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DAY PLANNER Charlotte Square may be small but it packs a lot in – Yasmin Sulaiman picks some highlights from the enormous Edinburgh International Book Festival programme
SATURDAY 9 Nathan Filer & Stewart Foster Winner of the Costa Book of the Year Award, former psychiatric nurse Filer’s The Shock of the Fall was one of last year’s most thrilling debuts. Here, he chats alongside Stewart Foster, author of the acclaimed We Used to Be Kings. Both are First Book Award Nominees (see p33). 10.15am, £10 (£8). Debi Gliori on the World of Tove Jansson The first of this year’s reading workshops kicks off with an appreciation of Finnish author and illustrator, Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomin series of books. Scottish writer and illustrator Gliori leads the discussion. 1pm, £15 (£12). Lauren Child & Judith Kerr Two giants of children’s literature chat about their characters with families and children aged 8+. Child (a guest selector at this year’s Book Festival) is the author of the much-loved Charlie and Lola series, while Kerr is known for classics such as Mog and The Tiger Who Came to Tea. 1.30pm, £4.50. Romesh Gunesekera, Isa Kamari & Alfian Sa’at Three writers from Sri Lanka (Gunesekera) and Singapore (Kamari and Sa’at) talk about their stories of life since independence from British rule. 3.30pm, £7 (£5). Tony Parsons The former music journalist turned author will tell audiences at Charlotte Square about his first crime novel. 7pm, £10 (£8).
SUNDAY 10
Jung Chang Chinese-British writer Chang won worldwide acclaim for her family history Wild Swans and her biography of Mao Zedong, Mao: The Unknown Story. This year, she’s in Edinburgh to talk about her newest book, Empress Dowager Cixi: the Concubine who Launched Modern China. 1.30pm, £10 (£8). Alain de Botton Popular psychologist Alain de Botton talks about his insightful analysis of contemporary news – The News: A User’s Manual. 3pm, £10 (£8). Colin Barrett & Anneliese Mackintosh We adore Anneliese Mackintosh’s debut collection of semi- autobiographical short stories, Any Other Mouth. She’s at the Book Festival with fellow First Book Award nominee Colin Barrett, author of Young Skins. 3.30pm, £7 (£5). Rowan Williams The former Archbishop of Canterbury may be best known as a prominent religious figure but he’s also a talented poet. Today, he talks about his new poetry collection, The Other Mountain. 6.30pm, £10 (£8). Alex Gray & Gunnar Staalesen One of Scotland’s most exciting crime writers and co-founder of Stirling’s Bloody Scotland crime writing festival, Gray chats alongside Norwegian crime writing star Gunnar Staalesen. 6.45pm, £10 (£8). Kirsty Wark Broadcaster Kirsty Wark is practically a household name, but amazingly The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle is her first novel – and a great one it is too. 8pm, £10 (£8).
MONDAY 11
The Grunts with Philip Ardagh & Axel Scheffler The frontrunner for ‘best beard at the Book Festival’, children’s author Ardagh appears with The Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler to talk about the latest instalment of their book The Grunts. Ages 6–9. 10.30am, £4.50.
Day Planner | FESTIVAL BOOKS
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GEORGE RR MARTIN Now one of the world’s most famous authors after the frankly ludicrous success of Game of Thrones, the writer of A Song of Ice and Fire (the series the TV show is based on), makes two appearances at the Edinburgh International Book Festival this year. Martin takes time out from writing the sixth and penultimate book in the series, The Winds of Winter, to speak about his work and how it feels to see his mythical kingdom come to life on the screen. (Colin Robertson) ■ Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, 11 Aug, 8pm, £10 (£8). 12 Aug, 3pm, £10 (£8).
Linda Grant She won the Orange Prize in 2000 for When I Lived in Modern Times and was shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize for The Clothes on Their Backs. This year, Linda Grant talks about her new novel, Upstairs at the Party – which we liked very much. 12pm, £10 (£8). Letters Home This landmark commission sees the Book Festival team up with Edinburgh’s acclaimed theatre company Grid Iron. Based on letters written by four authors – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Kei Miller, Christos Tsiolkas and Kamila Shamsie – this promenade theatre piece will take its audience on a journey around Charlotte Square. 11–25 Aug, 6.15pm, £15 (£12). Previews 9–10 Aug, 6.15pm, £10. William McIlvanney ften regarded as the father of ‘tartan noir’ the author of the Laidlaw novels discusses work from across his career. 6.30pm, £10 (£8). George RR Martin Almost certainly the most anticipated event at this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival. See picture caption above. 8pm, £10 (£8). TUESDAY 12
Margaret Drabble Just five years ago, Dame Margaret Drabble suggested she’d no longer write fiction. But last year, she published The Pure Gold Baby, her first novel since 2006’s The Sea Lady. Today, she talks about the novel with Australian broadcaster Ramona Koval. 11.30am, £10 (£8). The Middle East: Lines in the Sand A guest selector this year,
Palestinian author Raja Shehadeh is a regular favourite at Charlotte Square. In this event, he brings together historians James Barr, Avi Shlaim and regional expert Salim Tamari in an apposite discussion of how WWI and the fall of the Ottoman Empire drew the lines of new nations in the Middle East. 12pm, £10 (£8). Louise Welsh The crime novelist has gone from strength to strength since the publication of her debut The Cutting Room in 2002. Here, she talks about A Lovely Way to Burn, which has just been shortlisted for the Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year. 6.45pm, £10 (£8). Dialogue 2: The Union One of the many ‘dialogue’ events programmed at this year’s festival, this instalment asks what the referendum will mean for the rest of the UK as Scotland prepares to vote in September. 7pm, £10 (£8). Will Self Shark is a prequel of sorts to Self’s 2012 hit Umbrella, and follows psychiatrist Zack Busner in 1970, the year before the events of the previous novel. He chats to Stuart Kelly in this sure to be entertaining discussion. 8pm, £10 (£8). WEDNESDAY 13
Alasdair Gray One of the Yes campaign’s most prominent cultural supporters, Lanark author Alasdair Gray has had his fair share of press over the last two years. Here, he talks about his semi-autobiography Of Me and Others (see preview, page 32). 1.30pm, £10 (£8).
Richard Dawkins Love him or hate him, Britain’s most prominent atheist is a notoriously engaging speaker. Today, he talks to Ruth Wishart about his memoir An Appetite for Wonder. 4.30pm, £10 (£8). Mark Watson Comedian Mark Watson cut his teeth on the Fringe and is still a favourite with Edinburgh’s comedy crowd in August. But he’s also the author of several novels: this year, he’s at the Book Festival talking about his latest, Hotel Alpha. 6.30pm, £10 (£8). Caro Ramsay & Nicola White First Book Award nominee White won the Dundee International Book Prize for In The Rosary Garden, a chilling crime novel about infanticide. She and Caro Ramsay – who’s back with another Anderson & Costello mystery – chat to journalist Lee Randall. 6.45pm, £10 (£8). Mike Carey & Ken MacLeod Zombies are everywhere you look these days – but Carey (The Girl with all the Gifts) and MacLeod (Descent) are two of the best zombie creators out there. 8.30pm, £7 (£5). Jura Unbound: Vic Galloway & Friends The Radio1 DJ and broadcaster takes over the Spiegeltent at the always- fun (and free) Unbound. His friends are pretty great too: tonight, they’ll include The Hazey Janes’ Andrew Mitchell, Scottish Album of the Year Award longlisted Adam Stafford and Any Other Mouth author Anneliese Mackintosh. 9pm, free. All the above events are at Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, 10–26 Aug, edbookfest.co.uk
7–14 Aug 2014 THE LIST FESTIVAL 35