Valerie Martin

Chris Packham (2016 Event) As the presenter of BBC's Springwatch, Chris Packham has become one of the nation’s favourite naturalists. But Packham was far from popular as a child: in his brave and lyrical memoir, Fingers in the Sparkle Jar, he recalls life as a solitary child… Michel Faber (2016 Event) The acclaimed author of Under the Skin and The Book of Strange New Things reads from a collection of deeply moving poems entitled Undying. In tender, bittersweet verse, Michel Faber grieves for his wife Eva who died in 2014 after a six year battle with… Frans Timmermans with Gordon Brown: The Way Forward for Europe (2020 Event) In this special conversation recorded live at the 2020 Edinburgh International Book Festival, Timmermans sits down with former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to discuss the politics of environmental change. How much action is needed for meaningful change?… William McIlvanney (2013 Event) Two years ago, fans flocking to see William McIlvanney at the Book Festival shared his exasperation that his seminal crime novels were out of print. Attending that event was Francis Bickmore, editorial director of Canongate, who immediately took action… Salman Rushdie at the Edinburgh International Book Festival One of the most significant writers of our age, Salman Rushdie joins the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 for the worldwide launch of epic novel Quichotte… John Mortimer Utter delight in the company of one of the most effervescent minds in the land, creator of Rumpole of the Bailey and now a wonderful new comic novel, Quite Honestly. This 2006 event with John Mortimer is great fun… Limmy (2017 Event) The short, sharp and funny shock has been Brian Limond aka Limmy’s forte ever since breaking through with his World of Glasgow web series in 2006. After a Scottish BAFTA-winning TV show, Limmy has turned his attention to books of tiny tales (some… David Campbell David Campbell describes his varied working life from English Lit teacher to BBC broadcaster to Celtic storyteller, culminating in his world travels with friend and hero "tinker" storyteller Duncan Williamson, in this lively chat during the 2009… Fatima Bhutto at the Edinburgh International Book Festival In this event recorded live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival, we are thrilled to welcome back Fatima Bhutto to discuss her second novel The Runaways. Published against the backdrop of the Shamima Begum controversy, Bhutto’s novel could… Gina Miller (2018 Event) Gina Miller came to prominence when she successfully took the British government to the Supreme Court, challenging its authority to trigger Article 50, the formal notification to leave the EU, without parliamentary approval. Guyana-born Miller became the…