{BOOKS} Week Planner
THURSDAY 25 Ingrid Betancourt
Roger Moorhouse & Peter Watson It was once said that the future of Europe was shaped by whichever direction Germany took itself in. Whether that still holds true in this ever-shrinking world is a matter for debate. Here, Moorhouse and Watson look back at the stories of some unheralded Germans during the flux of World War II. 2pm, £10 (£8). Jackie Kay The novelist, short story writer and memoirist turns to the world of poetry for her latest book, Fiere, a collection about identity and language. 3pm, £10 (£8). Chan Koonchung In Koonchung’s fable, The Fat Years, the Beijing-based writer takes a skewed look at an imagined future of his country, a time in which capitalism has totally collapsed in the west. 3.30pm, £7 (£5). Gillian Philip In her latest crime book for the early teen market, Philip gives us The Opposite of Amber, the tale of a serial killer stalking a small town in Scotland. 4.30pm, £4.50. James Robertson with Irvine Welsh A must-see event featuring two of our nation’s top scribes as they get to grips with Scottish history. 4.30pm, £10 (£8). Chris Mullin The man behind the accounts which critics claim to be the most pertinent on the New Labour era has a look at what made the key protagonists tick and what ultimately went wrong. 6.30pm, £10 (£8). Louise Welsh A special treat for fans of the other major Welsh in Scottish literature as we get a very sneak preview of her next book. So next, in fact, that the rumour mill suggests that it’s not even finished yet. 6.45pm, £10 (£8). Colm Tóibín The Empty Family is the latest collection of stories from the Irish scribe who has picked up several booky awards on his literary travels. This new book features tales about a young Pakistani immigrant who seeks some kind of permanence in a strange town to the Irish woman reluctantly returning to Dublin and discovering a city that refuses to acknowledge her long absence. 8.30pm, £10 (£8). FRIDAY 26
Martin MacIntyre & Ron Butlin A event jointly presented in both Gaelic and English, two acclaimed scribes discuss the differences and similarities between the literary worlds they have sprouted from. 11am, £10 (£8). Will Hutton The economics guy and ex-editor of The Observer argues that our future wellbeing lies not with the bankers and financial analysts but the innovative entrepreneurs. 3pm, £10 (£8). Creating Graphic Novels John Chalmers and Sandra Marrs aka Scottish-French comics duo Metaphrog, share some of the secrets to creating a successful graphic novel, using Louis: Night Salad as the test case. 4pm, £4.50. Niall Ferguson The Scottish historian 26 THE LIST 25 Aug–22 Sep 2011
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and TV star (he’d hate that word, no doubt) questions just how well the west is doing in terms of science, democracy, medicine, consumerism and the work ethic via his latest tome, Civilization. A mixed bag is the likely conclusion. 6.30pm, £10 (£8). Alex Gray & Stuart MacBride Two of Scotland’s rising crime-writing stars offer their own particular geographical take: Gray writes about Glasgow, MacBride pens on Aberdeen. 6.45pm, £10 (£8). The Kindness of Strangers This ethical debate wonders where altruism comes from and why it seems to thrive in some societies and not in others. 7pm, £10 (£8). Andrey Kurkov & AD Miller Two novelists have a peek at post- communist Russia in their respective books, The Milkman in the Night and Snowdrops. But do they like what they see? 8.30pm, £7 (£5). SATURDAY 27
Fabled Beasts and Scary Creatures Lari Don, storyteller and writer of such titles as Wolf Notes and How to Make a Heron Happy talks about monsters and heroes from Greek and Celtic mythology. 10.30am, £4.50. Dominic Streatfeild In his excellent book, A History of the World Since 9/11 the author of Brainwash gave us some snapshots of how the world had changed (pretty much for the far worse) in the years since those infamous attacks on the US. 12.30pm, £10 (£8). Polly Toynbee & David Walker So, what exactly did the Blair/Brown years actually achieve? The authors of The Verdict discuss the New Labour project and its legacy. 3pm, £10 (£8). Dava Sobel The unit-shifting scribe of Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter discusses her latest addition to the popular science field about Copernicus
and the rise of astronomy. 4.30pm, £10 (£8). Denise Mina The Scottish crime- writing queen (or princess or high duchess or whatever monarchically- based moniker you prefer) is here to chat about The End of the Wasp Season, her latest DS Morrow drama. 6.45pm, £10 (£8). Gao Xingjian The Nobel Prize for Literature winner (the first from China to scoop that award) is here to discuss his multi-faceted career as a novelist, playwright, painter and critic. 8.30pm, £10 (£8). Mark Kermode Saturday night must be film night as the very talkative movie critic hooks up with ex-Edinburgh International Film Festival head honcho Hannah McGill to talk about his new book, The Good, the Bad and the Multiplex. I’m sure we can all see what’s he’s done there. SUNDAY 28
Helen Walsh & Urs Widmer In a review of Walsh’s latest novel Go to Sleep, we said her ‘account of one woman’s post-birth disorientation, terror and psychosis is unflinching and significant’. Here, she is joined by Urs Widmer whose My Mother’s Lover tells the tale of a bittersweet affair. 10.15am, £10 (£8). Rodge Glass & Pat Mills Pat Mills wrote Charley’s War, a comic strip which ran from 1979 to the mid-80s concerning an underage soldier in World War I. Rodge Glass recently penned Dougie’s War, a graphic novel about one man’s experience of life after Afghanistan. The pair meet to talk about tackling the terror of war in the comics genre. 12.30pm, £10 (£8). Anne Fine The former Children’s Laureate and acclaimed author of books such as The Diary of a Killer Cat and The Devil Walks delivers a talk on
FOR DETAILS OF ALL EVENTS SEE EDBOOKFEST .CO.UK how she manages to get inspired to pen another book. 2pm, £4.50. AS Byatt The author of A Whistling Woman and Possession discusses the memories of her mother giving her a book about Norse myths sometime during World War II. The result is Ragnarok, her new tome which aims to look at what gives us strength to be able to face up to our own ultimate demise. 3pm, £10 (£8). The New Scottish Writing Alan Taylor, Louise Welsh and Sophie Cooke attend this Open University event to discuss identity, external influences and creative writing courses to see how they might shape (or be shaped by) Scotland’s literary landscape. 5pm, £10 (£8). Javier Cercas When a band of right- wing Francophiles barged their way into the Spanish parliament in 1981 and fired off shots, it became the only coup ever to be filmed live on air. Cercas’ book, The Anatomy of a Moment tells the story of this epochal moment in modern Europe’s history. 7pm, £7 (£5). Andrew Greig Get high with the acclaimed scribe of At the Loch of the Green Corrie and Electric Brae as he discusses his mountain poetry. 8.30pm, £10 (£8).
MONDAY 29
Andrzej Stasiuk Irvine Welsh is a big fan of this writer who will be chatting here about On the Road to Babadag, his collection of travel narratives across central and eastern Europe that unveil the hidden sides to this diverse continent. 2pm, £7 (£5). Barry Miles The archivist of bohemia and the man who ran Indica, London’s first alternative bookshop, survived the 60s and thrived with his music journalism in the 70s. Iain Macwhirter smoothes the wheels for some chat about the cultural and social revolutions Miles witnessed. 3.30pm, £7 (£5). Ingrid Betancourt with Kirsty Wark The Scottish commentator and presenter hosts a heavily-anticipated event with the former Colombian presidential candidate who was nabbed on the campaign trail by guerrillas and held captive for six years. 4.30pm, £10 (£8). Roger McGough The legendary Liverpool poet brings the curtain down on this year’s Children’s Programme with an illustrated talk about his latest kids book. 5pm, £4.50. The Future is Online Doesn’t sound like the most controversial of theories, this, but investigative journo Heather Brooke and Guardian deputy editor Ian Katz will be thoughtfully bashing around some internet-based ideas. 7pm, £10 (£8). Geoff Dyer The man behind such punningly-titled tomes as Jeff in Venice and Paris Trance is in town to chew some fat with Stuart Kelly about penning the perfect essay. 8.30pm, £10 (£8).