A C Grayling

Omid Djalili (2014 event) Acclaimed comedian and actor Omid Djalili has produced a joyously funny memoir about growing up and finding fame as a young Iranian in London. He beautifully captures his unique childhood in his parents’ guesthouse, describing meetings with an array… Zakes Mda (2014 event) Winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, Zakes Mda is regarded as one of the most important novelists to have emerged on South Africa’s literary scene since the end of apartheid. The author of more than 20 novels and plays, Mda is now resident in the… Alex Gray and Denise Mina A fantastic hour of crime fiction with two leading ladies of the Scottish crime writing world. Alex Gray's third installment from DCI Lorimer sees him searching for missing school girls and Denise Mina's new book involves a kidnapping and dark secrets in… Paul Muldoon Pulitzer Prize winning poet Paul Muldoon has been called 'the most important English language poet born since the Second World War'. Hear the power of his forthcoming work in this 2006 event… Emma Donoghue and FIona Shaw (2010 event) Listen to two unique writers as they look at love and trauma through a child’s eyes. Emma Donogue’s Room and Fiona Shaw’s Tell it to the Bees are two remarkable works, discussed in depth in this event chaired by Pru Rowlandson… Daniel Gray (2017 Event) Inspired by J B Priestley’s 1949 book Delight, Daniel Gray celebrates 50 reasons to love books in Scribbles in the Margins. His previous book, Saturday, 3pm, did something similar for football. Join the Edinburgh-based author and STV's People'… Jim Al-Khalili (2017 Event) For decades we’ve been told there's something out there. Jim Al-Khalili, host of Radio 4’s The Life Scientific and an inaugural winner of the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication, has been gathering the latest word from within the science… Miguel Syjuco reading Be Here Now The bright and brilliant Filipino-born Man Asian Literary Prize-winner reads his story on the theme of Elsewhere… Patrick Gale (2018 Event) Fans of Patrick Gale, and of Rough Music in particular, will be thrilled to learn that he launches his 16th novel, Take Nothing With You, in this conversation with Eleanor Updale recorded live at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival. The story… Val McDermid & Jo Sharp: Shaping a Better Future (2020 Event) At last year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival, bestselling author Val McDermid and professor of geography Jo Sharp were inspired by the festival theme, We Need New Stories. So inspired, in fact, that they turned to a loveable rogues gallery of…