FESTIVAL BOOKS | Hitlist BOOKS HITLIST
Lynsey May picks the best events from the first week of the Edinburgh International Book Festival Charlotte Square Gardens, 12 Aug, 7pm, £8 (£6).
JANICE GALLOWAY ON MURIEL SPARK
It’s Muriel Spark’s centenary year and EIBF are joining the nationwide celebrations with a series of tributes to the great Scottish writer. Internationally acclaimed writer Janice Galloway kicks things off with readings from and discussions about some of Spark’s most notable works. Charlotte Square Gardens, 11 Aug, 11.45am, £12 (£10).
~ ~ NGUGI WA THIONG’O
~ ~ Returning to the book festival to talk about the new edit of his prison memoir Wrestling with the Devil, renowned author Ngugi wa Thiong’o gives us some insight into the ways creativity and imagination can help set us free. Charlotte Square Gardens, 11 Aug, 6.45pm, £12 (£10).
IMOGEN HERMES GOWAR & KIRSTY LOGAN
Writers Imogen Hermes Gowar (The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock), and Kirsty Logan (The Gracekeepers and The Gloaming) dive into a discussion of fairy tale tropes and mythical sea creatures.
THE HIDDEN Can you crack the code at this interactive theatre experience set in Edinburgh’s iconic Central Library? In a partnership with theatre company Visible Fictions, EIBF asks its audience if it can piece together the story using all the clues hidden throughout the venue. Central Library, 13–25 Aug (not 19), 6pm, £15 (£12).
JUNE SARPONG Better decisions, innovations and business – studies show the benefits of embracing greater diversity are huge, so why aren’t we? Broadcaster June Sarpong, author of Diversify, makes the case for changing this status quo. See feature on page 30. Charlotte Square Gardens, 15 Aug, 11.45am, £12 (£10).
FREEDOM DEBATE: PRECARIOUS FREEDOMS
Part of the Freedom and Equalities series and co-curated by Dive Queer Party, a panel of writers, directors and performers share international perspectives on gender and sexual rights around the world. Charlotte Square Gardens, 15 Aug, 7.30pm, £12 (£10).
Including: Rose McGowan Zindzi Mandela Ali Smith Ngugi Wa h iong’o Chelsea Clinton Maria Alyokhina Louis de Bernières Karl Ove Knausgaard Jim Broadbent DJ Semtex Laura Bates Frank Quitely Akala Gaël Faye 100 Years of Muriel Spark Yanis Varoufakis Jackie Kay A L Kennedy Philip Pullman Rachel Kushner Luke Wright Val McDermid Brett Anderson Afua Hirsch Mark Beaumont Chitra Nagarajan Mark Cousins h e Last Poets
11 — 27 August 2018
900 authors from 55 countries in 800 events Book & browse events: edbookfest.co.uk @edbookfest
38 THE LIST FESTIVAL 8–15 Aug 2018
Janice Galloway