Photograph by © Antonia Reeve Edinburgh was Unesco’s first City of Literature and the Edinburgh City of Literature Trust works with the Book Festival to celebrate this status. One of the ways they do this is through the Story Shop, a daily reading at 4pm by an emerging writer from Edinburgh. On Friday that writer was Olga Wojtas, a freelance … [Read more...] about EdBookFest Story Shop: Olga Wojtas
EdBookFest: Peter Conrad
Sheena McDonald introduces Peter Conrad as the writer of a book full of treasures. How The World Was Won: The Americanisation of Everywhere explores the influence the USA has had on the world over the course of the 20th century. Conrad is originally from Tasmania but has spent most of his life teaching English at Oxford. He fell in love with … [Read more...] about EdBookFest: Peter Conrad
EdBookFest: Robyn Cadwallader & Cecilia Ekback
The chair Caroline Beck, explains that the two novels Robyn Cadwallader and Cecilia Ekback have written have very different settings: the wild countryside of 1717 Sweden and a cramped cell in 13th century England. However, they share themes of claustrophobia, maliciousness and a complex problem that must be unpicked. Ekback is originally from … [Read more...] about EdBookFest: Robyn Cadwallader & Cecilia Ekback
EdBookFest: Val McDermid & Nicola Sturgeon
Book festival director Nick Barley introduced the First Minister and the Queen of Crime by explaining that Nicola Sturgeon was carrying on a tradition started by Alex Salmond of politicians appearing at the book festival in a slightly different guise. When they come onto stage Sturgeon laughs that she is used to having to answer questions and … [Read more...] about EdBookFest: Val McDermid & Nicola Sturgeon
EdBookFest: Stella Rimington
Al Senter introduces Stella Rimington by acknowledging both her recent writing career and her career in MI5. Rimington was not just the first female Director General of MI5 but also the first who was openly identified as such. She apparently approved of the decision but felt that the way it was handled was poor. When she was told that her promotion … [Read more...] about EdBookFest: Stella Rimington
EdBookFest: Michael Hofmann
Stuart Kelly is apparently a great admirer of writer, translator and critic Michael Hofmann. He says that people are wrong to think that critics are envious of authors; they are in fact envious of other critics. However it seems Hofmann is more comfortable as a writer than a raconteur as throughout the session Kelly had to work to get him to expand … [Read more...] about EdBookFest: Michael Hofmann