Now even if you can’t get along to Charlotte Square you may be able to keep up with what’s happening there.
In a collaboration with BBC Arts, ten events from the 2015 Book Festival will be live-streamed and available on demand by BBC Arts Online in August reaching audiences far beyond Charlotte Square Gardens. Live-streamed events include some of the Book Festival’s flagship sessions, including a talk by the American civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson, a conversation between the Diamond Dagger winning crime writer Val McDermid and Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and an introduction to Scots comedian Limmy’s new book.
As part of BBC Arts Online ‘Books at the BBC’ strand audio from an additional 10 events will be made available for audiences across the UK to listen to on the site throughout August. This series of audio events will feature some of the many international authors speaking at the Book Festival, including Israel’s Etgar Keret, Republic of Congo’s Alain Mabanckou, Denmark’s Dorthe Nors and Mexico’s Gabriel Orozco as well as a selection of the 56 debut novelists including Bill Clegg, Claire Fuller and Chigozie Obioma who has been nominated for the 2015 Man Booker Prize.
On Saturday 15 August, Kirsty Wark will chair a special Edinburgh International Book Festival event at the BBC venue at Potterrow in Edinburgh, which will also be live-streamed. Wark will be joined by leading Scottish authors Maggie O’Farrell, Jackie Kay and poet Rachel McCrum.
Nick Barley, Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said “We are delighted to be working with BBC Arts again this year. We live-streamed George R R Martin’s talk in 2014 which received a fantastic response and are very much looking forward to enabling so many of our outstanding speakers to reach an audience outside Charlotte Square Gardens.”
Peter Maniura, Head of Digital Development, BBC Arts, said “Through this year’s greatly expanded collaboration with the Edinburgh International Book Festival audiences nationally and internationally will get a chance to sample some of the wonderful events and contributors at this wide-ranging and always stimulating festival.”
Live-Streamed Events:
Alan Johnson Friday 21 August 6.45pm – 7.45pm
George The Poet Friday 21 August 8.15pm – 9.15pm
Howard Jacobson Saturday 22 August 11.45am – 12.45pm
A C Grayling Saturday 22 August 3.15pm – 4.15pm
Reverend Jesse Jackson Saturday 22 August 8.15pm – 9.15pm
Limmy Saturday 22 August 9.45pm – 10.45pm
Michael Frayn Wednesday 26 August 3.15pm – 4.15pm
Liz Lochhead Wednesday 26 August 5.00pm – 6.00pm
Val McDermid with Nicola Sturgeon Wednesday 26 August 6.45pm – 7.45pm
Richard Coles Wednesday 26 August 8.15pm – 9.15pm
All events from the 2015 Edinburgh International Book Festival to be live-streamed on BBC Arts can be watched via http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts. Selected sessions will be available to view for 30 days on BBC iPlayer. The BBC Arts sessions in conjunction with Edinburgh International Book Festival are part of the BBC’s substantial output coming from the Edinburgh Festivals over the next three weeks, much of it coming from their Potterrow venue,
The Edinburgh International Book Festival runs from Saturday 15 to Monday 31 August in Charlotte Square Gardens in the heart of Edinburgh. Entry to the gardens is free, and tickets and full programme information can be found at www.edbookfest.co.uk.
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