Festival
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HITLIST JULIA DONALDSON The new Children’s Laureate shows up this year as one of the Festival’s guest selectors and in this week’s events she discusses dragons and fairies before helping kids to devise their own short play from a picture book alongside Vivian French and Simon Puttock. See preview, page 31. ■ 13 Aug, 10am, £4.50; 16 Aug, 11am, £7.
Ned Beauman A slimy and icky debut novel in parts it may well have been, but Beauman’s Boxer, Beetle was still one of 2010’s most vital opening literary salvos. See preview, page 32. 14 Aug, 10.15am, £10 (£8).
Caitlin Moran Moran has turned into a heavyweight columnist and literary talent with How to Be a Woman, her take on the current state of feminism, as viewed via a semi-memoir. See preview, page 30. 14 Aug, 12.30pm, £10 (£8). Ali Smith A third Booker nomination may have slipped her by, but there is little doubt that There but for the is one of the top Scottish novels of the year. See feature, page 28. 14 Aug, 11.30am, £10 (£8).
Michael Longley One of the UK and Ireland’s finest poetic talents, and a former winner of the TS Eliot Poetry Prize, gets a chance to air his versey wares in front of his admiring fanbase. See Top 5, page 32. 18 Aug, 10.15am, £10 (£8). Stephen Kelman A debutant with a slot on the Booker longlist, Kelman is a prime example of a chap who followed his dream, no matter what. Pigeon English is now the talk of the town. See preview, page 31. 17 Aug, 3.30pm, £7 (£5).
Alexei Sayle This early 80s pioneer of alternative comedy has settled into a literary career pretty much as though he was born to it. His memoir, Stalin Ate My Homework, is a must-read. See Top 5, page 30. 13 Aug, 8pm, £10 (£8).
Christopher Brookmyre He may now be called Chris to his fans, but thankfully there’s no change in the quality of his novelistic output. Where the Bodies Are Buried is his latest page- turner. See preview, page 30. 16 Aug, 8pm, £10 (£8).
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL 13–29 AUGUST All events in Charlotte Square Gardens Q A&
In his second novel, RICHARD T KELLY conjures up a thrilling romp about three Scottish medics. Here he offers his prognosis on our sickly Q&A Give us five words to describe The Possessions of Doctor Forrest? The ones I’d borrow from reviews would be ‘gothic’, ‘gripping’, ‘spine chilling’ and ‘seductive’. Which author should be more famous than they are now? Everyone ought to read James Lasdun’s superb stories in the 2009 collection It’s Beginning to Hurt. Lasdun has a masterly way of leading his characters from innocence to experience, and his prose shines (and cuts) like a diamond. What do you love about book festivals? Meeting and talking to readers; a refreshing antidote to what writers spend the rest of their time doing . . . What was the last book you read? The Unsettled Dust by Robert Aickman, one of the finest writers of the supernatural. Aickman’s stories conjure a recognisable world that feels wholly foursquare; until you realise that the narrative has been built as a cage, a personal hell, and the protagonist is walking toward death as if in a dream. Which dead author do you wish was still alive today? Gordon Burn was a superb stylist, a keenly questing mind, and a true northerner, who brought real artistry to bear on raw (sometimes terrifying) true-life subject matter, be it politics or poverty, football or serial murder. Whenever there’s a controversial story in the news now, I always think, ‘What would Gordon have made of this?’ (Interview by Brian Donaldson) ■ 13 Aug (with Kevin MacNeil), 10.15am, £10 (£8).
11–18 Aug 2011 THE LIST 27
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