All events are at Charlotte Square Gardens, unless
specified. Phone 0131 624 5050 for ticket availability.
John Alderman lat-tug. 7.30pm. Discuss the future of intisic and technology as the author of Sonic Boom chats abut MP3s. Napster and ripping off musicians.
Jake Arnott & Hugh Collins It; slug. [2.30pm. London and (ilasgow have had their troubles with crime and these two writers have tised that dark past for their literary endeavours.
The Art of the Article If) .lug. 0pm. Antonia Sw inson lets us in on the feature- writing game.
Trezza Azzopardi 8- Heather McGowan IXJlIIL'. .i/nn. Once upon a time there was a young teacher called lire/la .-\//opardi w ho decided to w rite a
noy cl based on her childhood tttcttiot‘ics of (‘ardiff in the (ills. And. well. she liycd happily ey er alter.
w inning a Booker l’ri/c nomination for The Hiding Place and coming within a sniff of scooping the award from under the nose of literary grand dame. Margaret Atwood. Meanwhile. far away on the other side of the Atlantic. play w right Ileather McGowan caused a similar sensation with her debut .St'ltun/tne. the multi -\oiced. quietly disturbing tale of a teenage girl’s initiation into public school life. .-\nd if you've been wondering when this pair of upstarts w ill be getting together to wow us with their work. they w ill be appearing at a Book I'iestiyal near you. in an event sponsored by The list.
(:‘sllan Radcliffe)
John Banville /7:\tte. [3.37)],"1. In The Penguin Book 0/ ll'fyll l'ti't/un. edited by ('olm ’l‘oihin. only one living writer is compiled tw ice. Perhaps the true inheritor of Beckett‘s disparaging scepticism. John Bans ille stands in the long tradition of Irish writers w ho are as obsessed with the culture that colonised Ireland as w ell as Ireland itself. llis novel The ('ntom‘liultlt'. which surprised many by being centred on the historical ligure of spy Anthony Blunt was perhaps the clearest example of this. lirom l‘)73’s litt‘t‘llnum/ to Booker- shot‘tlisted Hunk (Ulti‘it/t'ltt't' his characters are all try ing to find depths
world
Colin Bateman
Being Irish and a bit cheeky can get you pretty far in this crazy old
beneath the surface of a world or culture. often represented by paintings. I’requently considered a ‘cold' writer. Banville quotes Milan Kundera in his defence. ‘l’assion isn‘t only in the heart. it can also he in the mind.’ t'l‘im Ahrahamsl
Juliet Barker 2/ Aug. 4pm. She‘s written about the Brontes. .\'ow she's penned as close to a delinitive version of Wordsworth‘s life as you can get.
Pat Barker BOA/lg. //..v‘(ht/it. Arguably one of the best British novelists around. I’at Barker is best known for her acclaimed World War I trilogy comprising Rt'gt'nm'uttmt. [five In The Door and the Booker I’ri/e-w inning The (i/iust Rl’tltl. 'I‘his trilogy is a lictionaliscd account of Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred ()wcn‘s experiences at (‘raiglockhart psychiatric unit. Her latest novel. Bun/er ('mysing. which she will he discussing iti this session. again deals with psychology. but this time in the crime world. Having been a w ritcr since the early Slls. Barker has a
w ealth of esperiencc on which to draw. and consequently will have no shortage of material to fill her time slot. Known for her sell-effacing demeanour. she should nonetheless prove to he an entertaining and informative speaker. (Kirsty Knaggsl Colin Bateman & Mike Gayle 2/ .lug. ll..‘,()(HH. Being Irish and a hit cheeky can get you pretty far in this era/y Uld world. especially if. like (‘ttliti Bateman. you can translate the gift of hIarney into a string of highly successful comic thriller novels. Since his first hook. Dim/tine .lm'A. introduced humbling anti— hcro l)an Starkey to the public in WW1. Bateman has romped through umpteen high-octane adventures. the latest of “hich. .S/trmt/Itg Sci/II. sees Starkey getting out of his depth in the worlds of
Holly wood and the lR.-\. Bateman was a successful journalist in Northern Ireland before he took up fiction. and even won awards for his satirical column in the (in/ut/v Hun/t .S/N’r‘tit/(II‘. something which comes as no surprise to anyone w ho's read his blisterineg irreverent hooks. Bateman is Joined h} another chronicler of contemporary lunacy. Brummie Mikc
(itty lc. (l)otig .lolinslonel
Robert Bauval [Knit/c. 5pm. ()ut' fascination with ligypt. the Pyramids. the Hall of Records and (ii/a continues. Ilcre is one of the main investigators. divulging the results of his research.
Ex-cowboy Louis de Bernieres shows he's captain charisma
P.D. James with Ian Rankin 22 Aug. 1 1.30am. The good people of the Book Festival are spoiling Us with this one. You can‘t really' argue with a bill that gives you not one but two of the country‘s best crime writers. and all before lunchtime.
RI). James. the grande dame of British crime writing makes a welcome return to Edinburgh to talk about her life and work with the capital's very own Ian Rankin in what promises to be a real treat. Baroness James of Holland Park (to use her full title) will no doubt be discussing her sixteen novels. and her fictional detective. Commander Adam Dalgliesh. At the age of 8|. James shows no signs of slowing down. with her most recent novel. Death In Holy Orders. receiving rave reviews earlier this year.
Rankin is probably the perfect man for James to chat with. as a number of parallels exist between the two writers' work and careers. Both authors have succeeded in raising crime liction from simple whodunits to much more complex psychological thrillers and have produced work of real depth. And both have seen that work successfully adapted for the small screen. Lovers of quality crime fiction really shouldn‘t miss this. (Doug Johnstone)
Steven Berkoff 22.'llll1. 7..\'()/nn. Drama and travel from one of our most singular lttlelits.
3 Louis de Bernieres IVA/w. ll..x’(/um. You‘d have to have been living on another planet for the last .si.\ years not to know about the worldwide literary phenomenon of Louis dc Bernieres. The 40-year-old author‘s astonishing success with (ii/mun ('un'l/t'y .lluntlu/in is a real rags to riches story which has seen a one time teacher. gardener. mechanic and cowboy tycs. really) hecome a multi— millionaire and a bona lidc celebrity to boot. Many fans of the (‘ephalonian
w artimc romance may not realise. however. that (it/mun ('nn'l/t's .lIunt/n/tn was in fact de Bernieres‘ fourth novel. preceded by a \mnderfully weird magic realist trilogy set in South America. By all accounts dc Bernieres is a charismatic and humorous speaker. mirroring his work. and this event promises to be highly entertaining indeed. (l)oug Johnstonel
0 Charlie Boxer, Peter Jinks & Ruaridh Nicoll In due. 3pm. Sec preview.
Melvyn Bragg INA/lg. ll..i‘()uni. We know and love him as the nasally presenter of The South Bank Slum but he's also a line author of post-w ar novels.
Ruth Brandon I‘lxlue. lull/pm. Surrealism. social history and sewing machines are the subjects prev iottsly covered by Brandon. llear her chat about those things.
Kevin Cahill /‘).'lug. 5pm. \Vho owns Britain'.’ (iood question. And one that ('ahill and co will hope to answer today. T.E. Carhart [Gd/lg. .i..i(}/tllt. .-\ nuisical memoir for those who loy e the old ioanna. Natasha Cooper 8. Joolz Denby 2/
Aug. .i..iU/tI/I. liveryone’s trying to write
For hour by hour daily listings see
Listings Supplement.
to '2’)
crime novels these days. But ('ooper and Denby are trying to do something a bit different.
Countryside in the City I‘M/(g. lpm. Edinburgh's green heritage merges with its literary past.
Rachel Cusk 8: Gillian Ferguson 22 Aug. //..i’()um. Poetry and parenting are brought together by these hip young things. Rachel Cusk, Gillian Ferguson, Matt Seaton, Gael Lindenfield 8. Frank Furedi 22 Aug. 8pm. The future of parenting. Discussed.
Andrew Crumey, Alice Thompson 8. Christopher Whyte 2/ Aug. It)..i’()um. Playful postmodernist ('rumey' & 'l‘hompson tex-\\'oodentop keyboardist and Us! editor) are joined by one of the country's linest writers whose 'I‘lie (‘luml .llac/iinwjv is set in ye olde Venice. Edwina Currie 2/ Aug. 6.30pm. Iiveryone's favourite Tory whose catchphrase is not ‘eggs is eggs.‘
Des Dillon, Chris Dolan & Janet Paisley I7xlug. l()..i()mn. Poet Paisley meets l)illon the didactic author and l)olan. who does just about everything in the literary lield. And tisually pretty well. Maureen Duffy 8. Ferdinand Mount 3/ Aug. lpm. I)clving into the psyche of the tingliin is what Duffy and Mount are about.
Tracy Edwards [6 :lug. 6.30pm. The woman w ho has braved a few stormy waters confronts a sea of faces for a teatime talk about yachting across the world.
Jenny Eclair BOA/ti", 6.30pm. The former Perrier winner takes time out from the comedy l-‘ringe to discuss why she moved into fiction. with ('mnln’rn‘e/l Brut/tr.
Anne Fine BOA/(g. .i/nn. This acclaimed children's writer will he chatting about her ventures into the adult novel world.
Tibor Fischer, Dan Rhodes 8: Matt Thorne .‘I dug. l/JUum. A trio of terribly hip young scribes disctiss their art and the notion of New I’uritanisin.
Aug; Root THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 17