What's On at Jura Unbound 2015

Sun 16 August
Trading Stories
Jura Unbound 2015 takes flight with a night of seductive international short stories. Join us on our journey with Denmark’s Dorthe Nors, author of Karate Chop; Ireland’s Mary Costello reading from her debut collection, The China Factory, USA’s Molly Antopol whose collection is The UnAmericans; and David Gates, whose A Hand Reached Down to Guide Me, is his first book for a decade.

Mon 17 August
There Was a Crazy Guy
Colin MacIntyre has long been beguiling us with his music as Mull Historical Society and this year he celebrates with a Best Of… album and the release of his debut novel, The Letters of Ivor Punch. In a lively evening of songs and stories, Colin teams up with author and musician John Darnielle, whose Wolf in White Van is hailed as a ‘meditation on monstrosity, escape and transformation’ and Etgar Keret, author of The Seven Good Years.

Tue 18 August
Born to be Wide
Famed for the chart-topping hit These Boots Are Made for Walkin’, musician Lee Hazlewood's comeback in 1999 is the focus of Wyndham Wallace's Lee, Myself and I. He makes his Jura Unbound debut alongside TV and radio journalist Stuart Cosgrove, author of Detroit 67, which describes an incredible period of social change and musical revolution.

Wed 19 August
Head North, My Friend!
After fantastic celebrations of writing from Iraq and Syria in past Jura Unbound editions, we leave the heat and sand of the Middle East behind and head north with Highlight Arts to the icy Arctic wilderness for literary explorations and translations. Join your intrepid expedition leader, Ryan Van Winkle, as he brings you work from Shetland, Finland and Iceland with Ragnar Jónasson, Jessie Kleemann, Niillas Holmberg and more.

Thu 20 August
Squash and a Squeeze with The Donaldsons
Julia and Malcolm Donaldson are legends of children's literature, well known for characters such as The Gruffalo. For one night only, they are escaping the Fringe to stay up late and play Jura Unbound. Discover their folk hits from when they busked on the streets of Bristol and get intimate in an audience game of Squash and a Squeeze. Destined to be a classic!

Fri 21 August
Bingo, Beats & Bigmouths
Babble On co-producers, BIGMOUTH set the stage alight with some pulsating performances. There will be music from lo-fi punk superstars Art Brut plus an Edinburgh exclusive of Eddie Argos’ spoken word show, Formed A Band. Get your dabbers ready as Ringo: Music Bingo offers unbridled joy with the world’s greatest comedy music game; plus show-stopping poetry from spoken word legends Jemima Foxtrot & host Luke Wright.

Sat 22 August
Fight for your Right
HOMEWORK is a literary cabaret in Bethnal Green run by a formidable bratpack of writer-performers. Each month they produce new work on a different theme and tonight celebrates 800 years of the Magna Carta with Ross Sutherland, Molly Naylor and Joe Dunthorne. The results are often engagingly shambolic, but never short of fascinating.

Sun 23 August
The Skinny Night
The Skinny magazine is Jura Unbound's longstanding media partner and has been documenting the Scottish cultural scene for nearly a decade. In celebration of their impending 10th birthday, they pitch up in the Spiegeltent with award-winning novelist (and former Skinny contributor) Sean Michaels, for a night of multidisciplinary madness, live readings and theremins. Lydia Kavina, theremin virtuosa and the last protegée of the instrument's inventor, Lev Termin, will be making a special appearance to share some of her extensive repertoire. 

Mon 24 August
A Little Slice of Italy
Dan Gunn's The Emperor of Ice Cream explores the lives, loves and betrayal of Italian immigrants in Edinburgh before World War II; Massimo Bocchiola is an acclaimed Italian writer and translator, who translates Irvine Welsh's works. They are joined by Edinburgh-based Italian folk troop The Badwills to bring a little slice of Italy to Charlotte Square Gardens.

Tue 25 August
Happily Never After
Once upon a time there was a family of story-tellers and spoken word performers who lived in a magical mirrored tent. One day, an audience descended on this peaceful, boozy home and demanded to be entertained. They tried poetry, but it was a little too sweet. They tried short stories but found them a little salty. Then, they tried Jura Unbound, featuring Illicit Ink, it was just right. Mischievous, and comedic, twisted fairytales you've been waiting for.

Wed 26 August
Vic Galloway and Friends
In the past Vic Galloway has given us Songs in the Key of Fife and shared rude jokes with King Creosote and James Yorkston but tonight the hardest working man in music brings together a heady mix of singer-songwriters and debut novelists to raise the roof on the Spiegeltent and celebrate the best of the Scottish indie scene.

Thu 27 August
Neu! Reekie!
Welcome back to the devilishly dirty decadence of Neu! Reekie!. 2015 has been a killer year for hosts Michael Pedersen and Kevin Williamson: their first book was published, their show #UntitledLive was headlined by Young Fathers and gigs in Japan were followed by a whistle-stop tour around Scotland. They've created something extra naughty for Jura Unbound 2015; come and revel in it.

Fri 28 August
Sounds of the City
Three writers with stunning novels read gritty stories of urban cities, streetfighting men and women, packing heat and punches. Marlon James’ atmospheric A Brief History of Seven Killings tells of the attempted assassination of Bob Marley; Ryan Gattis's visceral All Involved follows LA gangs after the ’92 riots; and Lisa McInerney's mischievous The Glorious Heresies sees a group of misfits mishandling a murder.

Sat 29 August
Stripped but not Bound
Stripped is the Book Festival's strand celebrating graphic novels and comics. Publisher No Brow have created a fresh little format for graphic novels in their 17x23 project – join graphic novelists William Exley, Andy Poyiadgi and Joe Sparrow as they lead an interactive Jura Unbound night. It’s like colouring-in books for adults, with added edge.

Sun 30 August
Rally & Broad: The Interpretation Edition
Rally & Broad creators Jenny Lindsay and Rachel McCrum present The Interpretation Edition. Artists explore translation, interpretation and communication and what happens when we don't understand each other. A mischievous creative investigation bringing together art forms and celebrating the wonder of words, all delivered in the inimitable Rally & Broad style.

Mon 31 August
Bang Bang!
When the smoke has cleared and the last rocket popped above the castle, head to our Spiegeltent for the finale of Jura Unbound 2015. A little shorter but full of firecrackers, we'll be going down in a blaze of glory! Kicks off at 10.15pm.