At a ceremony in the very august surroundings of the Signet Library accompanied by champagne and pastries the Edinburgh International Book Festival launched its programme for 2013.
In a packed programme of over 700 events, the Book Festival will welcome authors from each edition of the Granta Best of Young British Novelists List which is compiled every 10 years. Salman Rushdie, featured on the 1983 list, looks back on his career over the last 30 years while Evie Wyld discusses her inclusion on the latest 2013 list. Margaret Atwood, Gavin Esler, Kate Mosse and Neil Gaiman have been invited to select and chair a series of events on genre, the collapse of trust, women in the 21st century and the reshaping of modern fantasy respectively.
Roddy Doyle, David Peace, Linda Porter, Simon Sebag Montefiore and DBC Pierre launch their brand new books, Andrew Marr makes his first public appearance since his recovery from a stroke and Baroness Susan Greenfield discusses her life and work in the Fred Hood Memorial Event, supported by Walter Scott & Partners. John Banville, James Robertson, Antonia Fraser and Edna O’Brien all make a welcome return to Charlotte Square Gardens while up and coming writers Philipp Meyer, Eleanor Catton, Jennie Rooney and Niccolo Ammaniti discuss their new novels.
With 42 debut novels, novellas and short story collections in the programme, the Book Festival’s First Book Award, sponsored by eBooks by Sainsbury’s, offers readers the chance to discover the stars of the future and to vote for their favourite. Authors eligible for the Award include some of the most talked about new adult and young adult writers from Australia, Argentina, Germany, Italy and South Africa as well as closer to home with books set in Glasgow, Edinburgh and on the Isle of Skye.
Ian Rankin will be joined by two of Iain Banks’ other close friends, Val McDermid and Ken MacLeod, who come together on the closing Sunday of the Book Festival to discuss the work of this Scottish literary legend, whose debut novel, The Wasp Factory, was first published in 1984 and whose passing has been marked by an outpouring of love and affection on social media.
The Reporter met with Nick Barley in West Parliament Square to hear his thoughts on the upcoming programme after the speeches delivered inside.
Photo of Iain Banks courtesy of EIBF.
The Edinburgh International Book Festival runs from Saturday 10 August to Monday 26 August 2013. Full details of the programme are available from midday today at www.edbookfest.co.uk and tickets go on sale on Friday 28 June at 8.30am. Tickets can be purchased on-line at www.edbookfest.co.uk or by phone on 0845 373 5888. The Box Office will open at the Roxburghe Hotel, Charlotte Square Gardens at 8.30am on Friday 28 June only and will move to The Hub, Castlehill on Saturday 29 June.
This is the full programme:-
2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival Brochure
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