FESTIVAL BOOKS | Day Planner
WED 24
Eula Biss & Chitra Ramaswamy with Gavin Francis Eula Biss was unsure about whether to vaccinate her son – from this uncertainty came On Immunity, an examination of the myths and facts of immunisation. She is joined by journalist Ramaswamy, whose book Expecting takes readers on a physical, emotional and philosophical journey through pregnancy. 2pm, £12 (£10). Tom Gauld Popular Guardian cartoonist Gauld comes to Charlotte Square to discuss his latest graphic novel Mooncop, a story about the personal realities that face a dying community. 3.45pm, £8 (£6).
Unbound: Stanley Odd The Scottish alternative hip hop band takes to the Spiegeltent to perform stripped-back tracks from their recent albums Reject and A Thing Brand New, and test out some brand new songs. 9pm, free drop-in.
THU 25
Maggie O’Farrell The popular Northern Irish author’s previous work has proven her ability to write convincingly about loss and human relationships, which she looks set to further establish with This Must Be the Place, a tale of a man coming to terms with the death of a woman he loved 30 years before. 6.45pm, £12 (£10). Unbound: Imagine Better Inspired by the latest issue of the Poetry Ireland Review, the relationships between personal and political identities and the boundaries between art and activism are explored in this event, featuring a new generation of Irish poets, as well as Kevin Barry, Canadian Madeleine Thien and Hamid Ismailov. 9pm, free drop-in.
FRI 26
Martin Cathcart Froden & David Sanger Both these writers’ works focus on lone characters, arriving in a new place to unexpected consequences. Froden’s Devil Take The Hindmost won the Dundee International Book Prize for its portrayal of a man who enters the realm of velodrome racing in the 1920s. While Sanger’s debut, All Their Minds in Tandem, examines the upheaval when a strange man arrives in an 1870s West Virginian village. 3.30pm, £8 (£6). Kevin Barry Barry’s Beatlebone recently won the £10,000 Goldsmith’s Prize for ‘i ction at its most novel’. He arrives at Charlotte Square to discuss his made-up story about a post-Beatles John Lennon visiting an isle off the coast of Ireland, that the real Lennon bought in the 60s. 7pm, £8 (£6).
Unbound: Neu! Reekie! Join the vibrant poetry and music collective for another evening of . . . well . . . poetry and music, along with special guests Admiral Fallow, Salena Godden and Sarah Howe among others. 9pm, free drop-in.
SAT 27
Alan Cumming One of the highlights of last year’s EIBF, the Good Wife actor has returned to his home nation for the festival season once again. He discusses his latest book, You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams, a gathering of his best stories and photographs. 6.45pm, £12 (£10). Garth Greenwell Greenwell’s novel What Belongs to You is set in post-Communist Bulgaria, where homesexual love remains taboo. The author discusses the tale about a young man searching for love, described as ‘an instant classic’ by The New York Times. 6.30pm, £8 (£6).
34 THE LIST FESTIVAL 18–29 Aug 2016
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IRVINE WELSH The Trainspotting author revisits the notorious character of Begbie in his latest novel, The Blade Artist, but in a very different setting – Begbie is now an artist in California. The critically lauded author discusses his latest creation with Brian Taylor. We’d expect there to be plenty of audience questions about Trainspotting 2, too. ■ Sat 27, 9.45pm, £12 (£10).
Unbound: Roddy Woomble & Friends Acclaimed singer / songwriter and Idlewild frontman Woomble takes a break from touring to celebrate his i rst book, which presents a collection of paintings, photographs and words that inspire his work. Fellow musicians Andrew Mitchell, Luciano Rossi and Siobhan Wilson accompany him. 9pm, free drop-in.
SUN 28
Kirsty Gunn The New Zealand-born author comes to EIBF to discuss her latest two works. Ini delities is a collection of short stories which examines lies and deceit, while Going Bush is a short rel ection on Gunn’s childhood in New Zealand. 10.15am, £12 (£10). Judith Kerr The creator of beloved children’s book The Tiger Who Came to Tea, returns after a 37-year hiatus with Mister Cleghorn’s Seal, a story about a man who takes an abandoned seal pup home to look after, which doesn’t quite go to plan . . . 1.30pm, £5.
Michel Faber The critically acclaimed author of Under the Skin and The Book of Strange New Things reads from a beautiful collection of moving poems called Undying. Through poetry, the writer deals with the heartbreaking loss of his wife Eva, who died in 2014 after a 6-year battle with cancer. 8.45pm, £12 (£10). Unbound: The Flint & Pitch Revue Dynamic Scottish spoken word poet Jenny Lindsay launches Flint & Pitch, which continues the cabaret-style of Rally & Broad, presenting the best of Scottish spoken word and music. The lineup features Hannah McGill, Dave Hook and Kate Ailes among others. 9pm, free drop-in.
MON 29
Patrick deWitt & Annelies Verbeke Man Booker nominee deWitt presents his latest novel Undermajordomo Minor, in which a young character becomes entangled in an investigation into a missing aristocrat. He is joined by Verbeke, who is regarded as a literary phenomenon in Belgium. Her novel Thirty Days features a handyman who leaves the busy city life for the quiet countryside, not realising that the area he heads for has one of the highest suicide rates in western Europe. 2pm, £8 (£6). Gordon Brown The former prime minister is returning
to Charlotte Square to discuss globalisation and his three books, Beyond the Crash, My Scotland, Our Britain: A Future Worth Sharing and Britain: Leading, Not Leaving: The Patriotic Case for Remaining in Europe. 3.15pm, £12 (£10). Unbound: Vic Galloway and Friends The i nale event kicks off early and brings together stories, songs, festivities and i reworks across the whole of Charlotte Square. DJ and journalist Vic Galloway has also created something special in the Spiegeltent, featuring Tom Lanoye, Anneliese Verbeke, Adam Stafford, Miracle Glass and Khartoum Heroes. 7pm, free, drop-in.
Packie Bonner Patrick ‘Packie’ Bonner played in goals for Celtic Football Club for three decades, and became known across the world when he made the famous save that took Ireland into the World Cup’s later stages for the i rst time. He discusses his incredible career with Gerard McDade. 8.15pm, £12 (£10). Zoë Howe Wilko Johnson’s battle with cancer has brought legendary R&B punk band Dr Feelgood back into the public realm, but Howe believes it’s time to recognise the band’s other co-founder who died aged 41. In Lee Brilleaux: Rock’n’Roll Gentleman, she argues for an appreciation of his legacy. 8.30pm, £8 (£6).