Brian Aldiss with Helen Lederer ( 'lulrlullt' St/lltll't' (jun/His ((1811:. // .lug. Ilium. 'lliere‘s a lot ol talk about Brian .-\ldiss. Stev en Spielberg/StanIe} Kubrick‘s science liction blockbuster. .l.l. .lrtllit ut/ /III«'//Ic'r'llt ('. littsetl Hit .‘\ltll\\‘ slth‘l stor_v 'Super-lovs l..tst All Summer l.ong'. opens in September. But let's do .\ldtss b_v the numbers: he's 75 _\ears- old and been w riting lot 5“ ol them. His Sl" novels total lour million words. his short stories another two million and his non—liction a lurther million. In the last two sears. .-\ldiss has published his 35th Sl‘ i.o\e|. his 25th book ol Sl‘ short stories and an autobiographv Then there are the screenplav s. travelling cabaret act and Sl‘ anthologies and criticism. .v\nd he has tltree new books to be released ovet‘ the nest veal: Brian
:\ltliss is w illttittl it dotibt the godlather A ol Sli writing. and he‘s showing no signs ol' slowing tip. (Miles l'ieltlct‘l Hanan AI- Shaykh & Leila Aboulela (181;. H slug. /3..i()/irit. lth ol‘ the .-\rabic world’s hottest talents chat about notions ol esile.
Campbell Armstrong ( 181;. [5 slug. .i’..\'()/mi. 'l‘he Scots have alwa} s travelled. but ('ampbell .'\l‘lii\ll'tlllf_' has done more than most. 'l‘he (llasgow - born writer studied at Stisses l'niversit}. then lived in the [‘8 lot" two decades belore tnov ing to (‘ountv ()l‘l‘al'v in Ireland. His writing meanwhile. has ranged lrom the high octane thrillers litll‘ w lilcli he is liesl known to the touching :I/l 'l'luit It’m/lv .l/tiIIt-rs. aii auttibiographical account charting his laniilv 's response to his e\- w'il'e's cancer. His most recent novel. The litu/ fire. was an atmospheric Utilising ol- ( ilttsgow ‘s lliltllillltls. itt which the sins ol his lather were visited upon .-\merican cop liddie. liddie‘s return was characterised b_v sectarian violence and the uncovering ol~ unpalatable lam”) secrets. Armstrong‘s return to Scotland should be a rather more civilised al'l'air. (James Smart) Karen Armstrong with Richard Holloway (181i. // :lllg’. Kin/mt. ’l'wo ol' the cottnlr) ‘s most thought- provoking spiritual thinkers discuss Buddha.
Kate Atkinson 'I'lig I’omz (int/(Italic (.UIIIH'. IJ .lug. 0.45mi). Kate Atkinson mast be ttsed to having her words read out b_v others at this time ol' _vear. l.ast _vear her second stage pla_\' .-l/uuu/oument received the ubiquitous ra\ e reviews w hen it was perl'ormed at The ‘l'raverse. Although she w ill no doubt be taking a keen interest in events All :t theatre slie \lls tilt the Board til. Directors til. it is a new prose work which takes the limelight this sear. 'l'aking time out l‘rom adapting her le‘l‘lll lit“ L‘l [it’ll/lit] [Ii/Iv .Vt't'lli'v .‘ll I/illt‘ .llust'um lor the BB('. she makes a personal appearance at this )c‘;ii"s l-‘estival. ller short stor_v. "l‘unnel ()l' l‘iislt' will be read and recorded lot broadcast on Radio 4. t'l‘im .-\brahamsi Iain M. Banks 8: Ken MacLeod (NU. /.3 .lug. 3.30pm. liriends and Sl‘ bull‘s. .\l. and Ken give its their ow ti particular take on the genre. Raffaella Barker 8. Santa Montefiore (181;. I: .-tug. 4pm. Barker and .\lonteliore w rite l‘un liction for summer evenings.
Stephen Baxter & Brian Aldiss (181}. // slug. XXII/nu. 'l'lie littture ol' Sl" joins the grand old man ol‘ the genre.
choice Muriel Gray
confessed worshipper at the altar of Stephen King, horror is her genre of
Steve Bell 8. Brian Homer ( so. H .lug. Hum l’olitical satire at it most cutting.
Piers Brendon 8. Sven Lindqvist (1V1. /.< .lug. XXII/mt. 'llte darker aspects ol Illth centur} histor} e\plored.
Christopher Brookmyre (so. /4 .lue. 5pm. While his initial lora_vs were more straight—lorward crime novels. ('hristopher Brookm} re‘s last lew books have witnessed a broadening ol‘ his repertoire to take del't. satirical swipes at liviitrc'i'isv and idioc} in Scotland. llis reputation lor dr} w H and scathing prose was cemented with Ztltltl‘s lint/mg .‘l l-mg which gave the church and the Scottish Parliament a sound kicking. l-or his ne\t one. the suburbs. Huddle-class mediocritv and ctumnercialism all get a lashing. A Big Hm I)!” II .lltt/ Rt!!! .‘lli (I\ Is th\Cl'll‘L‘tl b} Brookmvre as ‘llI'c/i [Ville/(Iv with machine guns. It‘s to do with male adolescent obsessions. illltl ‘l'ear ol' suburban hell'. He has upped the stakes and claims it to be his most ‘suitablv over the top hook _\et’. (ilad to hear it. (Mark Robertson) George Bruce, Stewart Conn & Brian McCabe (181}. /.\' slug. lllo’thi/n. 'l‘hree generations til Scottish writing. John Burnside, Candia McWilliam 8- Ciaron Carson (so. /4 .-iug. /U..~‘()um. (‘eltic writing at its linest with poetr) and prose.
John Burnside & Special Guests (181}. IS .‘lllL’. llum. 'l‘he \Vhitbt‘ead winner discusses the link between literature and medicine. John Calder (so. /4 Aug. 4pm. Beckett's budd} and publisher estraordinaire tliscusses his Inc. David Campbell & The Wrigley Sisters (181}. [5 Aug. N/mt. ()rcadian iiiusic and words in tribute to the late. great (ieorge .\lacka} Brown.
C? Peter Carey with Patrick McGrath (1811'. // .lttg. Howl/m. See INTI-It'll}
Simon Clark (so. // .-iug. mum. Britain’s answer to Stephen King chats about his lollmv -up to John W) ndham’s classic I)(lv\' (UH/lie Ill/fidk
Jennifer Clement 8. Meaghan Delahunt (181}. l5.vl1rg. /3..i()/mi. See preview.
John Clute 8. China Miéville (181], 1/ :lug. 7pm. 'l‘rad Sl’ meets urban mos).
0 Jenny Colgan (181;. IS slug. /3..1'(l/)m. See preview.
Debating The Future: The Future Of Communication (‘.'s'(;. I} .lttg. N/mt. Muriel (ira) and Matt e Beaumont are among those wondering how stories will continue to be told in the electronic age.
Agnes Desarthe 8: Jean Christian Grondahl (181;. I: .-iug. //._u‘()t1m. ('ontemporar} liuropean liction l‘rom two wonderlul esponents. Des Dillon 'I'lte I’M/II! (it'll/('I't'llet' ('entrt'. l5 .-\ttg. (1.45um. The author ol~ Huck. llt‘ltv't'oo/rltu’ and lie .Ilm/ .llu (Jul entertains the earl} risers. Dorothy Dunnett (181;. IS .-iug. //..i‘()um. l-‘ind out how a historical novelist goes about conducting their estensive research.
Joseph Farrell (so. IS .-iug_ 6.45,»;2. 'l‘his top translator and critic launches his biograpr ol' Dario l’o.
For hour by hour daily listings see
Listings Supplement.
Clement
-hunt
Jennifer Clement 8. Meaghan Delahunt (‘qu-1quSquun- (inn/ens. IS xlug. 12.30pm. There can have been few liction debuts quite as charmed as that ol‘ lidinburgh- based writer Meaghan Delahunt. It took the author of the t‘etiiarkablv assured lirst novel.
In The Blue House. three years to complete this rich mosaic of a novel that imaginativel} re-creates the tortured. erotic relationship between the exiled 'l'rotskv and Madonna‘s
l‘av'ourite artist. the revolutionary l‘rida Kahlo.
But Delahunt discovered. alter several months. that her agent hadn‘t bothered to send out the manuscript to publishers. Apparently. he thought it too literarv and too experimental fora first novel. She dispensed with his services and submitted the work herself. 'l'w'o high-profile publishers fought over the book. which went on to be
nominated for this year's ()range Prize.
The 39-year-old Australian will be talking in lidinburgh about how she managed to make it to the top of the slushpile ol‘ unsolicited manuscripts. with another lirst-timer.
acclaimed poet Jennifer Clement.
Her A True Story Based On Lies is also set in Mexico. The author of the marvellous biography ll’ulmi- Bust/aim. about the drug-fuelled relationship between the dead artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and his muse and lover. Suzanne. ('lement writes ~ like Delahunt
poetieally and powerfully. (Jackie McGlone)
Katherine Frank (181;. /.w' .Ilug. .i/mt. l‘ll';ttik tlisc‘llsses her major biographv ol' the monumental lndira (iandhi.
The Future Of War (so. IS dug. 5pm. ('haired b_v Ruth \\'ishart. Stev ie l)a\ ies and l’iers Brendon are among those debating this tough question. Sandy Gall 8: Rupert Isaacson (XVI. IS xllltg', 7.30pm. lite l'orltict' Ill-N new sreader (iall and travel scribe lsaacson muse on the late ol the Btishmen ol~ Southern :\lrica.
Carlo Gébler ( ‘51]. l/ glue. /..\’()/mi. l)er ing into the past b} author ol' I'ilI/It'l‘.'llltl /.
Robert Goddard 8: Gerald Seymour (181}. H .lttg. 5pm. 'l‘hese thriller writers tell how the} meld the historical with the political.
Rob Grant ('50. I3 dug. Itrmlt. The creator ol lv’ml Unurl and author ol ('ulnnv chats about Si" and its humorotIs side.
Alasdair Gray (so. I: .-iug. /.45/mt. It wouldn't be an esaggeration to bail Alasdair (ira_v as one ol' Scotland's greatest living novelists. lleis also the most dillicttll to predict of pin down. llis debut lunar/t: .-l Life In I'our Boo/ts was a landmark in Scottish liction. a comples. richl} imaginative vision. peopled b} bi/arre characters. (irav proceeded to consistentl}
w rongl‘oot the literar_v establishment
\\ ill] sittglllttl‘ works like .S'rlntl'I/Ititu Leather. l’onr Things and IVS.” .ququ which memorabl} l'eatured a sado- masochistic lesbian org}. (it'a) ’s recent .Iilll' Hunk ()l I’I't’ltlt't'v is the result til sisteen _vears' hard slog. The collection
celebrates the art ol the |iterar_v prelace. leaturing contributions lrom the likes ol .laiiice (iallowa) and .'\.l .. Kenttedv This and previous works will be given a welcome airing assisted. no doubt. b_v (ira_v 's brilliantlv understated sense ol humour. t.-\llan Radclillei
Muriel Gray (so. /.i;lug. (Mu/nu. Instantl} recognisable with her spikv bleached hair. and notorious lor her eqtiallv spik} tongue. Muriel (ha) is a woman ol' man} talents. l'rom loisting her opinions onto the nation as a
new spapcr columnist and m 'l'\' show s like [Ii/11' lil/H’. she's also behind a successlul ’l‘\’ production coitipati}. ldeal \Vorld. atid somehow manages to lit in mtnmtaineermg. mothering and writing novels, .»\ sell—cottlcssetl worshipper at the altar ol Stephen King. horror is her genre ol choice and her lirst three books have received widespread praise. The latest. 'I‘lu' .'llI('l(’Ill had some ver} nast_v things emerging l'rom a mountain ol garbage aboard a cargo ship. and (Bra) no doubt has plent} more dark surprises in store lor its. t|.ouisa l’earson)
O The Great Intergalactic Science Fiction Quiz (so. I.” .’lllL{. Hpm. Iain M. Banks and Rob (irant are among the blokes l'lesing their Sl“ intiscles in this tough qui/. Abdulrazak Gurnah & Manil Suri (181i. [4 .-lug. 2pm. Seductive slllll l'rom Bivoker-nominated (iurnah and l'uture star Suri.
Roy Hattersley ( “so. I} .-tug. l..i’ll/mi. The l-ormer Labour deput) and ( 'urrl'e obsessive discusses .-l
lirl'k \/Iil'(‘ But hum].
7" A .1: .‘ THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 21