Jamaica Kincaid: Write Out of Defiance

According to the New York Times, Antiguan-American novelist, essayist and academic Jamaica Kincaid has a ‘poet’s understanding of how politics and history, private and public events, overlap and blur’. This summer, five of her books will be republished, including her 1985 debut Annie John, The Autobiography of My Mother and short story collection, At the Bottom of the River. Join us for a celebration hosted by Jackie Kay, who has written a new introduction to Annie John.

Book Festival News

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

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

Donate

Share

Watch more

Fergal Keane with Allan Little: The Scars of War Reporting Fergal Keane with Allan Little: The Scars of War Reporting ‘The suffering of others was my daily bread.’ This brutally honest, heartfelt assessment of the job of a war reporter is central to Fergal Keane’s memoir, The Madness: a riveting account of how he survived war, fear, and PTSD, against a backdrop of… Mishal Husain: Family, Unravelled Mishal Husain: Family, Unravelled Journalist, newsreader, and presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mishal Husain delves into her family’s past in her memoir, Broken Threads. Connecting fragments from her family history through letters and diaries, Husain discovers how her… Mark Urban speaks with Ruth Wishart at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Mark Urban speaks with Ruth Wishart at the Edinburgh International Book Festival The Salisbury poisoning of Sergei Skripal was one of the strangest stories of 2018. The Kremlin’s presumed involvement turned the case into a circus, but broadcaster Mark Urban has solid evidence, drawn from interviews Skripal gave pre-attack. The Skripal… Alan Cumming: Unpacking a Life Alan Cumming: Unpacking a Life One of Scotland’s favourite entertainers, Alan Cumming proved his command of the written word was just as strong as his command of the stage in 2014, when he became a New York Times bestselling author. His most recent book, Baggage, takes us through his… Alistair Moffat: Walking Scotland's History Alistair Moffat: Walking Scotland's History One of Scotland’s most beloved historians, Alistair Moffat arrives at the Festival with two new books: Between Britain: Walking the History of England and Scotland, and The Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Today, he joins James Jauncey to talk about… Interview - Elif Shafak (2015) Interview - Elif Shafak (2015) Writing in multiple languages was the subject of the day, and we caught up with Turkish writer Elif Shafak before she took to the stage with fellow multi-lingual writer Aleksandar Hemon. We also asked some audience members what they thought about the… Akala (2018 Event) Akala (2018 Event) Race and class have shaped the world of MOBO award-winning hip hop artist, poet and political commentator Akala. In Natives, his searing polemic on race in the UK, he considers his own experiences in both childhood and as an adult, and connects them to… Alain Mabanckou: Rewriting the Congolese Story Alain Mabanckou: Rewriting the Congolese Story On 18 March 1977 at 14.30, the third President of the People’s Republic of the Congo, Marien Ngouabi, is assassinated. In the frenzied aftermath, blame flies and ethnic divides widen, and far away, a family member is murdered for their alleged involvement… Robin Niblett & Yuan Yang: Shaping Our Century Robin Niblett & Yuan Yang: Shaping Our Century Former director of Chatham House, Robin Niblett, who in The New Cold War describes the ongoing geopolitical contest between the US and China. The Financial Times’ Beijing bureau chief Yuan Yang, whose Private Revolutions traces the lives of four Chinese… Anne Donovan, Kirstin Innes, Allan Radcliffe and Jason Donald (2010 event) Anne Donovan, Kirstin Innes, Allan Radcliffe and Jason Donald (2010 event) From the word 'Elsewhere' four writers have created very different tales, Not Scotland, Horror Story, Chicago and Puerto Galera, join chair Jenny Brown and the authors as they discuss their commissions from the Book Festival…