Festival BOOKS
EDINBURGH BOOK FRINGE 2014 Radical bookshop’s festival aims to be antithesis of Charlotte Square N ow in its fifth year, Word Power’s Edinburgh Book Fringe seeks
Occupy movement, a union-sponsored event on working class education, debut novelists, radical politics and the case for Scottish independence.’
Highlights, says Hunter, will be the opening night launch event for Alan McCombes’ Restless Land: A Radical Journey Through Scotland’s History (8 Aug) and Oxford historian Selina Todd discussing The People: The Rise and Fall of the Working Class, 1910–2010 (9 Aug). There will also be a talk by Nicholas Gilby, author of Deception in High Places: A History of Bribery in Britain’s Arms Trade (16 Aug), the launch of the latest, Scotland-focused issue of Post magazine (21 Aug) and Douglas Newton discusses The Darkest Days (23 Aug), his alternative perspective on World War I. (David Pollock) Word Power Books, 662 9112, 8–23 Aug, free.
to continue harnessing some of that counter- cultural spirit which first earned the Edinburgh Fringe its reputation. Elaine Hunter, Book Fringe founder and proprietor of the Word Power bookshop in West Nicolson Street, says quite explicitly that the aim is to be everything which she believes the Edinburgh International Book Festival isn’t. ‘We don’t succumb to a need for “balanced debate” but put forward bold, challenging ideas about the status quo,’ she says. ‘All our events are free to attend, because our ethos is to make certain that literary events are accessible to all, not just those who can afford £8 tickets. We also want to support small presses that just don’t get a profile in the main Book Festival and the writers whose work they publish.’ These include events featuring ‘local poets, Palestinian poets, the
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HITLIST THE BEST BOOKS EVENTS
✽ Edinburgh Book Fringe See preview, left. Word Power Books, 662 9112, 8–23
Aug, free.
✽ Amnesty International Imprisoned Writers Series The human rights charity pays tribute to persecuted writers every day at Charlotte Square. Tickets are free and available on the day of each event. Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, 9–24 Aug, 5.30pm, free.
✽ Letters Live with Shaun Usher & Simon Garfield The authors of
Letters of Note and To the Letter are joined by special guests as they celebrate the art of correspondence. See feature, page 31. Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, 9 Aug, 8pm, £10 (£8).
✽ Viv Albertine: My Life as a Punk The Slits’ guitarist talks about her
memoir, Clothes Clothes Clothes Music Music Music Boys Boys Boys. See feature, page 22. Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, 10 Aug, 8.30pm, £10 (£8).
✽ Jura Unbound: The Empire Café The first night of this fantastic series of
free events kicks off with Jude Barber and Louise Welsh’s exploration of Scotland’s role in the North Atlantic slave trade, featuring Scottish and Caribbean poetry plus hip hop band Stanley Odd. Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, 10 Aug, 9pm, free.
✽ George RR Martin Westeros comes to the West End as A Game of Thrones author George RR Martin lands at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, 11 Aug, 8pm & 12 Aug, 3pm, £10 (£8).
✽ Alasdair Gray The Lanark author and prominent Yes supporter chats about his
semi-autobiography, Of Me and Others. See preview, page 32. Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, 13 Aug, 1.30pm, £10 (£8).
7–14 Aug 2014 THE LIST FESTIVAL 29