Henning Mankell

Sarah Howe & William Letford (2016 Event) We were thrilled to open the 2016 Festival with two of the most powerful young voices in British poetry. Sarah Howe's debut collection Loop of Jade won the 2016 T S Eliot Prize for Poetry and was described as ‘original, exquisite, erudite and adventurous.’… Jokha Alharthi at the Edinburgh International Book Festival In May 2019, Jokha Alharthi became the first Arabic language writer to win the Man Booker International Prize for her searing novel Celestial Bodies. She also became the first female Omani novelist to be translated into English thanks to Marilyn Booth… Jasper Fforde (2018 Event) Jasper Fforde has spent years on the bestseller lists with his Thursday Next books. Now he’s written a standalone novel, Early Riser, creating a world where all humans hibernate except for the Winter Consuls. Fforde’s ability to write… Fay Weldon She's stylish, sharp, satirical and a great speaker to boot. A free spirit with a long and remarkable writing career, Fay Weldon talks in this 2007 event about her latest novel The Spa Decameron, in which ten women gather at a spa for pampering, new… 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… Bonnie Greer (2014 event) Best known in the UK as a dispassionate commentator on BBC Newsnight Review and Question Time, even when sitting beside the leader of the BNP, Bonnie Greer has now written the first volume of her memoirs, A Parallel Life. In this event, recorded live at… John Byrne (2011 event) Painter and set designer, playwright and novelist, John Byrne is one of Scotland’s great polymaths. Best known for his plays the Slab Boys Trilogy and Tutti Frutti, Byrne has also designed record sleeves for Donovan and The Beatles… Jackie Kay A captivating hour of poetry from Jackie Kay, a Book Festival favourite whose events regularly sell-out, this being no exception. Listen to her words, revel in the language. Definitely one to listen to again and again… Oscar Guardiola-Rivera (2014 event) Colombian-born writer Oscar Guardiola-Rivera’s riveting Story of a Death Foretold lays bare the Cold War paranoia and rabid anti-communism which led to the downfall of Salvador Allende, Latin America’s first democratically-elected Marxist… Louise Welsh reading Vanishing Point The popular Scottish novelist reads her exclusive short story as part of our Elsewhere series of podcasts…