Sam Baker & Carol Birch (2016 Event)

Man Booker Prize-shortlisted novelist Carol Birch presents her new book Orphans of the Carnival, which features powerful female characters separated by centuries and continents. Meanwhile, former editor of RED magazine and co-founder of The Pool, Sam Baker introduces The Woman Who Ran – a compulsive psychological thriller about Helen Graham, a new arrival in a tiny Yorkshire village. Two brilliant novels about strong women. They chat to Viv Groskop in this event recorded live at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival.

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

Watch more

Val McDermid: Portrait of a Criminal Val McDermid: Portrait of a Criminal With Val McDermid’s iconic detective soon set to hit our screens, it couldn’t be a more perfect time to revisit Police Scotland's Historic Cases Unit and the savvy, no-nonsense DCI Karen Pirie. A thrilling new head-scratcher from the undisputed ‘Queen of… Pussy Riot's Maria Alyokhina with Yanis Varoufakis (2018 Event) Pussy Riot's Maria Alyokhina with Yanis Varoufakis (2018 Event) 'To back down an inch is to give up a mile,' says Maria Alyokhina in Riot Days, her account of Pussy Riot’s extraordinary rise to infamy in 2012. Following an iconoclastic balaclava-clad performance in a Moscow cathedral, Alyokhina and two of her… Diana Gabaldon (2014 event) Diana Gabaldon (2014 event) The Outlander books by Arizona-based author Diana Gabaldon have achieved sales figures that would make your eyes water. Little wonder that Doune Castle was recently besieged by fans keen to see the TV version being filmed. The latest instalment, Written… Interview - David Reynolds (2015) Interview - David Reynolds (2015) We had a quick chat with the brilliant writer David Reynolds about his fascinating journey down Highway 83 before his event in Charlotte Square Gardens. Find out from some audience members to see what they thought about the event. You can see David's… Stephen Collins & Tom Gauld (2013 event) Stephen Collins & Tom Gauld (2013 event) Two critically acclaimed Guardian cartoonists delve into their charmingly surreal comic worlds… Judith Bryan, S I Martin & Nicola Williams with Bernardine Evaristo: Black Britain, Writing Back  Judith Bryan, S I Martin & Nicola Williams with Bernardine Evaristo: Black Britain, Writing Back  Winning the Booker Prize in 2019 changed everything for Bernardine Evaristo. But as well as enjoying international fame for herself, Evaristo has been able to turn up the volume on something she has been doing for years: championing the work of other… Charles Yu: Smashing Hollywood Stereotypes Charles Yu: Smashing Hollywood Stereotypes What does it take for an actor to attain the status that gives them the tag of ‘Special Guest Star’ in a TV series? It takes something extra – and particularly so if you are an actor of Asian heritage, trying to break through in Hollywood. Charles Yu, an… Leila Aboulela & Alessandro Gallenzi (2015 Event) Leila Aboulela & Alessandro Gallenzi (2015 Event) Born in Sudan and for many years a resident of Aberdeen, Leila Aboulela injects a healthy dose of Scotland into her latest novel, The Kindness of Enemies. It opens in Scotland in 2010, and then journeys back to a time of war in 19th century Russia… Rachel Clarke, Gavin Francis & Kate Mosse: Care in the Time of COVID Rachel Clarke, Gavin Francis & Kate Mosse: Care in the Time of COVID To paraphrase Susan Sontag, every person who is born holds dual citizenship: in the kingdom of the well, and the kingdom of the sick. The past year has seen an unimaginable number of people pass between these two places causing an unquantifiable amount of… James Kelman: Class Act James Kelman: Class Act It’s impossible to overstate the importance of James Kelman and his landmark 1994 Booker Prize win for Scottish literature. Nearly 30 years on, we welcome Kelman back to the Festival to speak with writer Graeme Armstrong on God's Teeth and Other Phenomena…