FESTIVAL BOOKS | Day Planner
Yasmin Sulaiman and Claire Flynn select highlights from the Edinburgh International Book Festival’s packed programme. All events at Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888.
SAT 13
Ali Smith The celebrated Scottish author has been busy since the critically acclaimed How to be Both, penning a collection of essays and a soon-to-be- released novel, which will be the i rst of four linked books. She returns to Charlotte Square to discuss her latest work. 11.45am, £12 (£10).
Adam Mars-Jones & Hisham Matar The two authors come together to discuss memoirs about their fathers. In Kid Gloves, Mars-Jones describes the intimidating high-court judge who remained a stranger for much of his life, while The Return rel ects on Matar’s search for his father, who was kidnapped and imprisoned in Libya many years before. 4pm, £12 (£10).
Geoff Dyer The quirky English novelist is welcomed back to EIBF to present his new book of travel writing. White Sands: Experiences from the Outside World features musings about destinations all over the world. 5.45pm, £12 (£10). Esmahan Aykol & Paula Hawkins Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train was one of the most talked about thrillers of last year, while Aykol is a hugely celebrated Turkish crime writer. Both novelists talk about their work with Rosie Goldsmith. 7.15pm, £12 (£10).
SUN 14
Chris Judge & David O’Doherty The illustrator and comedian aim to have children (and adults) in i ts of giggles by the end of this event. Plus, you can get a sneaky look at their new book, which will hit shelves in September, DANGER Really is Everywhere: School of Danger. 3.45pm, £5. Eimear McBride A Girl is a Half- Formed Thing was arguably one of the most exciting debuts of the last i ve years, and the Irish writer is now back with The Lesser Bohemians, a tale of a young woman who moves to London from Ireland in the 90s. 4pm, £12 (£10).
Goretti Kyomuhendo The leading Ugandan novelist’s book Waiting is ten years old but remains a signii cant and stunning portrait of Uganda and its people under the rule of Idi Amin. 5pm, £8 (£6). Billy Bragg The politically charged English musician behind the working- class anthem ‘A New England’ discusses the annotated collection of his best-loved songs, A Lover Sings, with Vic Galloway. 8.15pm, £12 (£10).
Laura Bates The founder of the online feminist project Everyday Sexism, Bates discusses Girl Up, which presents her views on issues such as sex, body image, pornography and social media. 8.45pm, £12 (£10). Unbound: The Phoenix Rises Join Gary Northi eld, Laura Ellen Anderson, Jamie Littler, Zak Simmonds-Hurn and Adam Murphy for a night of interactive drawing and performances. 9pm, free drop-in.
MON 15
Alaa Al Aswany The inl uential author discusses his latest satire 36 THE LIST FESTIVAL 11–18 Aug 2016
Canada. The two artists come together to discuss their work. 7pm, £8 (£6). Unbound: Liz Lochhead and The Hazey Janes Join one of Scotland’s most beloved writers and the indie pop group, led by jazz saxophonist Steve Kettley, for a night of songs and sonnets. 9pm, free drop-in.
WED 17
AL Kennedy After a i ve-year hiatus, the talented author brought us the deeply affecting Serious Sweet earlier this year, yet again proving herself as a major force on Scotland’s literary scene. 11.45am, £12 (£10).
The View from Castle Rock premiere Along with Stellar Quines Theatre Company, EIBF presents a production of Alice Main’s stories, taken from the Nobel Prize-winning author’s collection, The View from Castle Rock. 12.30pm, £15 (£12). Gloss: A Performance A performance by three Canadian poets (Tanya Evanson, Katie Kellough and Pamela E Witcher), two of whom are hearing and one deaf, which explores sign, speech, symbol and sound. 3.30pm, £8 (£6).
Tahmima Anam & Helen Sedgwick Stories about strangers connect the works of these two talented writers. Anam’s The Bones of Grace tells the story of an adopted daughter of a Dhaka family who meets a man from a typical American family, and Sedgwick’s debut The Comet Seekers sees two people come together at an Antarctic research station. 3.45pm, £8 (£6). Howard Jacobson The Man Booker Prize-winner has reworked Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice into a new novel Shylock is My Name. The author discusses his creation with Jackie McGlone. 5pm, £12 (£10).
Winning Fiction in Translation Han Kang’s stunning novel The Vegetarian was a worthy winner of this year’s Man Booker International Prize. Here, she chats to Boyd Tonkin, chair of the judge’s panel. 5pm, £8 (£6). Unbound: Bookshop Band EIBF commissioned new songs to celebrate the day of events, inspired largely by the Man Booker International Prize-winning novel The Vegetarian by Han Kang. 9pm, free drop-in.
THU 18
Mostafa Salameh During his student days in Edinburgh, Salameh dreamt that he was on Mount Everest reciting the call to prayer. Inspired, the devout Muslim went on to scale seven of the highest peaks in the world. He shares his incredible story in a new book, Dreams of a Refugee. 2.15pm, £12 (£10).
Jackie Kay with Nicola Sturgeon Scotland’s Makar discusses her poetry with the First Minister, who has long been an admirer of Kay’s work. 3.30pm, £12 (£10). Neu! Reekie! The literary, music and animation collective present #Untitled2, a poetry anthology and music album, which features 34 poets, including two Makars, several prize-winners and YouTube stars. 7.30pm, £12 (£10).
Unbound: Poetry as refuge As we witness the refugee crisis expanding across Europe, join one of EIBF’s guest selectors, Bidisha, for a multilingual, multinational, musical poetry evening, and discover the healing power of words. 9pm, free drop-in.
SHIRIN EBADI As the first Muslim woman and Iranian to win a Nobel Peace Prize, prepare to be inspired as this leading lawyer and activist discusses Until We are Free, an account of the fight for Iranian reform. ■ Sat 13 Aug, 5.30pm, £12 (£10).
The Automobile Club of Egypt and freedom of speech in a post-Arab Spring Egypt. 10.15am, £12 (£10). Alex Bell & Dominic Hinde With referendums bringing people closer to major political decisions, two writers examine whether the public could change the planet for the better. Bell’s The People We Could Be is about how power could be brought closer to the people, while Hinde’s A Utopia Like Any Other offers an in-depth analysis of the Swedish political model. 12.15pm, £12 (£10).
Anjan Sundaram Bad News is the award-winning New York Times journalist’s devastating account of current events in Rwanda, where the government has decided to silence journalists. 12.30pm, £12 (£10). Zaffar Kunial with Jackie Kay Kunial’s i rst collection of verse was published in 2014, and his work is heavily inspired by his Anglo-Asian cultural heritage. He discusses what it means to be a British writer of mixed-race heritage with Jackie Kay. 3.15pm, £12 (£10).
TUE 16
Frederick Forsyth with Ian Rankin As a former RAF pilot and investigative journalist, Forsyth’s autobiography is full of thrilling tales about his intriguing life. He discusses the details with Ian Rankin. 11.45am, £12 (£10).
Edna O’Brien Ten years on since her last novel, the Irish writer returned last year with The Little Red Chairs, which examines the consequences of a fatal attraction. 1.30pm, £12 (£10).
Joyce McMillan One of Scotland’s foremost theatre critics, McMillan explores some of the dei ning moments of her 30-year career in a collection of her reviews entitled Theatre in Scotland: A Field of Dreams. 3.30pm, £8 (£6). Lucy Ribchester & Sara Sheridan These two Edinburgh-based writers arrive at Charlotte Square to discuss historical adventures with strong women at their centre. 7pm, £8 (£6).
Agnes Török and Chimwemwe Undi Török is a Swedish spoken word artist living and working in Edinburgh, while Undi was raised in southern Africa and is now a spoken word poet in