Andrea Levy (2010 event)

Alasdair Gray (2011 event) Thirty years ago Lanark was published, which confirmed Alasdair Gray as the most ferociously inventive Scottish writer of his generation. His output since then has been characterised by a close relationship between his writing… Alexander Masters (2016 Event) In 2001, almost 150 tattered notebooks were discovered in a skip in Cambridge. They were a small part of an intimate diary that began in 1952 and ended half a century later. It took Alexander Masters five years to uncover the identity and real history of… Roddy Doyle reading Los San Patricios Roddy Doyle reading his story Los San Patricios (note: contains strong language). Part of an engaging series of podcasts of leading… Ngugi wa Thiong'o A major, first ever visit to the Book Festival in 2006 from one of the most important living African writers. A legend in his native Kenya, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, now world-renowned, was imprisoned for his opposition and insistence on writing in his native… Billy Bragg Thoroughly at home with an audience, political singer and activist Billy Bragg inspires his hundreds of fans with talk of his new book, The Progressive Patriot in this 2007 event… Andy Hamilton (2017 Event) Comic Andy Hamilton has most likely had you bent double with laughter. As well as appearances on panel shows like Have I Got News For You, he co-created Outnumbered and Drop the Dead Donkey, and has written for everything from Not the Nine O’Clock… Siri Hustvedt with Elif Shafak (2017 Event) From Dickens to Vermeer and psychoanalysis to neuroscience, Siri Hustvedt is a writer of remarkable range and insight. In this event, recorded live at the 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival, she talks to acclaimed Turkish novelist and writer Elif… Outriders: Harry Giles & Katherena Vermette (2017 Event) As part of our Outriders project to explore the Americas, poet Harry Giles travelled across Canada with Métis writer Katherena Vermette. Starting in Montreal amid the buzzy Quebecois writing scene, the two writers travelled to Winnipeg, where Lord Selkirk’… Mary Robinson at the Edinburgh International Book Festival While the realities of climate change are not always visible, the realisation that our grandchildren will live in troubled times can catalyse action. After becoming a grandmother, former Irish president and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary… Chigozie Obioma & Simon Sylvester (2015 Event) Chigozie Obioma’s thrillingly assured debut novel The Fishermen is set in small-town Nigeria, while Simon Sylvester’s seductive debut The Visitors unfolds on a remote Scottish island. Yet despite their disparate locations, these stories are…