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FRANK SKINNER He may now be in his 50s, but there’s no real sign of Frank Skinner slowing up. The cheeky Midlands chappie has delivered his memoir of life back on the stand-up circuit, On the Road, and in this List- sponsored event you can expect the honesty and bawdiness that helped seal his name in the 90s and made his fans leap with joy (those who are still young enough for such sprightly activity, anyway) when they heard of his return to the live stage. (Brian Donaldson) ■ 23 Aug, 9.30pm, £9 (£7).
Hitlist FESTIVAL BOOKS *
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✽✽ David Peace Now living back in his native Yorkshire, the author of GB84 and The Damned United will be chatting about his Tokyo novels. 22 Aug, 8pm, £9 (£7). ✽✽ Jen Hadfield The young Shetlands-based poet gets a chance to air her work in a calm environment, alongside Liz Lochhead and Aonghas MacNeacail, 21 Aug, 3.30pm, £9 (£7). ✽✽ James Lasdun The short story has found itself in safer hands since this New York- based writer started publishing. See page 16. 21 Aug, 8.30pm, £9 (£7). ✽✽ Beatrice Colin The former List employee is making a name for herself with a solid series of historical novels. See page 17. 22 Aug, 7.30pm, £6 (£4). ✽✽ Sharon Olds A rare appearance from the hugely acclaimed US poet. See page 12. 23 Aug, 7pm, £9 (£7). ✽✽ Chika Unigwe The Afro- Belgian writer’s first English translation novel, On Black Sisters’ Street, was a highly impressive debut. See page 16. 25 Aug, 4.30pm, £6 (£4). ✽✽ James Kelman The single-minded Glasgow scribe chats about his powerful body of work. See page 16. 26 Aug, 11.30am, £9 (£7). ✽✽ Xiaolu Guo UFO In Her Eyes is a little bit of a different affair from Guo, but still attends to her obsession with modern China. See page 16. 26 Aug, 7pm, £9 (£7). ✽✽ Suhayl Saadi With Joseph’s Box, the Scottish-Asian author has penned an almighty bumper tome stretching across continents and attitudes. See page 13. 27 Aug, 4.30pm, £6 (£4). All events take place in Charlotte Square, unless otherwise indicated. The box office number is 0845 373 5888 and the website is www.edbookfest.co.uk
5QUESTIONS
Glasgow-based Antipodean author Helen FitzGerald has impressed readers and critics alike with a series of stark novels. Here, she tears into our Q&A Give us five words to describe My Last Confession? Menacing, funny, fast, twisted, gripping. Which authors should be more famous than they are now? I love the multiple layers in Kate Atkinson’s stories and think she should be even more famous than she is. What do you love about book festivals? It’s fantastic meeting enthusiastic readers (especially if they’re enthusiastic about my books!) and it’s always entertaining watching writers who’ve been cooped up for months as they come blinking into the light. Which dead author do you wish was still alive today? I wish Jane Austen was alive. I’d ask her if she was as happy with Colin Firth as I was and I’d be fascinated to see how she’d be marketed. Would she be okay about being on the chick lit shelf alongside Bridget Jones? What would you change about the publishing world? Publishers should be less obsessed with categorising books into specific genres. (Interview by Brian Donaldson) ■ 22 Aug (with Karen Campbell), 6.45pm, £9 (£7).
20–27 Aug 2009 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 11