Claire Armitstead. This event was recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Guardian journalist Hadley Freeman is known for her hugely entertaining daily columns. Now she has produced Be Awesome, a book of heart-warming but razor sharp essays about life for modern women. From ‘How to read women’s magazines without wanting to grow a penis’, to ‘Beyond the armpit: a guide to being a modern day feminist’, this is Freeman in ferociously funny, fighting form. In this event, recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival, she chats to Lee Randall.
Statistician, political forecaster and creator of the New York Times blog FiveThirtyEight, Nate Silver shot to world fame when he predicted the outcome of all 50 states in the 2012 US Elections. In his award-winning book, The Signal and the Noise, Silver highlights how mathematical probability and statistics can build models to predict the outcome of baseball matches, poker games, climate change and financial crashes. He appeared at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival, in conversation with Steven Gale, to talk about his roller coaster year, data analysis and why, as a scientist, it is wise to stay out of the street fighting of American politics.
She’s the Professor of Pharmacology at Oxford University and has been awarded no fewer than 30 honorary degrees for her work. Baroness Susan Greenfield has risen to great heights in the field of neuroscientific research – a world largely dominated by men. What has she had to overcome along the way and has she had to make compromises? Susan Greenfield shares her story with broadcaster Kirsty Wark in this event, recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Described by Colm Tóibín as ‘one of the most exciting and serious writers working in Britain now’, Nadeem Aslam’s new book will undoubtedly build his reputation still further. The author, twice longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, now gives us The Blind Man’s Garden, an unforgettable story set in Afghanistan and Pakistan after the 9/11 bombings. It’s an evocative novel that sheds new light on a key moment in recent history and in this event, recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he talks to Alex Clark about his work.
Ma Jian’s criticisms of China’s government led to it placing a blanket ban on all his future books in 1987. He participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, and now lives in Europe. Ma’s new novel The Dark Road, researched through extensive travel in remote parts of China in 2008-9, is a magic realist tale exploring the terrible effects of the One Child Policy on Chinese women. In this event, recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he talks to Rosemary Goring about his research, his travels and his new book.
There are many, including Jonathan ‘Aggers’ Agnew, who would agree that cricket is more than just a game. Controversy has dogged the sport throughout its history, from the bodyline scandal of the early 1930s through to the Hansie Cronje match-fixing drama. Armed with his glorious new anthology of the finest cricket writing, the Test Match Special presenter spoke to audiences at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival, reflecting on the game he loves. In conversation with Ruth Wishart.
Brought up as a Mormon, Jenn Ashworth has since become a powerful voice in British fiction. She returned to Edinburgh with her third novel, The Friday Gospels, the story of a Mormon family that is by turns tragic and hilarious. Debut novelist Peggy Riley has written Amity and Sorrow, an astonishing, moving book about a woman and her children who flee from a religious cult. In this event, chaired by Serena Field and recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival, the two novelists discuss their work and background.
Her debut The Still Point was inspired by the Arctic, and Amy Sackville heads north again with her second novel, Orkney, which confirms that this startlingly original writer is heading for the literary big league. The same is true for Evie Wyld, who has been named one of 2013’s Granta Best of Young British Novelists – her new book, All the Birds Singing, is about an outsider living on a British island. In this event, recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival, the two novelists get together to discuss their work with Jenny Brown.
For the first time two of the world’s best graphic novelists, Joe Sacco and Chris Ware, appeared together on stage to discuss life as a cartoonists. Sacco uses his art to capture the realities of global political upheaval; Ware creates understated fictions on suburbia. Both are united by the unique artform of graphic novels. In this event, chaired by Teddy Jamieson, they talk about the brilliance in bringing together word and image on the page. Recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
In Chris Ware’s first appearance at the Book Festival he discussed his critically acclaimed graphic novel Building Stories and why comics are a language, not a genre with event chair and comics fan Stuart Kelly. Building Stories is a box set of differently-sized comics, booklets, broadsheets, posters and a cloth bound book has been described as ‘a graphic novel on the scale of James Joyce’s Ulysses’. This event was introduced by Roland Gulliver and recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Previous books such as Footnotes In Gaza established Joe Sacco’s international reputation as the world’s leading comics journalist. His latest graphic novel Journalism is a compelling set of cartoon-essays, in which he demonstrates the power of comic journalism to grasp at the truth. In conversation with event chair Adrian Searle, Sacco reveals what drives his work and why objective journalism is not always honest Journalism. Recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Cycling was a hot topic during the summer of 2012, with British success in the Olympics and the Tour de France, and the breaking of the Lance Armstrong scandal, and it was against this backdrop that sports journalist William Fotheringham came to the Book Festival to talk about one of the cycling world’s lesser-known legends. Eddy Merckx is to cycling what Ali (or Tyson) was to boxing and Pelé (or Messi) is to football: quite simply, the best there has ever been. Throughout his professional career the Belgian amassed an astonishing 445 victories and, along the way, dealt with horrific injury, a doping scandal and tragedy. Fotheringham shared the details of this remarkable sporting life during this event, which was recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, with festival Director Nick Barley.
Science fiction writing is readily dismissed as mindless escapism but in fact it is a hugely influential and creative genre, able to critique our society and inspire our scientists. New York Times bestseller Neal Stephenson discusses the importance of science fiction on science fact with Jennifer Rohn, of University College London and author of lablit.com in, an event chaired by Pippa Goldschmidt and recorded live at the 2012 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
To mark the 10th anniversary of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, Chris Riddell has created beautiful, atmospheric and unsettling illustrations for a new edition of the book. The tale of the lonely girl who discovers an alternate world where her ‘other mother and father’ live has been turned into a graphic novel and a film. In this event, Coraline’s creator Neil Gaiman and award-winning illustrator Chris Riddell discuss their inspiration for the words and the pictures with interviewer Grace Sutherland. Recorded live at the 2012 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Acclaimed author Keith Gray has edited an anthology of stories by leading writers looking at where we go when we die, entitled Next. Each short story examines the idea in different ways. Kate Harrison’s trilogy Soul Beach is about a girl whose sister is murdered and trapped in a kind of limbo but can communicate with a chosen loved one through a website. Keith Gray and Kate Harrison join Iona Heath, President of the Royal College of General Practitioners and author of Matters of Life and Death, in this event to explore the idea of afterlife, why some cultures and individuals believe there is such a thing and why death is such fertile territory for writers. Chaired by Lindsey Fraser and recorded live at the 2012 Edinburgh International Book Festival. Supported by the Wellcome Trust.
In The Old Ways, shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson prize, the celebrated author Robert Macfarlane sets off from his Cambridge home to follow the ancient tracks, drove-roads and sea paths that form part of a vast network of routes criss-crossing the British landscape and its waters, and connecting them to the continents beyond. The result is an immersive, enthralling exploration of the ghosts and voices that haunt old paths, of the stories our tracks keep and tell, of pilgrimage and ritual, and of songlines and their singers. Above all his book is about people and place and the subtle ways in which we are shaped by the landscapes through which we move. Told in Macfarlane's distinctive voice, the book folds together natural history, cartography, geology, archaeology and literature. In this event, recorded live at the 2012 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he talks to Stuart Kelly, the literary editor of Scotland On Sunday.
Her books include the highly acclaimed Regeneration trilogy: Regeneration (made into a film of the same name), The Eye in the Door (winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize) and The Ghost Road (winner of the Booker Prize). She came to Edinburgh to unveil her latest story, Toby's Room, the sequel to her acclaimed novel Life Class. Toby is 'missing, believed killed' on the battlefields of France, but his sister begins to question how he died – and why. Pat Barker's unforgettable stories highlight the emotional traumas of the First World War and her new book is a dark, compelling story of human desire, wartime horror and the power of friendship. She discusses her work with acclaimed broadcaster and journalist Allan Little in this event, recorded live at the 2012 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
He's a master storyteller who has left an indelible mark on countless children who’ve grown up with his stories. Now, the astonishing success of War Horse on stage and screen has made Michael Morpurgo a household name. Maggie Fergusson has written an intriguing biography of the writer, War Child, War Horse, which is interspersed with seven autobiographical short stories written by Morpurgo himself. In this event, recorded live at the 2012 Edinburgh International Book Festival, the two writers got together to tell us about their unique collaboration, chaired by Lindsay Fraser.
From Gulliver’s Travels to 1984, dystopian visions have shaped literary fiction. Why do these flights of fancy influence our reality? How does science respond to these futuristic imaginings? Ben Marcus, author of the remarkable The Flame Alphabet, discusses the interplay of science and fiction as it shapes our future with psychologist Dr Charles Fernyhough, who specialises in child development, memory and hallucinations. This is a live recording of the discussion, chaired by Jennifer Wild, which took place at the 2012 Edinburgh International Book Festival. Supported by the Wellcome Trust.
David Cameron may not be popular among Scottish voters but he raises an intriguing argument. Scotland would, he claims, lose its influence on the international stage and be marginalised by organisations such as the UN and NATO. Worse, Scotland’s entry into the European Union may be vetoed by a Spanish government anxious not to spark its own regional independence issues. Does Cameron’s argument add up, or is he just scaremongering? The outspoken former Labour MP and Cabinet Minister Tony Benn, joined Dr Nicola McEwen, Director of Public Policy at the Academy of Government and Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Edinburgh and Alyn Smith, Scotland’s youngest member of the European Parliament, to debate this political hot potato in an event chaired by Scotland correspondent for the Guardian, Severin Carrell. It was recorded live at the 2012 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Wolf Hall was one of the most remarkable novels of recent years and it has become the bestselling Man Booker Prize winner to date. And now Hilary Mantel has become the first British writer and the first woman to win the Man Booker Prize twice. Judges hailed her new book Bring up the Bodies as "remarkable" and that the book "transcends the work already written by a great English writer". You can hear her talking about her work in this live recording of her 2012 Edinburgh International Book Festival event. She talks to James Runcie, director of a stunning BBC2 documentary about Mantel.
In 1902, E Nesbit published Five Children and It, which has never been out of print. Jacqueline Wilson, the highly acclaimed author of Tracey Beaker and countless other children’s books, revisited the original and has created Four Children and It. Her story is set in the modern day and follows Rosalind and Robbie, their half-sister Maudie and step-sister Smash. This foursome’s adventures see them discover the mythical sand-fairy in Surrey's Oxshott Woods. In this event, recorded live at the 2012 Edinburgh International Book Festival, the popular children’s author talks to Jenny Avern about her take on this much-loved story.
In this event, recorded live at Edinburgh International Book Festival, prolific children’s writer Vivian French declared that it is time to stop classifying dyslexia as a disability; we need to start appreciating that different brain-wiring and neurobiological patterns allow people to process information in unique ways. Although dyslexia may cause difficulties with reading and writing, people with it prefer thinking in narrative form, which often makes them natural storytellers and actors. An ability to visualize 3D structures also means many are gifted artists. Vivian French led the discussion with Dr John Rack, Head of Research, Development and Policy at Dyslexia Action and actor, playwright and songwriter Matthew McVarish weighing in. Supported by the Wellcome Trust.
The award-winning broadcaster has been listened to by millions who rely on his insightful film reviews and music choices but he’s just turned his talents to writing. His first book for young readers is entitled, and stars, Itch, an accident prone, science obsessed fourteen year old boy. Itch has a slightly explosive hobby – he collects chemicals but when he discovers a previously unknown element, he attracts the attentions of some unpleasant sorts. In this event, recorded live at Edinburgh International Book Festival, Simon Mayo talks about his new book.
'If there were a prize for best reader of one’s own poems, Paul Durcan would probably win it hands down,' proclaimed the Guardian's reviewer of Durcan's latest poetry collection, Praise in Which I Live and Move and Have My Being. The popular Dublin-born writer paid a well overdue visit to the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2012 (his first since 1995) and thrilled audiences with his quirky, jaunty, insightful new poems. This is a live recording of the event.
He may be best known for the disco hit Le Freak but Nile Rodgers’ influence on pop music has been so very much greater than that. Rodgers wrote and produced classics such as Like a Virgin for Madonna, We Are Family for Sister Sledge and David Bowie’s bestselling album Let’s Dance. He’s worked with Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Prince and Debbie Harry; he’s jammed with Jimi and dined out with Diana. Nile Rodgers also happens to be a brilliant storyteller, and in this event, recorded live at Edinburgh International Book Festival, he talks to Irvine Welsh, recounting the joy and pain of a life at the heart of the pop industry, and he throws in an impromptu jamming session just for the hell of it.
At the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Broughty Ferry's fictional hero Bob Servant was brought to life by Greg McHugh (aka Gary Tank Commander) in a sell-out performance. Since then, filming has begun to turn Neil Forsyth's comedy creation into a BBC TV series and there’s also a new book. In this event, recorded live at Edinburgh International Book Festival, leading Scottish actors perform scenes from the book, and Neil Forsyth talks about his life as a writer.
The last time Michael Palin appeared at the Edinburgh International Book Festival was in 1987, when it was directed by Jenny Brown. Since then, the co-founder of Monty Python's Flying Circus has become an adventurous travel journalist, while Brown is now Scotland's leading literary agent. Twenty five years on, both returned for this event, which was recorded live at the Book Festival, and talked about Michael Palin's captivating new novel, The Truth, whose action leads its hero around the world – thanks to a deal struck by a leading literary agent...
The Man Booker-shortlisted and Whitbread-winning author of Headlong and Spies travelled to Edinburgh to discuss his latest novel, Skios. Michael Frayn is one of Britain’s most respected playwrights and he brings his mastery of the stage farce to this new comedy. As the Fred Toppler Foundation prepares for its annual lecture, it turns out there’s a case of stolen identity that threatens to get the organiser into hot water… This is a recording of the live event at Edinburgh International Book Festival.
According to Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, his eclectic cultural interests range from Miss Marple to Star Trek and in this unmissable event, recorded live at Edinburgh International Book Festival, he talks about life beyond politics with one of the most successful British literary novelists of the past 50 years. Ian McEwan is best known for acclaimed novels such as Atonement, Saturday, On Chesil Beach, Enduring Love and the Man Booker Prize-winning Amsterdambut he too boasts a wide range of interests beyond fiction – not least among them film, music and science.
The race to identify the Higgs Boson has led to multi-billion dollar investment in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The return promises to be the revelation of how the universe came into being. Frank Close is Professor of Theoretical Physics at Oxford University and in his book The Infinity Puzzle he tells the astonishing story of three scientists whose work has played out against a backdrop of high politics, and who stand to win a Nobel Prize. In this event, recorded live at Edinburgh International Book Festival, Professor Peter Higgs, who first identified the concept of the Higgs Boson in the 1960s, interviews Frank Close, the first such public event after the announcement of the breakthrough discovery at CERN.
In his non-fiction work, he’s tried to start a new country and helped a comedy friend find as many of his namesakes as possible. Now Dundee-born Danny Wallace brings us his debut novel, Charlotte Street, in which a man becomes obsessed with the images inside a discarded disposable camera. Does that sound filmic? It should do, as Working Title has already optioned the movie rights. In this event, recorded live at Edinburgh International Book Festival, Danny Wallace talks about his new book and uses his legendary wit and charm to entertain a full house.
A writer absolutely at the height of his powers, Colm Tóibín is known for his stunning novels such as Brooklyn and The Master. He is also an avid reader and a perceptive literary critic. In this event, recorded live at Edinburgh International Book Festival, Tóibín delves into his breathtakingly entertaining new book of essays about writers and their families, in conversation with the Orange Prize-longlisted novelist Tessa Hadley.
The death of Osama bin Laden in May 2011 marked a key moment in the history of the so-called War on Terror. But Michael Scheuer, formerly the chief of the CIA unit responsible for capturing the elusive Saudi, believes bin Laden’s death will make no difference. Incandescent at ‘pro-terrorist’ US foreign policies, he argues that while bin Laden was an icon and a strategic genius, al Qaeda’s next generation will be less visible and more violent. Scheuer’s hawkish views can be shocking: he believes militant Islamism is a violent enemy that the US must hold at bay. But his analysis of bin Laden’s power is unusual and intriguing. In this event, recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he talks candidly to Ruth Wishart.
The hotly-anticipated novel Cats Cradle is without question Michael Ondaatje's finest to date. Launched worldwide at this event, recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he tells the story of a child and his journey from Ceylon to England on an ocean liner in the 1950s. As the child grows up into the realities of adult life, he looks back on his voyage as a symbol of the floating dream of childhood. Hear the man who won the 1992 Booker Prize for The English Patient, talk about his book that's sure to be hailed as a modern classic.
Since its publication in 1611, the King James Bible has been the world’s number one bestseller. But the book has become a story in itself. It has been the Bible of wars from the British Civil War to the American Civil War and it played a part in social movements such as the abolition of slavery as well as defining attitudes to modern science, education and sex. Melvyn Bragg, in this event recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival, charts a remarkable history. In conversation with Nick Barley.
Stieg Larsson’s books have sold more than 20 million copies in 41 countries. But because they were published after his death, many have been left wondering about the true character of a man who was as passionate in his campaign against Swedish neo-Nazism as he was about writing. In this event, recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Kurdo Baksi – a former colleague and the author of a new biography of Larsson – explains why the complex, dogmatic writer was ‘both a dream and a nightmare to work with’.
The explosively talented Welsh footballer John Hartson enjoyed success with Arsenal and West Ham before becoming a striker for Celtic, where he scored more than 100 goals in a glorious five year period. But following his retirement in 2008 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and was rushed to hospital. Hartson's memoir interweaves the story of his professional success, his harrowing personal battle and the perspective of his pregnant wife when he became ill. In this event, recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he discusses his story with Pat Nevin.
Jacqueline Wilson always wanted to be a writer and wrote her first ‘novel’ when she was only 9. Since those early days she’s gone on to write over forty books, won many prestigious awards and created iconic characters such as Tracey Beaker. The novel she talks about in this event, recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh Internaitonal Book Festival, is her latest, Lily Alone. Billed as an event for 9-14 year olds, it nevertheless drew crowds of all ages including legions of older fans who had grown up reading her wide-ranging work.
When Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt went on the campaign trail in 2002, she could not have imagined that it would end in a kidnapping and six year incarceration at the hands of guerrilla forces. Even Silence Has an End is her tale of her jungle ordeal which included beatings by her captors, mutual distrust of fellow prisoners and a constant struggle to escape the attentions of red ants, tarantulas, anacondas and bears. In this event, recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival, she discussed her experiences with Kirsty Wark.
The poetry of Kent-born Cope has charmed readers ever since her first collection, Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis. In Family Values she gives it to us straight with verse about religion, childhood and death, all imbued with her trademark wit and honesty. Family Values also holds a few life lessons for friends and relatives: in ‘My Funeral’, she wants no one to overstay their welcome when delivering an elegy while ‘Another Valentine’ aims a slingshot at the forced romanticism of one day in February.
The former stand-up comedian turned children's novelist Jonathan Meres launched his mad-cap new novel at the Book Festival.The World of Norm: May Contain Nutsis all about poor Norm, whose family has just moved house and his dad keeps him awake at night snoring like a constipated rhinoceros. If you like your books daft, eccentric and full of nuts – then this is for you. This is the full recording of the live event for 9-11 year olds as it happened at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
In this fun, interactive event for 4-10 year olds, award-winning author-illustrator John Fardell introduced his new picture book The Day Louis Got Eaten and talked about his artwork, sketches and models. The event involved the young fans in the audience in plenty of participation. Gobbling, gurgling and gulping monsters feature as do amazing chase-and-rescue vehicles.
Children's author Kristina Stephenson introduced her new book featuring the lovable but slightly pongy Sir Charlie Stinky Socks to the delight of her young audience of 5-7 year olds. Offering great storytelling, music, songs and sound effects! This is the full recording of the live event at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
The reissue of his early novels as Penguin Classics in 2011 underlines his status as a giant of American literary postmodernism. Stories like Spanking the Maid, Gerald's Party and Pricksongs and Descants show that a mordant – and morbid – humour are part of his genius. One former student described Coover as 'the most generous, rabidly intelligent, accessible, erudite and hilarious teacher I have ever met.' Another said 'Coover is flame retardant'. Recorded live, in conversation with Scotland's own literary firebrand Stuart Kelly, at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
The astonishing, triumphant television adaptation of Michel Faber's novel The Crimson Petal and the White represents a radical new step for the previously tired costume drama genre. In this event, Faber discussed his book with Lucinda Coxon, who adapted the novel for television and Romola Garai, the actor who brought the young prostitute Sugar so vividly to life on screen. Chaired by Guardian literary editor Claire Armitstead. This is the full hour-long event, recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Are we living through the dying embers of Western ascendancy? For Scottish historian and broadcaster Niall Ferguson, the ‘killer applications’ test is the best way to measure our status with the rest of the world. So, how are we doing when it comes to science, democracy, medicine, consumerism and the work ethic? Not so well, he reckons. Civilization takes us on an extraordinary journey from Nanjing to Namibia, for a story of sailboats, missiles, vaccines, blue jeans and Chinese bibles. Niall Ferguson explains all to Iain Macwhirter in this hour-long event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
The BBC Radio adaptation of Forsyth's Delete This at Your Peril catapulted the fictional Dundonian anti-hero Bob Servant to national attention. Servant's habit of responding to junk emails and striking up a relationship with their shady foreign senders provides a surprisingly touching and often hilarious portrait of an ordinary man from Broughty Ferry. In this very special event, Bob Servant himself was joined by some guest actors to bring his exuberant emails to life in this unmissable live performance at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Jo Nesbø, the king of Nordic crime fiction, came to Edinburgh to discuss his latest thrilling work, The Leopard. In the depths of winter, the bodies of two young women are found, both with inexplicable wounds. The crime scenes offer no clues, the media are reaching fever pitch, and the police are running out of options. Time to call for Inspector Harry Hole.
When you hear that a book by a renowned journalist and broadcaster is subtitled ‘Time Spent Following a Lead’, you might assume it’s a memoir concerning the pursuit of headlines. But Diary of a Dog Walker is in fact Stourton’s tale/tail of going out with his pooch (the delightful Kudu) and the questions it inevitably raises: Do dogs perceive ownership as we do? How devoted is your canine? And why are they a symbol of depression (thanks Winston) when so much of the time they cheer us up? In this event, recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he talks to Ruth Wishart.
It's many years since Alan Hollinghurst's last novel, The Line of Beauty, was published – a story so powerful that it beat David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas to win the 2004 Booker Prize. His follow-up, The Stranger's Child, is perhaps the most hotly-anticipated British novel of 2011. In an epic story of two families from the eve of the Great War to the close of the 20th century, Hollinghurst paints a picture of British society in a state of flux. He talks about his work with Steven Gale in an hour long event, recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
His last book was adapted to become The Social Network, one of the most successful movies of 2010. Mezrich then turned his attention to another strange-but-true American tale in his novel Sex on the Moon. Back in 2002, a gifted former NASA intern and his girlfriend set out to steal a safe containing moon rocks from every Apollo mission. In this event, recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival, he explains to Decca Aitkenhead how he reimagined the story of a real life heist
There can be few backbench politicians who have had as much influence on British politics as Tam Dalyell. Fiercely independent and a thorn in the side of several Prime Ministers, his contributions to politics include his vocal opposition to military intervention in the Falklands and Iraq, as well as his 'West Lothian question' about partial Scottish and Welsh devolution. Here Dalyell discusses his extraordinary life with BBC broadcaster James Naughtie in an event recorded live at Edinburgh International Book Festival.
The former director general of MI5 has forged a new career for herself as an author of spy novels, using her inside knowledge of intelligence activities to create a credible new hero, Liz Carlyle. Rimington’s first ever visit to the Book Festival in 2011 coincided with her role as chair of the Man Booker Prize judging panel, and in this event she shares her own new novel as well as some thoughts about the world of fiction in general with Ruth Wishart. Recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Rugby writer Richard Bath has tackled a very different kind of battle in aiding Sir Tommy Macpherson with his memoir, Behind Enemy Lines. Britain’s most decorated living war hero with three Military Crosses, three Croix de Guerre, a Légion d'Honneur and a papal knighthood, Macpherson has now revealed so much more about his wartime acts. Aged 21, he persuaded 23,000 SS soldiers to surrender, and almost single-handedly stopped Tito’s Yugoslavia annexing the whole of north-east Italy. Listen to his astonishing story in this live recording of his sold-out 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival event.
The opening event at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival drew huge crowds of 5-9 year olds and their families to see the inimitable and forever-entertaining newly appointed Children’s Laureate Julia Donaldson. A fantastic event featuring her new and recent picture books Freddie and the Fairy, The Highway Rat and Zog which prooved to be a roof-raising start to the 2011 Book Festival.
In 1991, cricket commentator Agnew was involved in a slice of broadcasting history with an innuendo-fuelled remark about Ian Botham. His throwaway line during a Test Match Special had his radio colleague Brian Johnston dissolving into an unstoppable fit of giggles. Thanks, Johnners is Agnew’s affectionate tribute to his old buddy who died suddenly in 1994; it also includes tales of batting and bowling legends Trueman, Boycott, Richards and Botham. In this event, recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Agnew talks to Al Senter.
Painter and set designer, playwright and novelist, John Byrne is one of Scotland’s great polymaths. Best known for his plays the Slab Boys Trilogy and Tutti Frutti, Byrne has also designed record sleeves for Donovan and The Beatles. We were thrilled to welcome him to the Book Festival in 2011 to discuss his written work with Jackie McGlone - it proved to be an electrifying and unforgettable hour of entertainment and you can listen to the lie recording of it here.
You may not want Horrid Henry as your son or brother but how much fun would it be to have him in class? In this event, recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival, his creator Francesca Simon described Henry's latest adventures and misadventures with all his friends and accomplices, from hapless Weepy William and Perfect Peter to Inky Ian and – of course! – Henry himself.
'I'm very grateful for Ireland,' said Edna O'Brien in a recent interview. 'It stirs things up in me.' O'Brien came to Edinburgh to discuss her latest book, Saints and Sinners, which includes several stories set in her beloved home country. Her book is the 21st in a distinguished career that began in 1960 with a stunning debut, The Country Girls, and includes an acclaimed biography of James Joyce. Aged 80 in this event, she shows no sign of stopping. In this very special hour-long event, recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival, she discusses her life and work with the author Andrew O’Hagan.
In this exciting event Cathy Cassidy gave a sneak preview of her brand new book, Marshmallow Skye, the second in the Chocolate Box Girls series, and talked about where she gets the inspiration for her writing and why she loves writing for teenage girls.
What should you call your vagina? And why does everyone ask you when you're going to have a baby? Caitlin Moran is on a mission to reclaim feminism and make it relevant to women today. Always refreshingly straightforward, frank and funny, the award-winning journalist and Times columnist describes her new book, How to be a Woman, as 'The Female Eunuch, but with knob gags'. She joined us in Edinburgh to share some punch lines with the deputy editor of the Guardian, Katharine Viner.
Michigan-born writer and artist, Audrey Niffenegger is the author of the runaway bestseller The Time Traveler’s Wife. In this event she chats to Stuart Kelly about her various books, the most recent of which is a graphic novel, The Night Bookmobile. The novel uses Niffenegger’s Chicago base as a backdrop to the tale of a woman who stumbles upon a magical mobile library which reflects her own reading tastes to the letter. But when the bookmobile finally moves on to the next destination, she becomes obsessive and haunted. This event was recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Her book is certainly engaging but can it live up to the claims that it is the most enlightening book on sex ever published? Pamela Stephenson-Connolly's event threw up some surprises at the Book Festival in 2011. Originally trained as a clinical psychologist, Pamela Stephenson-Connolly turned her back on life as a TV comedian to become a sex therapist. In Sex Life, Mrs Billy Connolly provides an entertaining and occasionally shocking account of how human sexual appetites continue to evolve throughout life, aiming to dispel the myths that commonly surround this most fundamental of activities. The event is chaired by Ruth Wishart.
Thirty years ago Lanark was published, which confirmed Alasdair Gray as the most ferociously inventive Scottish writer of his generation. His output since then has been characterised by a close relationship between his writing and his singular image-making style. Already the author of much-admired murals, he had just finished a new public art project at Glasgow Hillhead subway station when he came to the Book Festival and held audiences captive with his remarkable stories of life and work. This is the full event, recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
It’s ten years since the publication of the landmark American Gods, a book that brought Gaiman to international fame. One reviewer even lauded him thus: ‘Saying Neil Gaiman is a writer is like saying Da Vinci dabbled in the arts.’ Since then he’s won countless awards for his work in the fantasy, sci-fi and horror genres as well as the Carnegie Medal for children’s literature. In this event he discusses the epic blend of Americana, myth and fantasy in his work with renowned novelist Audrey Niffenegger. This is the full hour-long event recorded live at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Denise Mina reading her story We Are All Waiting. Part of an engaging series of podcasts of leading authors reading their stories, poems or essays on the theme of ‘Elsewhere’ – each one exclusively available online, commissioned by Edinburgh International Book Festival and supported by the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund. Read or download the Elsewhere stories, listen to more Elsewhere podcasts or watch the videos of events filmed live at the Book Festival.
Scotland is seeking to become a world leader in renewable energy, while the arguments continue to rage about oil, 'cleaner coal' and nuclear power. How do we provide fuel for the world without destroying it in the process, and can Scotland really be a key player? In this event - part our popular debates and environment strand in 2010 - our panel discuss the options. Featuring former MSP and Professor of Social Change at Queen Margaret University, Susan Deacon; Dr Benny Peiser, Director of The Global Warming Policy Foundation; Duncan McLaren and chair Ruth Wishart.
In this event for 5-8 year olds, sensational Scottish children's author Mairi Hedderwick - and a firm favourite with youngsters - brings her stories about Katie Morag and her magical Hebridean home to life. What can you expect? A few tales of mischievous behaviour and cheeky happenings of course!
So what exactly did twelve years of undiluted New Labour achieve? Polly Toynbee and David Walker, co-authors of two previous books on the subject, returned to the Book Festival in 2010 with the definitive assessment of the Blair-Brown years. From gleeful consumerism to economic bust, and from Cool Britannia to Make Poverty History, Toynbee and Walker chart the rise and fall of New Labour. Chaired by Susan Deacon.
Learn about the importance of visual literacy with a master creator of picture books. Children’s Laureate Anthony Browne led this 2010 CPD event as part of our 2010 RBS Schools Programme - it's an engaging session for educators or anyone interested in children's learning; an inspirational look at picture books and his extensive range of work as author and illustrator, where he shares his experiences of using his books to enthuse and encourage children.
Listen to two unique writers as they look at love and trauma through a child’s eyes. Emma Donogue’s Room and Fiona Shaw’s Tell it to the Bees are two remarkable works, discussed in depth in this event chaired by Pru Rowlandson.
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Tove Jansson’s wonderful Moomin series, Sophia Jansson, the author’s niece, and an artist in her own right, talked with chair Julia Eccleshare about her aunt’s work and life, revealing what it was like to grow up surrounded by her extraordinary characters.
Another chance to listen to two writers who have produced riveting, heartbreaking and sometimes shocking accounts of father-son relationships. An interesting, intelligent and compelling event, chaired by Hannah McGill, well worth revisiting.
Canadian author Lisa Moore and Commonwealth Prize-winner Marina Endicott delivered with chair Luke Brown a captivating Book Festival event in 2010 to discuss their affecting explorations of life after death.
In this event crime writing extraordinaire Reggie Nadelson discussed the ventures of her brilliantly believable detective, with Edinburgh’s own favourite crime writer, Ian Rankin. The charismatic pair are well worth a listen – and another listen after that.
In 2010, major new literary voice Tom McCarthy joined us in Edinburgh to launch his new book, C, in which McCarthy’s hero embarked on a strange, Pynchonesque journey across the 20th century, from a Bohemian spa and the First World War, to a climax in an Egyptian catacomb. Listen to McCarthy and chair Stuart Kelly in an audio recording of this remarkable event.
Listen to this audio recording to join the audience of Roddy Doyle’s fantastic 2010 Book Festival children’s event, ideal for ages 7+ and families. Brilliant and hilarious, the madcap misadventures of Rover and the Mack family are unmissable.
Join Philippe Sands QC in his 2010 Book Festival event to learn why he believes the policy of abuse at Guantanamo Bay originated with Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and George W Bush. An absorbing event, chaired by Kate Allen.
In this event Joyce Carol Oates joined chair Jackie McGlone to discuss her two books published in 2010, both of which, in very different ways, involve young people coming to terms with their own sexuality. A tempting chance to listen to this significant literary voice.
August 2010 saw writer Andrew O’Hagan bring to the Book Festival an unforgettable tale of Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and a dog called Maf. Listen to O’Hagan in this audio recording of his special live event in Charlotte Square gardens, where he was joined by chair Diana Hope and actors Ian McDiarmid, Andrew Hawley and Suzanne Bertish to perform scenes from the novel.
A chance to hear the author of the book-turned-into-big-screen-hit How to Train your Dragon in her fantastic and wildly popular 2010 kids' event, ideal for ages 8 - 12. The adored writer provided some very silly drawings, chatted about her big hit, and more.
We are delighted to offer you a chance to listen to celebrated Irish poet Seamus Heaney in his fantastic and extremely popular event with us in 2010. Chatting to chair Robyn Marsack, Seamus Heaney discussed his newest collection, Human Chain.
In 2010 Andrea Levy joined us for a captivating event to discuss The Long Song. Alongside chair Charlotte Higgins, Andrea Levy spoke of her striking new work to an eager audience.
We welcomed Britain's Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy to the Book Festival in 2010 for three remarkable events. In this beautifully-received event she read new work from The Bees which will be published in 2011, and was joined by chair Don Paterson and musician John Sampson.
The celebrated Fay Weldon and the superb Fatima Bhutto captivated Book Festival audiences in this 2010 event chaired by Ruth Padel. Despite their widely different backgrounds, both Fay Weldon and Fatima Bhutto share the way in which a parent’s loss affected their understanding of the world.
Joined by BBC Radio 4’s Today programme presenter, James Naughtie, James Robertson discussed his epic novel, And the Land Lay Still, launching it to great enthusiasm at the 2010 Book Festival.
Two remarkable writers led an exceptional Book Festival event in 2010. Joined by chair Steven Gale, Michèle Roberts and Helen Simpson discussed their sharp and moving short story collections to great effect.
Eclectic Australian children's writer Simmone Howell joined us for a brilliant event for schools in 2010. Suitable for S2 - S6, she talked about place, people and invention in this fascinating and charming event.
On Monday 16 August, a gentleman came to the Information Desk to return his earpiece unused. "I didn't need it", he explained; "I've just been to the Simon Callow event!" Sure enough, beloved actor Simon Callow filled our RBS Main Theatre with his legendary eloquence in a sold out event you now have a chance to listen to here on the website.
Legendary writer Jeanette Winterson inspired her audience with tremendous charm on 16 August, speaking movingly of happiness and the pursuit thereof. This brilliant event was full of intelligent questions from the audience and great energy from Winterson herself. When she attended her photocall, the Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit writer proceeded to throw oranges at the photographers!
Chatting to chair Al Senter, the inimitable Nicholas Parsons showed that the oldest gameshow host ever still retains his famous ability to entertain. A sold out event packed with fans, the British legend discussed life in the public eye to an enthusiastic audience.
On 15 August droves of enthusiastic fans were treated to a visit from American teen novel master John Green. In a stroke of genius he arranged a meet-up beforehand for the Edinburgh-based fans in his audience...! The result: an unbeatably friendly and funny atmosphere. This energetic sold out event, chaired by Keith Gray, inspired an enormous and eclectic signing queue too; John Green has a huge online presence and his Book Festival event attracted fans from literally around the world.
The remarkable author of the Booker-winning Cloud Atlas sold out the Book Festival's biggest venue many weeks in advance. Talking to chair Steven Gale, he delighted festival audiences with his warmth and humour, offering a fascinating insight into how he goes about writing his complex fiction and creating the inventive structure of his work. Without doubt a must-listen event...
In a surprise Book Festival event announced after the 2010 programme went to print, A S Byatt charmed her substantial audience to the full. Chaired by writer and literary critic Stuart Kelly, this was an engaging and appealing event of intriguing questions and even more intriguing answers.
Christos Tsiolkas flew all the way to Edinburgh from his home in Australia to open the 2010 Edinburgh International Book Festival in fine literary style. In a sold-out event chaired by Steven Gale, he discussed his much talked-about best-selling novel The Slap to a spellbound audience.
A 2010 Book Festival event that will be talked about for some time to come. Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, delivered a thought-provoking event with the words of a real insider. As chair Ruth Wishart said, "Joseph Stiglitz has analysed more financial crisises than George Osborne has had hot dinners!". During the event, Stiglitz's audience - which included Labour MP Diane Abbott - was party to a group of protestors who gatecrashed the venue; one of them even came on stage and started speaking. The liberal Stiglitz tolerated the protest in a beautifully light-hearted manner, and the audience soon insisted that the protestors leave. An exciting moment in an exciting event!
Linguistic brilliance from A L Kennedy, one of the most remarkable writers of her generation. In this 2007 event she talks about her latest novel Day - a moving, profound, beautifully realised story of a bomber in the Second World War.
One of the nicest chefs we've ever had the pleasure of welcoming to Charlotte Square Gardens ? he even made up a special recipe for us on the spot after his event (see our blog). Here he tells his remarkable life story, which took him from a boyhood collecting frogs' legs in rural France to a career as one of the top chefs in the world. And after all this time his wholehearted enthusiasm and passion for food has not diminished, as evidenced by this sold-out event.
A great favourite at the Book Festival and one of the most revered figures in English literature, Doris Lessing reveals the full force of her literary intelligence as she discusses her career and recent writings in this 2006 event.
Live from America, the inimitable man of letters Norman Mailer chats via video link-up to Scottish writer Andrew O'Hagan in Edinburgh. Topics discussed in this extraordinary 2007 event include Mailer's career, his ambitions and his latest novel The Castle in the Forest. He even signs books in Edinburgh from his living room in New York using Margaret Atwood's remarkable invention, the LongPen.
An immensely welcome visit in 2007 from one of Scotland's most dizzingly talented and original writers, now living in Spain. Listen as Alan Warner, author of Morvern Callar and The Worms Can Carry Me to Heaven, discusses the scope and ambition of his work. Chaired by Janice Forsyth of BBC Scotland's The Radio Cafe.
How should we lead our lives? An hour of illuminating, engaging and passionate talk from the leading philosopher A C Grayling in this 2007 event.
Provocative and opinionated - there's no one quite like Germaine Greer. In this 2007 event she talks about Shakespeare's Wife, her new book on Ann Hathaway, which combines her immense literary knowledge with her views on woman's position in society.
A chance to hear Seamus Heaney, the great Nobel Prize winning poet, reading his own work in this 2006 event, including his major new volume District and Circle. Pure pleasure.
Charlie Higson brings the latest ingenious instalment of his Young Bond series to the Book Festival in 2006. Hear about the thrilling teenage exploits of the world's most enigmatic spy in Blood Fever. Suitable for 10-14 year olds.
James Kelman is the single most influential Scottish novelist of modern times and Scotland's only Booker Prize winner. Listen to him discuss his groundbreaking early work in 2007, the year of its reissue.
Andrea Levy's Small Island has won the Orange, Whitbread and Commonwealth prizes. The author speaks in this 2005 event with intelligence and wit about the book and her career.
The hugely admired Scottish broadcaster Andrew Marr talks to Iain Macwhirter about Scotland, politics and life in general in one of our fastest selling events of 2007.
Unedited audio recording of the 2007 event in which Ian McEwan chats with chair Ian Rankin about his early work, influences and most recent publication, On Chesil Beach. Great fun!
Rejoice in the wit, charm and warmth of a captivating poet and performer. Brimful of the most wonderful language, this Liz Lochhead event was the perfect conclusion to the 2005 Book Festival.
The first ever visit to the Book Festival by the BBC's Political Editor was our fastest selling event in 2005. Andrew Marr talks about his trade and brings inside stories from the world of politics - expect colourful descriptions of Westminster shenanigans!
Roger 'patron saint of poetry' McGough enchanted his young audience with a lively bit of chat and some fantastic poetry in this 2006 event for all the family. Suitable for children aged 7 and upwards.
A joyous return to Edinburgh in 2006 by the 'patron saint of poetry' - simply hearing him read his own work is a blissful experience. He has also written an autobiography filled with his usual idiosyncratic humour and humanity - growing up in Liverpool, overnight fame with The Scaffold, a life irresistibly told.
Alexander Masters' biography of homeless Stuart Shorter, Stuart: A Life Backwards, has been hailed by critics as startling, remarkable, rare, haunting and uplifting. In this utterly absorbing event from 2006, he asks how a life can follow such a troubled journey and explores the reality all too often obscured by alarmist labels pinned on young people by society and the media.
Utter delight in the company of one of the most effervescent minds in the land, creator of Rumpole of the Bailey and now a wonderful new comic novel, Quite Honestly. This 2006 event with John Mortimer is great fun.
Pulitzer Prize winning poet Paul Muldoon has been called 'the most important English language poet born since the Second World War'. Hear the power of his forthcoming work in this 2006 event.
A gifted and imaginative writer, William Nicholson returns to the Book Festival in 2005 with the first book in his new trilogy Seeker, an extraordinary adventure full of magic, glory and truth. Suitable for children aged 11 and upwards.
One of America's most admired and respected novelists and a strong contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature. In this 2007 event Joyce Carol Oates discusses her bold new novel Black Girl / White Girl, which examines the issues of race in the US in the troubled years following the Vietnam War.
Michelle Paver's book signing queues are getting almost as long as Jacqueline Wilson's and her Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series has become a massive hit with children; full of ancient artefacts and tales of survival. Listen to this exciting event from 2007, suitable for children aged 8-12 years old.
An outstandingly courageous critic of the current Russian regime, journalist and author Anna Politkovskaya has been the recipient of numerous international honours. Sadly she was found shot dead in a lift at her apartment block in Moscow on 7 October 2006. She was one of our most welcome guests at the Book Festival in 2005 and spoke compellingly about her work and also her fears for her life. This talk is translated from Russian.
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Always one of the most popular Book Festival authors and an international bestselling phenomenon to boot, Scottish-born Ian Rankin is interrogated by fellow crime writer Denise Mina in this revealing 2006 Book Festival event.
Always a hot favourite at the Book Festival, bestselling crime author Ian Rankin's events are never less than entertaining. Here he chats to Magnus Linklater and reveals something about his new 2007 Inspector Rebus novel, Exit Music.
Do the Disco Inferno with Louise Rennison, outspoken author of extraordinary teen fiction, as she discusses her latest hilarious Georgina Nicholson offering 'Luurve is a Many Trousered Thing...' in this lively 2007 event.
New Children's Laureate and master entertainer Michael Rosen (most famous for We're Going on a Bear Hunt) thrilled Book Festival audiences in 2007 with this fun event for the whole family, full of silly, zany poetry told with infectious enthusiasm. Suitable for age 7 and upwards.
Will you step in front of a bus today or win the lottery? The author of the breathtaking bestseller How I Live Now, talks to an audience of teens and adults in this 2006 event about her utterly compelling new novel on fate and what happens when fate doesn't like you...
A breathtaking 2007 event with Palestinian human rights lawyer and writer Raja Shehadeh. He here launches his new book Palestinian Walks in which he crosses his land on foot; conflicts and history revealed in the beautiful and battered landscapes. Chaired by David Greig.
American author, journalist and critic Lionel Shriver talks, in this 2007 event, about her new novel The Post-Birthday World which imagines two parallel lives for a woman.
A major, first ever visit to the Book Festival in 2006 from one of the most important living African writers. A legend in his native Kenya, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, now world-renowned, was imprisoned for his opposition and insistence on writing in his native language. Here he launches his long-awaited new novel, Wizard of the Crow, a masterpiece of history and rich African storytelling.
She's stylish, sharp, satirical and a great speaker to boot. A free spirit with a long and remarkable writing career, Fay Weldon talks in this 2007 event about her latest novel The Spa Decameron, in which ten women gather at a spa for pampering, new beginnings and their own stories of life and sex.
Perennial children's favourite Jacqueline Wilson is always a sell-out, and has the longest queues for book signings in the festival. In this 2007 event she talks about her new book for older readers and teenagers, Kiss which charts the adventures of growing up. Great to have her back again. Suitable for 12-14 year olds.
Award-winning Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo is a gripping speaker and a firm favourite with youngsters (and adults!). In this 2004 event for 9-12 year olds he talks about his new book Private Peaceful, the story of a young soldier at the front during the First World War.
Lighthousekeeping, in which motherless Silver is taken in by Mr Pew, keeper of the Cape Wrath lighthouse, is an extraordinary homage to R L Stevenson by one of the most startlingly original and brilliant novelists at work today. Jeanette Winterson is also one of the most compelling readers of her own work. An hour of literary bliss from 2004.
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Two of our top writers for children and young adults (Graham Marks and Sophie McKenzie) reveal where they get their ideas from and illustrate how some of them get turned into books. This event featured in our 2008 programme for schools and is suitable for pupils in S1-4.
The finest contemporary Scottish writing commissioned especially by the festival. We asked four of our most highly acclaimed writers (John Burnside, Janice Galloway, A L Kennedy and Don Paterson) to create new work - poetry and prose - for this 2008 event. And what a fantastic showcase it was.
An extraordinary event from the 2007 Book Festival - an interview with two legendary, world-leading figures of Canadian writing, one on either side of the Atlantic. Margaret Atwood in Edinburgh interviews and chats to the great Alice Munro in Canada, arguably the finest living story writer. During the event she also signs books using Atwood's remarkable invention the LongPen, despite being several thousand miles away. Breathtaking technology, breathtaking literature.
Xiaolu Guo has won international praise for her work as both writer and filmmaker. In this 2008 event she discusses her latest novel 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth, which draws on her experiences as a filmmaker in Beijing.
A fantastic hour of crime fiction with two leading ladies of the Scottish crime writing world. Alex Gray's third installment from DCI Lorimer sees him searching for missing school girls and Denise Mina's new book involves a kidnapping and dark secrets in a quiet suburban home. They both talk about their work and influences with passion and humour.
The poetry and life of Byron is examined by novelist and poetry evangelist Josephine Hart in this 2007 event. With readings by renowned actors of stage and screen, Joanna David and Dan Stevens.
Massively popular writer for older children (although also with many adult readers; her work crosses over nicely), Cornelia Funke made a rare appearance at the Book Festival this year. With her boundless enthusiasm for stories she tells a packed auditorium all about the final installment to her Inkworld series and gives a sneak preview of her much anticipated new book, due out next year.
Our opening Meet the Author event for 2009 went off with a bang - and why not? After all, the award-garlanded Kate Atkinson's perceptive and beguiling tales of love and loss, with not a little humour, are read by millions and she's is held in high esteem both by fellow writers and readers. Here she talks about her new novel When Will There Be Good News? in which PI Jackson Brodie gets embroiled in more shenanigans.
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Forced to become a child soldier for the rebel army in Sudan's bloody civil war, Emmanuel Jal was put into battle in Ethiopia. He finally escaped, told his story in War Child (an incredible and moving memoir-cum-story) and now spreads messages of peace and reconciliation with his unique style of rap. We were thrilled to have him at the 2009 Book Festival - don't miss his story, you can hear it here.
For over three decades Garrison Keillor has delighted radio audiences and readers alike with his hilarious yet poignant take on life in mid-west America. Here he tells stories, sings songs and regales the audience with anecdotes in an event like no other.
Our new Poet Laureate is as always provocative and heart-rending in equal measure. Her flair for language is nothing short of breathtaking. Listen to her event and be transported - best listened to with nothing to distract you from the warmth, the flow and the sheer brilliance of the words.
One of the UK's most exciting chefs, Tom Kitchin launched his first book in this event at the Book Festival. From Nature to Plate captures his story from trainee to Michelin-star chef while taking us through the seasons and some of his favourite recipes. He tells all to Ian Rankin in this event.
Comedian, writer, broadcaster and presenter, Griff Rhys Jones spoke at the Book Festival about Britain's rivers, taking the audience on a tour of the most beautiful and extraordinary waterways, exploring their place in the country's soul and their importance in founding major cities.
The irreverent, hilarious and scandalous broadcaster Arthur Smith began his event at the Book Festival in the dark due to a complete power failure but with his booming voice and general good humour he revelled in the novelty of performing in the dark. And anyway, ten minutes in the lights and mics came back on. Here he spills the beans on his alter ego and regales us with tales of a misspent career.
The popular food critic and writer Tom Parker Bowles traveled the country meeting the weird and wonderful people and dishes which make up our culinary heritage and in this event he talks about his discoveries with his customary blend humour and wisdom.
The young men of Scottish literature are growing up and taking us with them! Both talk about their latest books in this event: Alan Bissett about Death of a Ladies? Man where his boy racer discovers a life of work, sex and love; and Ewan Morrison picks apart the complexities of contemporary relationships in his latest, Menage.
Biographer Martin Stannard tackles the grande dame of Scottish literature in his latest work - the late, great Muriel Spark. We were honoured to have her at the Book Festival shortly before she died; her performance sparkled with wit and lit up Charlotte Square. Here Stannard celebrates her life, captures the essence of her writing and marks her place in literary history.
These two superlative writers explore small-town Ireland in their latest novels and we were delighted that they were both able to come to the Book Festival to talk about their work.
Kate Summerscale created a bestseller about the true tale of the murder of a Victorian child. Her novel, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher dazzlingly combines hard-dug research with the best of the crime writer?s craft and in this event she tells all about it.
Following her blockbuster success with Bend it Like Beckham, Narinder Dhami visited the Book Festival to talk to her young fans (this event was for ages 8+) about her new series, which focuses on six friends and their everyday lives: surviving school, enduring their families and, of course, playing their favourite game - footie.
Talking about her new novel Remarkable Creatures, the queen of the historical novel this time tackles Mary Anning, the fossil-obsessed girl who discovered whole plesiosaurs in the Dorset cliffs. Her finds invited people to question the literal truth of the Bible and paved the way for evolutionary theory. Topical, gripping and hugely intelligent stuff.
Celebrated novelist and artist Alasdair Gray was once better known as playwright, a profession to which he recently returned. In this event he discusses and performs his dramatic works, including an intriguing glimpse at his as-yet-unmade movie of his fictional masterpiece Lanark.
The man who delved into the dark reality of contemporary Edinburgh was the first of the 2009 Book Festival's late evening events. Irvine Welsh here talks about his new collection Reheated Cabbage, which brings together an eclectic mix of stories capturing the brilliant energetic imagination and humour that we have grown to love.
Legions of young fans descended on Charlotte Square Gardens for Jacqueline Wilson's event and book signing (billed for ages 9+). Her writing has made her an international phenomenon and continues to inspire and challenge young readers. In this event she describes her struggles as an aspiring writer and reveals some diary excerpts from her teenage years.
Award-winning American poet Sharon Olds made a very welcome trip to Edinburgh to appear at the Book Festival in 2009. A poet of passion, imagination and power, her latest collection, One Secret Thing, is at once unforgiving and compassionate, humorous and angry. The perfect poetry event.
A captivating hour of poetry from Jackie Kay, a Book Festival favourite whose events regularly sell-out, this being no exception. Listen to her words, revel in the language. Definitely one to listen to again and again.
Louise Rennison is splendidly wild, as are her characters. In this event she gives her legions of teenage fans the details of the final instalment of Georgia Nicolson?s adventures revealing what?s next for the Ace Gang and whether Dave the Laugh ever becomes more than just a friend.
Known for his intelligent and honest approach to party politics, Vince Cable has been the Lib Dem's economic spokesperson since 2003 and it is from this viewpoint he has witnessed the storm of the economic crisis. He talks about his new book in this event which explains the reasons behind the crash and where we must go from here. Frank and forthright views from an expert eyewitness.
Judith Kerr's picture books, such as The Tiger Who Came to Tea and Mog the Cat, are classics and children love her work. In this event for children aged 9+ she revealed a bit about her own life, a fascinating page turner in itself, including details about her childhood escape from Nazi Germany.
Croatian writer Dubravka Ugrešić has won several major European literary awards and her books have been translated into more than twenty languages. In this event she introduces her new novel, Baba Yaga Laid an Egg, an extraordinary meditation on femininity, ageing, identity, storytelling and love.
Marina Lewycka is a gifted and entertaining storyteller whose popularity became assured with her first novel A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian. Just like her books, her events are full of energy and humour which has made her loved by festival audiences. In this event she introduces her latest book We Are All Made Of Glue which charts the unlikely friendship between an abandoned wife and her eccentric old Jewish emigr? neighbour.
It was a joy to welcome Malorie Blackman to the 2009 Book Festival. She is a fantastically inventive storyteller as proved by her innovative novel Noughts and Crosses. In this event she introduces Double Cross, the latest instalment of the series, to a packed teenage audience.
Leading foreign correspondents such as Hemmingway, Gellhorn, Orwell and many others, now forgotten, were present during the Spanish Civil War. In this fascinating event, eminent historian Paul Preston explores their courage and skill and, through a huge trove of letters and diaries, how they each fought to tell the world the story about what was happening.
What does work mean to us? Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? Alain de Botton's gift for looking deeply behind the ordinary, taken-for-granted things in our lives has won him huge popularity. In this event he brings us The Pleasure and Sorrows of Work, his new book in which he explores our daily grind with all his customary imagination, wit and lucidity.
Expect storytelling of the highest order from William Boyd. He's become a favourite at the Book Festival for his relaxed and witty events and, of course, for his brilliant stories. His latest, Ordinary Thunderstorms, is the thrilling tale of a young Londoner, victim of an unknown conspiracy, who seeks survival in the city's darkest reaches and in this event he tells us all about it.
Much to our delight, Alistair MacLeod agreed to travel across the Atlantic from his home in Ontario to be with us at the 2009 Book Festival. One of the foremost novelists and short story writers, he is a master craftsman, an exquisite stylist whose work is epitomised by his award-winning novel No Great Mischief. In this event he discusses his life, work and the importance of his Scottish heritage with Richard Holloway.
One of the hottest tickets of the 2009 Book Festival, we were thrilled the creator and writer of HBO's universally acclaimed TV series The Wire, took time out to come to Edinburgh for the Book Festival. David Simon first posed the question 'Are America's inner cities unpoliceable?' eighteen years ago in his award-winning Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets. Now re-issued, the gripping, gut-churning account of his twelve month stint on the streets with the Baltimore police is factual storytelling to rival Mailer and Capote. An utterly fascinating event.
Mark Millar candidly discusses comics, graphic novels and Hollywood with Stuart Kelly in this sold-out Book Festival event. His bestselling comic Kick-Ass is being made into a film this year; Wanted 2 is in development after the success of his blockbuster adaptation; and there is talk of a re-imagined Superman appearing on the big screen. He's also working on the next instalment of his controversial American Jesus graphic trilogy. Irreverent, iconoclastic, inimitable, Mark Millar's unique brand of energetic storytelling is not to be missed.
After being awarded the coveted Costa Book of the Year Award earlier in the year for his incredibly moving novel The Secret Scripture, Irish writer Sebastian Barry went on to receive the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction too, which was announced in a special event at the 2009 Book Festival.
This multi-talented writer (he's a poet and playwright too) reads from his novel and chats to Diana Hope in an engrossing event.
One of Scotland's great masters of the crime genre was welcomed back to the Book Festival by capacity audiences. Great chat and some more tales from the casebooks of Dr Tony Hill and Detective Carol Jordan. A festival favourite if ever there was one!
Co-presenter of Newsnight, one of our foremost commentators, Scottish broadcaster and writer Gavin Esler knows better than most what goes on behind the scenes in politics. In this 2008 event he talks about his new novel A Scandalous Man, which tells the tale of a man hungry for power but undone when his private life is exposed through twenty four hour media.
Bill Paterson, one of Scotland's most renowned and best-loved actors, talks with Ruth Wishart about his much-awaited memoir Tales from the Back Green in this 2008 event. It's a wonderful portrait of growing up in Glasgow's East End in the 1950s.
The teenage criminal mastermind is back. The latest book in the Artemis Fowl series (described as 'Die Hard with fairies' by its creator) sees our hero come face to face with his worst opponent yet - his younger, more evil self! Join energetic author Eoin Colfer for this thrilling 2008 event for 10-14 year olds.
A welcome return to the Book Festival in 2008 by Louis de Bernières, the author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Here he speaks engagingly about his humorous and sad new novel, A Partisan's Daughter.
One of the most impassioned and eloquent orators and thinkers of them all, Tariq Ali's events are inspiring and unmissable. In this, his 2008 Book Festival event chaired by Ruth Wishart, you can hear him discuss British politics, South America and much more.
Julian Barnes, one of Britain's most singular and talented novelists, talks to Richard Holloway about his new 2008 book Nothing to Be Frightened Of – it is a deeply personal, moving and exhilarating autobiography-of-sorts: a mediation on death, art, God, his own family and more.
Passionately dedicated to politics and to ordinary people, Tony Benn is a highly engaging speaker. He speaks in this 2008 event about his warm, funny, feisty diaries which record his trenchant views on the political landscape of the past seven years.
Outstanding journalist and presenter Jonathan Dimbleby travelled thousands of miles to get to the heart of modern Russia. In this absorbing and often moving event from 2008, he gives unique insight into a vast land in transition.
David Lodge, one of the UK’s pre-eminent novelists and critics, talks about his latest book, Deaf Sentence – a brilliant, elegiac portrait of one man’s attempt to come to terms with his deafness.
A magnificently intelligent essayist, novelist, critic, and a mesmerising speaker. Andrew O'Hagan talks to Magnus Linklater in this 2008 event about politics, Scotland and his recent collection of reportage on a declining Britain and a rising America, The Atlantic Ocean. An event filled with personal insight.
Man Booker winner and one of the finest Irish writers, Anne Enright brings to life her intensely poetic writing, focussing on her new collection of stories Taking Pictures in this 2008 event.
The finest contemporary Scottish writing commissioned especially by the festival. We asked four of our most highly acclaimed writers (John Burnside, Janice Galloway, A L Kennedy and Don Paterson) to create new work - poetry and prose - for this 2008 event. And what a fantastic showcase it was.
An hour of pure pleasure with multi-talented poet, playwright, novelist, storywriter, children's author and broadcaster, Jackie Kay. In this 2008 event she discusses her latest collection of poetry Darling, which gets to the heart of love with exquisite literary skill.
Michelle Magorian's debut novel Goodnight Mister Tom has become a children's classic. In this 2008 event Michelle gives an exclusive look at her first book in ten years, Just Henry, a gripping mystery-thriller for children of 10 and upwards.
His mad wit is reminiscent of Roald Dahl and Monty Python and his crazy events are loved by children. In this 2008 event for 7 - 12 year olds, Andy Stanton gives an exclusive preview of his latest adventure, Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear.
One of the most distinctive and fearless writers in Britain, Hanif Kureishi has been a major and vital presence since Buddha of Suburbia. Sex, middle-age, love, longing, race, regret and psychoanalysis are all wholly present in his latest novel, Something to Tell You, which he discusses in this 2008 event.
Acclaimed Scottish novelist and hugely entertaining speaker, Christopher Brookmyre talks in this 2008 event about his latest book, A Snowball in Hell, which takes celebrity culture and turns it on its head.
Scotland's First Minister and the first ever Scottish National Party leader, Alex Salmond speaks of his hopes and vision for the country in this 2008 event. Chaired by Brian Taylor.
A powerful speaker and one of the world's foremost neuroscientists, Susan Greenfield discusses how we can safeguard our individuality from modern living in this 2008 event.
On his 78th birthday, 25 August 2008, Edinburgh-born international film legend Sean Connery launches his long-awaited book Being A Scot with his co-author and friend Murray Grigor at the Book Festival. Here he chats about a wide range of subjects with chair Sheena McDonald. This is an unedited audio recording of the hour-long event.
Howard Jacobson, the celebrated novelist and leading cultural critic renowned for his ebullient wit and passion for literature and art, talks about his new novel An Act of Love in this 2008 event.
Janice Galloway, one of the UK's finest writers, talks eloquently to Richard Holloway in this 2008 event about her outstanding memoir This is Not About Me, which vividly evokes Ayrshire in the 1960s.
The electrifying and infectious Children's Laureate is joined by top poets, musicians and writers for children (Carol Ann Duffy, Tom Pow and John Sampson) in this unique 2008 event which plays with words and makes them dance. For children of 5 and upwards.
After the knock-out success of his Bartimaeus Trilogy, Jonathan Stroud previews his new stand-alone fantasy Heroes of the Valley in this 2008 event. For children of 10 and upwards.
Gatecrash the final evening of the 2008 Book Festival to hear the brilliant 'word magician', citizen of the world, translator, poet and more, as he talks about his work and reads from a new collection of writing.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown opens the 2008 Book Festival with this unique and illuminating conversation with Ian Rankin. Hear him discuss history, heroes and his own writings.
We were delighted when Martin Amis agreed to speak at a special Book Festival autumn event at Edinburgh's Queens Hall in 2006. A rare visit to Scotland by one of the most admired and influential writers of his generation was indeed cause for celebration. In this event, he launches and talks about his new book House of Meetings to an audience of avid fans.
Canadian novelist, poet, critic and essayist of global renown and influence, Margaret Atwood's Book Festival events always sell out in a matter of days and her visits to Edinburgh are much anticipated. In this 2005 event she reads some of her short stories and poetry, offering a delightful hour in her company.
She is one of the world's most gifted and eminent authors, on a special visit from Canada to receive the Scottish Arts Council's Muriel Spark International Fellowship. Always an entertaining speaker, here Margaret Atwood talks about her life as a writer in an event at the Queens Hall, Edinburgh as part of the Book Festival's special 2006 autumn programme.
Join leading journalist Nicola Barry for this poignant event from 2007 about her family's struggle and her ultimate triumph over alcoholism.
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the publication of Malory Towers, Enid Blyton's daughter, Gillian Baverstock, shares her memories of growing up with one of the world's best-loved children's authors. Hear about the real-life inspirations behind Blyton's famous characters in this 2006 event. One for all the family.
In the fastest selling event at the 2006 Book Festival, captivating speaker Tony Benn enchants his audience with wit and unquenched passion.
Alan Bennett talks about his latest sublime fiction, The Uncommon Reader, in this fun 2007 event. The story revolves around the Queen's dicovery of literature and is full of Bennett's trademark humour and humanity.
Fun poems and stories from entertaining children's author Tony Bradman in this 2007 schools event for pupils from P4-7. Tony also reads from his new book Assassin, which features a boy growing up in Scotland during the time of Hadrian's Roman occupation.
Thoroughly at home with an audience, political singer and activist Billy Bragg inspires his hundreds of fans with talk of his new book, The Progressive Patriot in this 2007 event.
Hear from one of the most important voices coming out of South Africa in this 2005 event. Andre Brink discusses his new novel Praying Mantis, many years in the making and steeped in African magic and dreams.
Well known for producing controversial, demanding and prize-winning teen fiction, Melvin Burgess is now regarded as one of the best writers of contemporary children's literature. In this 2005 schools event he talks about the significance of myth in his new book Bloodsong, the sequel to Bloodtide. Suitable for pupils from S2-4.
Fans of Jacqueline Wilson's books for older readers will love the wonderfully warm characters in Cathy Cassidy's instantly popular Dizzy and Indigo Blue. This 2005 event is suitable for 11-13 year olds.
Cathy Cassidy is back with an all-new lovable heroine whose family are a complete embarrassment - her mum is a drama queen while her dad thinks he's Elvis! Hear about the quirky characters and silly misadventures of Sundae Girl in this hugely enjoyable 2007 event for children aged 10-14.
One of the most popular poets on the planet and former US Poet Laureate in his first visit to the Book Festival in 2006. Billy Collins speaks without pretension and with perfect perception about the revelatory detail of our daily lives.
Richard Dawkins, one of the world's greatest living scientists, talks to Muriel Gray in this 2005 event about his extraordinary investigations of evolution and his passion for the wonders it contains and reveals.
A rare and long-awaited visit to the Book Festival in 2007 by one of America's greatest writers. Richard Ford's Independence Day is the only book ever to have won both the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award. Here he discusses his magnificent follow-up, The Lay of The Land.
Professor Dylan Wiliam of University College, London is a leading education expert and champion of Formative Assessment. In this event from 2007, he talks candidly about helping children reach their goals without teaching to tests.
A unique opportunity to hear one of the most successful and best-loved writing and illustrating partnerships, Michael Foreman and Michael Morpurgo, in conversation in this 2006 event. Between them they have worked on over 250 books for children and remain firm favourites of Book Festival audiences. Suitable for families and age 8 upwards.
A fantastic opportunity to gatecrash our 2005 Book Festival event with David Almond, one of today's most respected and acclaimed writers for young people and the author of many novels including the award-winning Skellig and The Fire Eaters. In this recording he engages a young audience with tales about his writing. Suitable for 9-13 year olds.
Professor Brian Boyd, contributor to the groundbreaking report The Curriculum for Excellence, examines how to improve the effectiveness of schools and learning for all in this inspirational 2008 event.
Stunning performer and actor, commander of the stage. Steven Berkoff discusses theatre, travel and world cuisine, focussing on his lastest book, My Life in Food, in this 2008 event.