Festival Books
As with most of the festivals, the Book Festival can be a scary prospect at first glance. Here. we map out a plan which should make the minefield a little easier to negotiate. All events are based in Charlotte Square Gardens. The box office number is 0845 373 5888 and the website is www.edbooldest.co.uk
Saturday 9 August
25th Anniversary Opening Ivent The Book Festival organisers are creating a buzz this year by promising a mystery high-flying politician in conversation with Ian Rankin as their opening birthday event. The guest‘s identity will be unveiled on Fri 8 Aug. 10am, £9 (£7).
A Fistful of Pearls with Illaabeth Laird Collected and re-spun in the award-winning author‘s melodious tongue, Elizabeth Laird presents a collection of traditional Iraqi folk stories. 12.30pm, £3.50.
Russell Ranaque In the opening talk of the Book Festival‘s East and West series. Razzaque explores the impulses behind extremism in the west. 12.30pm. £9 (£7).
Dinosaurs Galore! Paul Geraghty knows everything you would ever want to know about dinosaurs. He can draw them too. If you have a budding palaeontologist on your hands. expect to hear about this show for the rest of the year. 3pm, £3.50.
Louis de Dernieres The author of Captain Corelli ’s Mandolin returns to speak about his new novel, The
Partisan ’s Daughter. 4.30pm, £9 (£ 7). Bill Paterson Auf Wtedersehen, Pet star and stage actor Bill Paterson brings his memoir to the Festival this year. a colourful journey through his childhood and teenage years in Glasgow in the 1950s. 6.30pm, £9 (£7).
Sunday 10 August
Tariq All in Conversation with Gerard De Groot Ali‘s memoir and De Groot’s social history are linked by a binding thread: the I96OS. The writers talk about life in the ‘swinging’ decade, focusing on the events of 1968. 10.30am, £9 (£ 7).
Writing In Scots A workshop for the patriotic writers among you. Learn dialect secrets enough to write your own Waverley from the director of Scottish Language Dictionaries. 11am, £12 (£10). Harris Finds ills Feet with Catherine Rayner After the success of the exquisite Augustus and His Smile Rayner welcomes a new character into her fold in the shape of the floppy—cared, big-footed hare. 12.30pm, £3.50.
lshbel Addyrnan and Ian Kelly Expect swashbuckling and romance as Addyman and Kelly take on the lives and sexual misdemeanours of Casanova and Cyrano de Bergerac and prove that, for these men, fact may be saucier than fiction. 4pm, £9 (£ 7).
Tristan G iseuit The rich magic of this 12th century legend is brought to life by storytellers Ruth Kirkpatrick and Peter Snow accompanied by a single lute. 5pm, £3.50.
John Gimlette In his new travelogue, Gimlette crosses Europe viewing it through the lens of the Second World
www.|ist.co.uk/books
5m W Stage and screen titan Steven Berkoff arrives at Charlotte Square, hot from his Fringe production of On The Waterfront, to discuss his written oeuvre that includes Richard II in New
York and My Life in Food. The talk is structured around Berkoff’s three major passions: food, travel and the theatre.
I 72 Aug, 8pm, £9 (£7).
War. Taking in battle sites, base camps and towns still affected, the traveller unpicks the lasting devastation of the conflict. 8.30pm, £9 ( £ 7).
Monday 1 1 August
The Star Faced Crocodile with David Malling Be one of the first to sample Melling‘s new offering and be led through an hour of friendly words and lovely illustrations. [0.30am, £3.50. Richard Dawidns The controversial evolutionist hits Charlotte Square to talk religion and science with Paula Kirby. Il.30am, £9 (£7).
Gavin Baler, Allan Little 8. Jim Muir in conversation with Tony Grant The reporters from BBC Radio 4’s greatly respected and highly popular From Our Own Correspondent talk about their experiences across the globe. 1.30pm, £9 (£7).
Menzies Campbell Former athlete, cancer survivor and former leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Campbell guides the audience though his whirlwind life in a variety of snapshots from his autobiography. 6.30pm. £9 (£ 7).
Al. Kennedy Fiction writer and stand- up comic Kennedy debuts a wry monologue about the anomalies of a writer’s existence. 8pm, £9 (£ 7). Christopher Rush The author reads and speaks about his smash success Will which unpicks the wiles and words of the bard. 8.30pm, £9 (£7).
Tuesday 12 August
Robert Peston The BBC Business Editor explains the all—encompassing power of the super rich over the British government in this shocking presentation. 10.30am, £9 (£ 7).
David Lodge The renowned author of Nice Work and Author. Author promotes
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his new novel Deaf.S'entence. the story of a man coming to terms with his deafness. 11.30am, [9(1‘7).
Joan Lingard Gather round to hear about the household that is bursting to the seams in The Eleventh Orphan.
l . 30pm. £3. 50.
John Prescott The former Deputy Prime Minister talks unions. green benches and the Blair Years. 1.30pm. £9 (£7).
Stop in the Name of Pants! During the sutnmer in which Angus. Thongs and
Full-frontal finally makes it onto the silver '
screen. see author Louise Rennison and hear about all things Georgia. 5pm. [3.50. The Right to Die Four interesting perspectives debate the controversial issue of euthanasia. 7pm. £9 ( £7).
Wednesday 13 August
Simon Sebag Montetiore 'l‘clevision presenter. historian and now novelist. Monteliore turns his staggering knowledge ofStalin‘s Russia into a rich tale about one woman‘s struggle to survive the regime. [1.30am [9 ([7). Writing Crime Fiction In the year that a thriller has made it onto the Booker prize longlist for the first time. try your hand at crime fiction in this workshop. 2pm. £12 (£10).
Selkie Stories and Crafts Find out about the mysterious sea creature in a series of folktales while you tnake your own selkie puppet. 3pm. £3.50.
Liz Lochhead Poet and dramatist Lochhead discusses the literary status of drama. 3.30pm, t“) ( £7).
Libby Purves The writer and broadcaster talks about her son's suicide and. whilst reading from his powerful journals. discusses her decision to publish it. 4.30pm, £9 (£7).
lan Banks Tcetcring on the boundary between fiction and science fiction,
Banks talks about the Culture Universe, the backdrop to his new book Matter. 8pm, [9 (£7).
f Thursday 14 August
Stephen Bates & Kathleen Burk 'l‘wo authoritative and sensitive voices speak on Anglo-American relations and the cross-pollination of cultural trends. [2.30pm. £9 (£7).
Pip’s Rainbow Wish with Elizabeth Baguley (‘ome and play with the incy- wincy mouse Pip and his friends Milly and Spike. ~lpm. £3.50.
Hamish Brown & Greg Mortenson The two mountaineers describe their adventures in Africa and the Middle East and their deep relationships with the native peoples of those landscapes. 4pm. [9117).
Monsterology with Dr Drake Learn about more magical beasts and their long-lost brothers in this thrilling cscapadc. 5pm. £3.50.
Sergio Della Sala A sell-out last year. the University of Edinburgh‘s Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience explores the relationship between the brain, learning, intelligence and knowledge. 5pm, £5.
1 A C Grayling Is the Enlightenment still
relevant to the way we think almost three centuries after the event? A C Grayling answers a definite yes. and describes how the philosophical, scientific and political movement has affected modern thought. 7pm. [9 f f 7).
Telephone Booking Fringe 0131 226 0000
lntemationai Festival 0131 473 2000 Book Festival 0845 373 5888 Art Festival 07500461332