Books
The Skinny book guide – bringing you book reviews, features, events, reviews and author interviews. Find previews and on the ground reporting from festivals of literature and poetry in Scotland and beyond.
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FestivalsEdinburgh International Book Festival: A National Literature?
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 ... Read more »| 30 Aug 2012 -
FestivalsEdinburgh International Book Festival: Stuart McHardy and Gary West
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 an... Read more »| 30 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: Claire Tomalin
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 ... Read more »| 30 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: John Burnside
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 pas... Read more »| 30 Aug 2012 -
Book Reviews
The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne
Solicitor Daniel Hunter is defending Sebastian Croll, an eleven-year old accused of murdering his eight-year old neighbour – a case with deliberate ech... Read more »| 24 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: Luke Harding
Luke Harding had been working as the Guardian’s Moscow correspondent for four years when Russia refused to renew his press credentials. Stopped at Mo... Read more »| 21 Aug 2012
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FestivalsEdinburgh International Book Festival: Val McDermid
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... Read more »| 20 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: Hilary Mantel
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 somew... Read more »| 20 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: Louise Welsh
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 ... Read more »| 20 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: Charles Fernyhough and Ben Marcus
An interesting discussion chaired by psychologist Jennifer Wild which considered the interplay between science and literature and their influences on each ot... Read more »| 20 Aug 2012 -
FestivalsEdinburgh International Book Festival: Neil Gaiman & Chris Riddell
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 audie... Read more »| 20 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: James Gleick
The first piece of information the audience learned at this event was that James Gleick’s surname is pronounced ‘Glick’. This was an event ... Read more »| 20 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: David Bellos
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 ... Read more »| 20 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: David Lammy
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 p... Read more »| 20 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: Frank Cottrell Boyce & Andrew Motion
This event saw two ‘giants of the literary world’ discussing their latest works and their origins in two classic pieces of literature. Their &lsq... Read more »| 20 Aug 2012