James Kelman (2016 Event)

With the publication of Dirt Road, Scotland’s only Booker Prize winner joins a Scottish publisher for the first time in decades. This brilliantly accessible road movie of a novel arrives with Canongate’s typical panache, alongside a film adaptation of the book. In this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival, James Kelman, the writer described by Amit Chaudhuri as ‘the greatest living British novelist’, discusses perhaps his most significant novel yet with Brian Taylor.

Loading the player... if your browser supports audio and video it should appear in a few moments.
Download MP3

Book Festival News

Celebrating the 2024 Book Festival Celebrating the 2024 Book Festival
Monday 26 August

Enjoying this event? You can help us produce more like it.

Donate

Share

Listen to more

Andrew O'Hagan: Heydays in the Haçienda (2020 Event) Andrew O'Hagan: Heydays in the Haçienda (2020 Event) The fine grain of working-class teenagers’s lives; the blether, the binge-drinking and nights on the pull: Mayflies sees Andrew O’Hagan in scintillating, heartbreakingly good form. He talks with fellow Scottish writer, columnist and doyen of the literary… Joyce Carol Oates (2010 event) Joyce Carol Oates (2010 event) Listen to a significant literary voice as she discusses her two books published in 2010, both of which, in very different ways, involve young people coming to terms with their own sexuality… Julian Clary - with Rhona Cameron Julian Clary - with Rhona Cameron This 2007 podcast features a bit of chat, a sneaky listen to each event and some audience feedback with comedians Julian Clary and Rhona Cameron as they both launch their very first novels at the Book Festival… Brian Boyd - The Curriculum for Excellence Brian Boyd - The Curriculum for Excellence Professor Brian Boyd, contributor to the groundbreaking report The Curriculum for Excellence, examines how to improve the effectiveness of schools and learning for all in this inspirational 2008 event… Edwyn Collins & Grace Maxwell with Ian Rankin (2015 Event) Edwyn Collins & Grace Maxwell with Ian Rankin (2015 Event) ‘Moving beyond words’ was one critic’s response to The Possibilities Are Endless, a documentary charting Edwyn Collins’ return to relative good health after two massive strokes in 2005. That film, and a recent book, were the… Julia Neuberger talks to Richard Holloway at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Julia Neuberger talks to Richard Holloway at the Edinburgh International Book Festival It’s clear that antisemitism remains a problem for British society. But recent headlines have brought more confusion than clarity in debates about the definition of what is understood by the word ‘antisemitic’. Westminster peer and West… Edna O'Brien with Andrew O'Hagan (2011 event) Edna O'Brien with Andrew O'Hagan (2011 event) 'I'm very grateful for Ireland,' said Edna O'Brien in a recent interview. 'It stirs things up in me.' O'Brien came to Edinburgh to discuss her latest book, Saints and Sinners, which includes several stories set in her beloved home country… David Peace David Peace Before his 2009 event, David Peace discusses how and why he creates fiction from real-life incidents, looking at, amongst other writings, his Tokyo Trilogy and Red Riding Quartet… Alain de Botton Alain de Botton What does work mean to us? Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? Alain de Botton's gift for looking deeply behind the ordinary, taken-for-granted things in our lives has won him huge popularity. In this event he brings us The Pleasure and Sorrows of… Neil Griffiths & Richard Powers (2018 Event) Neil Griffiths & Richard Powers (2018 Event) Considered by many to be one of America’s great literary voices, National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Richard Powers presents The Overstory, his seductive and beguiling novel of interlocking stories (now also shortlisted for the 201…