Highlights of the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival

In August 2016, the Edinburgh International Book Festival welcomed over 800 writers, illustrators, poets, politicians and philosophers from 55 countries to Charlotte Square Gardens in a packed programme of passionate ideas, engaged debates and pure entertainment. Here we feature some of the highlights, along with what authors and audiences had to say about their time at the Festival.

You can view events from the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival in full here in our Video Gallery, or find events and author interviews on our YouTube channel.

Book Festival News

Communities Programme participants celebrate success of 2024 Communities Programme participants celebrate success of 2024
Friday 13 December

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Alison Bechdel: Can Exercise Fix Us? Alison Bechdel: Can Exercise Fix Us? Yoga with Adriene, wild-swimming, step-trackers, Strava: just a few of the trends that have dominated the fitness industry – and our lives – in recent years. What does our fitful relationship with exercise tell us about who we are today? American… Arundhati Roy: Portal to a New World Arundhati Roy: Portal to a New World We are thrilled to welcome back one of the world’s best-respected authors to discuss her new book of essays, Azadi. The slogan of the struggle in Kashmir for what Kashmiris regard as the Indian occupation, ‘Azadi!’ is the Urdu for ‘Freedom!’. It also… Val McDermid & Jo Sharp: Shaping a Better Future Val McDermid & Jo Sharp: Shaping a Better Future 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… Natasha Brown & Olivia Sudjic: Unravelling Lives Natasha Brown & Olivia Sudjic: Unravelling Lives How do we manage the carefully assembled pieces of our lives, and what happens when events out of our control leave us exposed? These questions seem to haunt both Olivia Sudjic’s Asylum Road, and Natasha Brown’s Assembly. In Sudjic’s intensely atmospheric… Hans Ulrich Obrist: Art for Earth’s Sake Hans Ulrich Obrist: Art for Earth’s Sake What is the role of an art exhibition space, if not a forum for ideas and a catalyst for change? That’s the view of Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries in London and one of the world’s most prominent curators. An inveterate… Reverend Jesse Jackson (2015 Event) Reverend Jesse Jackson (2015 Event) One of the best-respected and most formidable civil rights activists of the 20th century, the Reverend Jesse Jackson worked for Martin Luther King in the 1960s. During his later political career, he specialised in high-profile international diplomacy… Ian Rankin talks to Phill Jupitus at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Ian Rankin talks to Phill Jupitus at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Since Ian Rankin’s appearance at last year’s Book Festival, his iconic detective Rebus has made his stage debut in Long Shadows and is set to star in a television series by Black Watch playwright Gregory Burke. Rankin’s latest, In a House of Lies, is a… Nana Oforiatta Ayim & Barnaby Phillips: Returning the Loot Nana Oforiatta Ayim & Barnaby Phillips: Returning the Loot 124 years ago, the British government sent 1,200 soldiers and sailors to invade the Kingdom of Benin in West Africa. This was just one of many so-called 'Punitive Expeditions' launched across the continent by the British Empire. Benin’s soldiers, armed… James Robertson (2010 Event) James Robertson (2010 Event) Winner of the Saltire Book of the Year award, James Robertson talks to James Naughtie to launch his novel And the Land Lay Still - in an event full of humour and surprises… Val McDermid & Jo Sharp: Imagine Another Country Val McDermid & Jo Sharp: Imagine Another Country Two years ago, inspired by Book Festival discussions about the necessity of imagination for political change, Val McDermid and Geographer Royal for Scotland Jo Sharp invited a diverse group of people to share their ideas. This summer a post-pandemic…