John Burnside's appearance at The Edinburgh International Book Festival was instantly noteworthy for the fact that he was not here to discuss new or past work, but instead a novel he...
Claire Tomalin’s work has kept the lives of many of the greatest writers in the public eye of the contemporary world. Her bestseller status is unusual for non-fiction writers, but...
When two authors are billed together there is, generally speaking, an obvious common factor in their work. Stuart McHardy's The Pagan Symbols of the Picts and Gary West's Voicing Scotland:...
Outside, the rain was hammering onto the big tent; inside, things were getting pretty stormy too. The theme was national literature, and Irvine Welsh kicked off with a broadside against...
At times, James Kelman and Liz Lochead’s contribution at the Book Festival wasn’t so much a performance as a fireside chat. Kelman read a mesmerising section from his new book,...
Val McDermid is one of the most successful crime writers in Scotland with 25 best selling novels and several literary rewards – she even has a stand at Raith Rovers'...
The chair of this event, James Runcie, remarked at the start that Hilary Mantel had long been a literary secret, admired by writers and journalists but somewhat ignored by the...
Louise Welsh’s event at this year's Edinburgh Book Festival was a variety box of delights, featuring readings from her latest book, a mini-masterclass in the craft of writing, thoughts on...
An interesting discussion chaired by psychologist Jennifer Wild which considered the interplay between science and literature and their influences on each other in both literature and in the real world. Marcus's...
It’s a difficult proposition to ask the writer and illustrator of a children’s book to discuss their work in front of the kind of mixed-age audience that attended this event....
The first piece of information the audience learned at this event was that James Gleick’s surname is pronounced ‘Glick’. This was an event all about information, focusing on Gleick’s book...
For some reason, David Bellos has been listed as a Scot in the programme, but this is not the case, as he pointed out. He’s actually from England, but of...
Right from the start, David Lammy’s event at the Edinburgh Book Festival was a very personal affair. The MP for Tottenham, tipped by some as a future prime minister, began...
This event saw two ‘giants of the literary world’ discussing their latest works and their origins in two classic pieces of literature. Their ‘follow-on’ novels Silver (Motion) and Chitty Chitty...
'The Two Johnnies', as John Sutherland explained they call themselves, appear regularly as a sort of literary double act. John Sutherland is a respected academic and literary biographer, whose latest...
The Skinny’s second event at the Book Festival will feature two poets who hold down other jobs: Sean Borodale and William Letford
The Skinny’s first sponsored event at this year's Book Festival will feature the near-legendary Glaswegian comics writer Grant Morrison...
Cabaret, in case you ever wondered, refers to an intimate night spot where audiences enjoy alcoholic drinks while listening to short programmes of entertainment. It naturally entails then, as you...
LDM pitches poets, authors and the literati against each other on a stage: a battleshow of words and talent, a global event on a local stage celebrating the best of...
Illicit Ink is one of Edinburgh’s home grown spoken word events, which started as "an accident," says event runner Barbara Melville. A team-up between Writers' Bloc and Napier University creative...
