2015 Edinburgh International Book Festival
41 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 8 years ago -Authors from 55 different countries appeared at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2015. Internationally renowned writers and thinkers from around the world gathered in Charlotte Square Gardens, the Book Festival’s home, to trade stories, share ideas, inspire audiences and answer questions. Old favourites, bestsellers and award-winners rubbed shoulders with newcomers (the literary stars of tomorrow?) to talk about their books and discuss the important topics of today. You can listen to some of the author events and discussions in this free series of podcasts – a small selection of what went on in Edinburgh during August 2015.
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Episodes
The Literacy Revolution at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
November 21, 2015 11:06 - 59 minutes - 40.5 MBAccording to UNESCO, every region of the world during the last 20 years has seen gains in literacy rates, but the situation remains highly uneven. To what extent can this improvement be attributed to the urbanisation of populations across the world and the role of libraries in the culture of cities? The panel includes: Sergio Fajardo, one of the best-known political figures in Colombia who as mayor of Medellin oversaw a highly successful campaign to improve literacy in the city by placing lib...
Cédric Villani at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
November 18, 2015 07:10 - 54 minutes - 37.7 MBForget about the maths you learned at school; the charismatic Cédric Villani has a gift for revealing the beauty and magic of mathematics at the highest level. Dubbed a ‘rock-star mathematician’, the French winner of the maths world’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize takes us on an inspiring, charming journey through his intellectual discoveries in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Monica Cantieni & Sunjeev Sahota at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
November 17, 2015 07:27 - 59 minutes - 40.8 MBMonica Cantieni’s The Encyclopaedia of Good Reasons, translated by Donal McLaughlin, tells the deeply moving story of a young girl’s long wait for adoption into a Swiss family, and into a German-speaking community. Whilst Sunjeev Sahota’s much-anticipated second novel, The Year of the Runaways, describes the dreams and struggles of a group of young Indian men searching for a new life in Sheffield. Hear how these two authors powerfully explore the immigrant experience in this event, recorded l...
SJ Watson at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
November 16, 2015 07:26 - 57 minutes - 39.6 MBHonesty is Not the Best Policy in Crime Fiction S J Watson can count Dennis Lehane and Lionel Shriver among his fans for his crime debut Before I Go to Sleep, which was later made into a movie with Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. The Midlands-born author opens up a shadowy world of identity, lies and secrets as he delivers a follow-up psychological thriller entitled Second Life.
Edwyn Collins & Grace Maxwell with Ian Rankin at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
November 11, 2015 06:55 - 47 minutes - 32.4 MB‘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 subjects of conversation in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, between Collins, his devoted wife Grace Maxwell and Ian Rankin, who has been a fan of the songwriter’s work since the days of 80s indie band Orange Juice and Postcard Recor...
Ziauddin Sardar at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
November 09, 2015 07:14 - 56 minutes - 38.8 MBThe Future of Mecca Born in Pakistan and raised in Hackney, Ziauddin Sardar is one of the most respected experts on Islam and is utterly fascinated by Mecca. Sardar has retraced its history from a barren valley in the desert to becoming arguably the most significant city in the world today. But what does the future hold for a location which contains immense meaning both to the Middle East and the West? Part of our The Changing Middle East series of events.
Reading the City at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
November 06, 2015 07:14 - 57 minutes - 39.6 MBHow do you navigate Edinburgh as a city of literature? Is there a map? Hosted by Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust, award-winning author and poet James Robertson is your guide to exploring the literary landscape of the city through time and as seen by different writers. Where are the hotspots which provided the most inspiration? Where are the quiet corners? Take a tour without moving a muscle.
Tom McCarthy at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
November 04, 2015 07:25 - 56 minutes - 38.5 MBIs Tom McCarthy a J G Ballard for the 21st century? Or is he just bullshitting? McCarthy would probably claim he’s somewhere in between. The Man Booker shortlisted author’s hugely entertaining, densely imaginative novel Satin Island introduces us to U, a ‘corporate anthropologist’ commissioned to write an epoch-defining Great Report, only to be overwhelmed by images and information. McCarthy explains his ideas to Stuart Kelly in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Fe...
Matt Haig at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
November 02, 2015 06:56 - 55 minutes - 38.1 MBAward-winning author Siobhan Dowd died in 2007, bequeathing her royalties to a trust which aims to bring the joy of reading to those who need it most. This year the Siobhan Dowd Trust Memorial Lecture is delivered by novelist Matt Haig, whose books for children, teens and adults brilliantly and cleverly explore the stories that connect us and what it means to be human. Chaired by Tony Bradman.
Museums and Libraries at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
October 30, 2015 07:32 - 1 hour - 42.9 MBMuseums and galleries dominate as destinations, attracting record numbers of visitors to blockbuster shows. Meanwhile libraries are facing a funding crisis and are increasingly asked to justify their existence. What can libraries learn from museums, and what do they offer that museums cannot? Tony Marx, president of the New York Public Library; Richard Sennett, professor of sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science and author of books on culture and cities; and Clement...
Meera Syal at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
October 28, 2015 07:03 - 57 minutes - 39.2 MBAcclaimed actor, screenwriter and author of Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee, Meera Syal returned to Edinburgh for the first time since 2000 to discuss her new novel. The House of Hidden Mothers moves between East London’s Little India and a village in rural India in a devastatingly moving story that shows the lengths some women will go to when they want to have a child. Chaired by Lee Randall, this event was recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Kirstin Innes & Melinda Nadj Abonji at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
October 26, 2015 07:07 - 56 minutes - 38.7 MBTwo novels which tackle issues of work and family head on. Kirstin Innes’ Fishnet takes us deep into the world of sex workers with Fiona hunting for the sister who went missing years previously, finding herself in a world she never knew existed. Melinda Nadj Abonji’s novel won prizes in Germany and Switzerland and Fly Away, Pigeon, which was translated into English by Tess Lewis, tells the story of families torn between fresh starts abroad and missing home. Part of our First Book Award Nomi...
Joe Sumner & Evie Wyld at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
October 23, 2015 05:56 - 55 minutes - 38.2 MBEvie Wyld is fast shooting to international fame as a novelist. Already the winner of Australia’s prestigious Miles Franklin Prize for All the Birds, Singing, her writing career takes a thrilling new turn in a graphic memoir, Everything Is Teeth, that she’s produced together with illustrator Joe Sumner. Their discussion about this beautifully beguiling book is chaired by Joe Gordon and recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Greg Proops at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
October 21, 2015 06:04 - 58 minutes - 40.1 MBGreg Proops is well-known for his appearances on the improv comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and for his hit podcast The Smartest Man in the World. Downloaded over 9 million times, it’s a weekly online radio show recorded live from different locations around the world. Now comes The Smartest Book in the World, a compendium of Proops’ insights on a huge array of subjects from politics and history to music and film. Listen to the charming know-it-all comedian in his event chaired by Lee Ran...
Johann Hari at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
October 19, 2015 06:54 - 57 minutes - 39.2 MBIt’s a century since drugs were first banned in the United States, thus unleashing a war against narcotics that has raged ever since. Journalist Johann Hari conducted a three-year investigation into the reality of drugs and now presents Chasing the Scream, a game-changing book on the subject. Lively, highly personal and often poignant, Hari’s book questions the notion of ‘drug addiction’ and makes a powerful case for decriminalisation. In his event, chaired by Kevin Williamson, he asks the fu...
Why I Call Myself a Feminist at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
October 16, 2015 06:17 - 1 hour - 48.7 MBIn this event entitled “a Rally, a Rant, a Story, a Song, a Protest, a Poem”, women – and men – take to the mike for five minutes each to tell us why they call themselves feminists. Authors Val McDermid, Christopher Brookmyre, Elif Shafak and Andrew O’Hagan; activists Emma Laurie and Caroline Criado-Perez; stand-up comic Nish Kumar; playwright Jo Clifford; and poets Robin Robertson and Natasha Kanapé Fontaine make a stand. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Chigozie Obioma and Simon Sylvester at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
October 13, 2015 18:48 - 1 hour - 42.7 MBChigozie Obioma’s thrillingly assured debut novel The Fishermen is set in small-town Nigeria, while Simon Sylvester’s seductive debut The Visitors unfolds on a remote Scottish island. Yet despite their disparate locations, these stories are united by the presence of mysterious outsider figures, whose unsettling effect on the community drives the tension. These two highly promising authors share their ideas with Economist literary editor Fiammetta Rocco in this event, recorded live at the Edin...
Ryan Gattis and Marlon James at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
October 13, 2015 17:02 - 58 minutes - 40.1 MBImages of the 1992 LA riots were beamed across the world as six days of violence left a city bruised and broken. In All Involved, Ryan Gattis concocts a novel from separate voices of those whose story wasn’t told. The 1976 attempted murder of Bob Marley is the starting point for A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James’ multi-character tale featuring ghosts, beauty queens and Keith Richards’ drug dealer. Two ground-breaking novelists discuss their work in this event, recorded live at t...
Hyeonseo Lee at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
October 12, 2015 05:58 - 57 minutes - 39.3 MBAs a child of Kim Il-sung’s North Korea, a teenage Hyeonseo Lee believed the Dear Leader was her saviour, even holding on to that faith after she’d fled the country to live with relatives in China. Subsequently, Lee fought for the rest of her family to join her over the border in the South. In The Girl with Seven Names she tells her incredible story, and reveals human rights abuses that have largely been kept secret. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Nicola Morgan at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
October 09, 2015 06:43 - 1 hour - 41.7 MBWhat is the 21st Century Doing to Our Teenagers? Nicola Morgan, author of Blame My Brain and The Teenage Guide to Stress, reveals the science and psychology of teenage brains and the many challenges adolescents face, such as exams, friendships and anxiety disorders. Morgan believes that books can help us make sense of our problems and argues passionately for the power of reading for pleasure and for ‘readaxation’. An enlightening hour. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Henrietta Bowden-Jones, Erin Saltman & Åsne Seierstad with Lennie Goodings at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
October 07, 2015 06:23 - 58 minutes - 40.2 MBWhat draws women to the extremes of war? Åsne Seierstad, acclaimed author of The Bookseller of Kabul and a seasoned war reporter, talks about being on the frontline; Erin Saltman, Senior Counter Extremism Researcher from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, tells us what makes young women slip from their families to go to Syria; and Imperial College psychiatrist Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones explores the behavioural science behind it all. Together with Lennie Goodings they discuss women and extr...
Julian Barnes at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
October 05, 2015 05:39 - 58 minutes - 53.8 MBOne of our finest writers, Julian Barnes first wrote about art in his novel A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Since then, the Man Booker Prize-winning author has written a series of scintillating essays on a range of artists as diverse as Géricault, Cézanne and Lucian Freud. He discusses his ideas and his book Keeping An Eye Open with broadcaster and Royal Academy artistic programmes director Tim Marlow, in this event recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
John Boyne at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
October 02, 2015 06:06 - 1 hour - 41.4 MBAuthor of multi-million bestseller The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, John Boyne has unleashed his next book for younger readers, Stay Where You Are and Then Leave. It tells the story of a boy's search for his father during the First World War. For adults, Boyne looks closer to home with A History of Loneliness, a fiction about the priesthood. Why did it take so long for Boyne to write about his native Ireland? Hear Boyne discuss his books and answer this and other questions in this event record...
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown & Bidisha at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
September 30, 2015 11:25 - 58 minutes - 39.9 MBYasmin Alibhai-Brown is one of Britain’s most important commentators on multiculturalism: in Exotic England she describes ‘a curious nation’ that has developed thanks to its long history of immigration. Bidisha is a writer and human rights journalist whose book Asylum and Exile depicts the bravery of people who have left everything behind to seek sanctuary on this island. The two writers get together in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, to discuss what na...
George the Poet at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
September 28, 2015 11:14 - 55 minutes - 38 MBGeorge Mpanga is the 24 year old Cambridge-educated wordsmith who has attracted attention and accolades with his socio-political verse and urban beats, including a nomination for the BBC Music Sound of 2015. Born to Ugandan parents and brought up in London, Mpanga presents Search Party, his first collection of verse brimming with his trademark mix of wit, honesty and rhythm to articulate the voice of a new generation. In this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, ...
Limmy at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
September 25, 2015 07:42 - 1 hour - 49.4 MBAppearing at the Edinburgh International Book Festival for the first time with his first book, Daft Wee Stories, Brian Limond, aka Limmy, has been making a big splash for some years. Having emerged with his online series of dark yet oddly loveable Glasgow characters, he has taken the next step by creating the BAFTA-winning Limmy’s Show. What does he envisage as the future for Dee Dee, Falconhoof and the irrepressible Jacqueline McCafferty? This event was recorded live at the Edinburgh Interna...
Caroline Lucas at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
September 23, 2015 10:17 - 55 minutes - 53.2 MBHer book won’t make Caroline Lucas very popular with the Westminster establishment. In Honourable Friends? the first UK Green MP reveals the secret workings of parliamentary life and suggests that we could be governed so much better. As a lone voice at her workplace, Lucas is the ideal outsider – perfectly positioned to bring fresh ideas to the creaking Westminster system, and in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, she shares her stories.
Chen Guangcheng at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
September 23, 2015 06:47 - 50 minutes - 34.4 MBAs Hillary Clinton campaigns for the US presidential nomination, she will perhaps not be helped by the testimony of Chen Guangcheng, the Chinese dissident who escaped house arrest in Dongshigu and sought refuge in the US Embassy in 2012. Chen’s memoir, The Barefoot Lawyer, reveals his view of the flawed diplomacy between Clinton and the Chinese government, and details his work with Chinese women who suffered abuse under the One Child policy. He discusses his campaigning and his memoir with au...
Terry Waite at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
September 21, 2015 12:38 - 54 minutes - 37.3 MBAs special envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Terry Waite spent plenty of time not only in the company of Robert Runcie, but also his son James. Then, he was kidnapped in Beirut. Upon his release, Waite continued his charity work, befriended his former captors, and has now written a comic novel. In this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, he talks to James Runcie (himself now a leading writer) about surviving a nightmare and coping with the aftermath.
David Hare at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
September 18, 2015 06:27 - 1 hour - 41.4 MBOne of the most celebrated writers of his generation, David Hare’s notable plays include Plenty, Skylight and The Absence of War. In this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Hare discusses his powerful and often very funny memoir, The Blue Touch Paper, which takes him from his days as a student at Oxford through to the 1970s and his early breakthroughs as a playwright. He talks to fellow playwright and former Channel 4 Head of Drama, Peter Ansorge.
Jenny Erpenbeck with Michel Faber at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
September 16, 2015 09:27 - 1 hour - 41.4 MBIf you only read one novel this year, make it The End of Days. A book that takes a series of surprising turns, it confirms German author Jenny Erpenbeck as ‘one of the finest, most exciting authors alive’. That reviewer was fellow novelist Michel Faber, who talks to Erpenbeck about a novel in which the heroine, over the course of a long 20th century life, meets death several times, yet still keeps on going. This event was recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Jussi Adler-Olsen at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
September 11, 2015 07:20 - 57 minutes - 40 MBBestselling Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen arrived in Charlotte Square Gardens for his first appearance in Edinburgh, delighting fans and newcomers to his work. The creator of the Department Q novels has sold over 10 million copies of his books worldwide and in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, he discusses his first ever work of fiction, the heart-stopping thriller Alphabet House, now published in English for the first time and translated by Steve Schein.
Viv Albertine with Ian Rankin at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
September 09, 2015 06:16 - 55 minutes - 38.7 MB‘You’re in for a hell of a ride now,’ says Viv Albertine in Clothes, Music, Boys. And she’s dead right: with breathtaking honesty, Albertine describes her wild and often shocking experiences as a guitarist in the all-girl 1970s reggae-punk band The Slits. Equally fascinating is her account of life after punk; of motherhood, family and a return to music. She discusses her rollercoaster story with crime writer and music fan Ian Rankin, in an event recorded live at the Edinburgh International Bo...
Alan Cumming with Ian Rankin at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
September 09, 2015 06:15 - 55 minutes - 38 MBTwo of Scotland’s most successful creative talents hook up for this unmissable event. Alan Cumming made waves with a memoir about his tough upbringing, Not My Father's Son, the details of which came flooding back upon receiving a call out of the blue from his estranged father. Cumming discusses his life and acting career that has turned him into the darling of Broadway and Hollywood with bestselling crime novelist Ian Rankin. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Alan Johnson at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
September 07, 2015 05:48 - 53 minutes - 37 MBAmid a slew of politicians’ memoirs in recent years, Alan Johnson’s This Boy was comfortably among the finest: one critic called it ‘the best political testament I’ve ever read’. The former Home Secretary returns to the Book Festival with his sequel, Please, Mister Postman, which takes a nostalgic journey back in time and paints a vivid picture of Britain in the 1970s and in this Edinburgh International Book Festival event, recorded live, he talks to Scottish journalist and broadcaster Ruth W...
Val McDermid with Nicola Sturgeon at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
September 03, 2015 05:59 - 1 hour - 42.6 MBThe Diamond Dagger-winning Fifer has built a vast fan-base over the years thanks to her number one bestselling novels that have sold over 11 million copies. One of Val McDermid’s better-known readers recently became Scotland’s First Minister and in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Nicola Sturgeon meets McDermid to discuss Splinter the Silence and Stranded, a book of scintillating, nail-biting short stories that range from passion and revenge in St Peters...
Libraries in the Digital Age at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
August 31, 2015 06:13 - 58 minutes - 40.5 MBWith the world’s knowledge accessible from anywhere via a computer screen, why should we continue to value physical spaces for literacy? In this discussion, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, we hear from key thinkers on libraries. Robyn Marsack is director of the Scottish Poetry Library, the world’s only purpose-built library for poetry. Claire Warwick is Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Research at Durham University and is concerned with the way we encounter reading and cultu...
Jesse Jackson at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
August 28, 2015 06:05 - 1 hour - 41.8 MBOne of the best-respected and most formidable civil rights activists of the 20th century, the Reverend Jesse Jackson worked for Martin Luther King in the 1960s. During his later political career, he specialised in high-profile international diplomacy, negotiating with Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milošević among others. In this keynote event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Jackson discusses a life of campaigning for black rights and human understandin...
Shami Chakrabarti at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
August 26, 2015 05:28 - 1 hour - 42 MB'The Most Dangerous Woman in Britain' A day after Shami Chakrabarti joined the campaigning organisation Liberty, New York’s Twin Towers were attacked. Ever since, she has fought a passionate campaign for human rights in the face of ASBOs, control orders and the War on Terror. In her book On Liberty, Chakrabarti argues that national security should never compromise human rights and vows to continue the battle against violations such as slavery and gender inequality. Chaired by Kate Mosse. Pa...
Kate Tempest with Don Paterson at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
August 24, 2015 15:49 - 54 minutes - 49.7 MBStill in her twenties, the ferociously-talented Kate Tempest has been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, won the Ted Hughes Prize for innovation in poetry and secured a novel contract with Bloomsbury. In this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Tempest discusses her full-length poetry collection, Hold Your Own, with the acclaimed Scottish poet Don Paterson. As Tempest’s poetry editor, Paterson is well placed to ask her about the collection one critic called ‘a g...
Paul Merton at Edinburgh International Book Festival (edbookfest)
August 22, 2015 10:22 - 52 minutes - 36.4 MBNot Always Clowning Around One of the most intelligent and likeable comics in the land, Paul Merton has had his fair share of darkness and tragedy. The ‘sad clown’ might be verging on a journalistic cliché but with Merton, the death of his second wife and his own manic episode which resulted in him being hospitalised make it all too real. His memoir Only When I Laugh details those unforgettable highs and lows and in this event, recorded live at Edinburgh International Book Festival, he talk...