Festival Books
.bOOksOIist.co.uk
STEVE BLOOM AND THE ELEPHANTS
The gentle giant is Steve Bloom’s thing. Having spent over a decade following elephants across India and Africa, he is launching his new children’s book, Elephants at the book festival in two events showcasing his sumptuous photos and his first-hand experience of the grey friendlies.
I ‘Nature and the Environment, 73 Aug, 3pm. £9 (£7); Elephants with Steve B/oom', 7 3 Aug, 77.30am, £3.50.
SQUESTIONS
Laura Marney’s new novel is My Best Friend Has Issues, about an innocent Scottish lass heading to Spain. Here she takes on our wide-eyed Q&A
Give us five words to describe your books?
Fun. sexy. dark. page turning.
Which authors should be more famous than they are now?
James Robertson. Scarlett Thomas. Stet Penney.
What do you love about Edinburgh in August?
Drinking whisky and rubbing shoulders and other body parts with
famous writers in the Book Festival yurt.
Which dead author do you wish was still alive today? Somerset Maugham. He has such a timeless wisdom and humanity. If he was still alive l'd marry him. although he'd be 134 so our sex life
might be a bit (lull. What would you change about the publishing world?
I would ban novels wrth screeds of tedious geeky detail. I want a story. It I want a lesson on the hist0ry of milk bottles or the torlet habits of dung beetles I'll buy a text book. And if I have to read another
misery memoir I'll drill my own eyes Out with a nasal hair trimmer. I 70 Aug (wrth Pauline MCLynn), 8.30pm, £9 (£7).
llit .
FESTIVAL BOOKS
* Mohammad Hanif The mysterious death of Pakistan’s President Zia is the start-point of a splendidly silly debut novel A Case of Exploding Mangoes. Certainly wins our vote for book title of the year. 72 Aug, 7.30pm, £6 (£4).
3* Danny Wallace The Dundee-born renaissance fellow goes on another voyage of self- discovery by chasing down people he’s lost track with over his many years in showbusiness. Whether they like it or not. But usually they do. See preview, page ??. 13 Aug, 8.30pm, £9 (£7).
=l¢ I-ialima Bashir The terrors of Darfur are brought to vivid life with this survivor's tale. See preview, page ??. 9 Aug, noon, £9 (£7).
* Simon Singh Is alternative medicine a life-saver for those who don’t want to pump pills into their bodies or a fad full of quacks and cheats? Dr Singh tells all. See preview, page ??. 70 Aug, 7.30pm, 7pm, £9, (£7).
* celine Curiol Paul Auster is a big fan of this French author’s work and that’s plenty reason for you to be. See preview. page ??. 9Aug, 6pm, £6 (£4).
alt Alex James He lives in a house, a very big house in the country. But he‘s still happy to reflect on his time with the Britpop icons. See Top 5, page ??. 76 Aug, 7pm, £8 (£6).
* Steven Berkofl In town to direct On the Waterfront, this iconic theatre figure shakes up the calm of Charlotte Square to discuss A Life in Food, his hearty tome from last year. See caption. page ??. 72 Aug, 8pm, £9 (£7).
All events take place in Charlotte Square, unless otherwise indicated. The box office number Is 0845 373 5888 and the website is www.cdbookfest.co.uk
7—14 Aug 2008 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 13