Book Festival

Health Warning

7 Aug 2008

Simon Singh has upset many people with his damning views on holistic treatment. Claire Sawers asks if he has his finger on the pulse of alternative therapy Don’t get Simon Singh started on reiki massage. And as for ear candles or oxygen therapy, that’s…

Danny Wallace

Ghostbusters-obsessed yes man with another voyage of self-discovery

7 Aug 2008

The trailer for a Danny Wallace movie biopic might go something like this: ‘In a time of global terrorism, credit crunching and general fatigue with social networking sites, one committed tea drinker’s relentless optimism in the face of cynicism and…

Celine Curiol

French author celebrates the outsider

7 Aug 2008

Young Parisian author Céline Curiol laughs when I tell her of the proliferation of post-Carla Bruni articles seeking to define the particular character of the French woman, and then makes her apologies for a lack of further insight. ‘I’m going to have…

Paul Gravett

Fighting the anti-comics brigade

7 Aug 2008

Paul Gravett is an acknowledged expert on comics, who started off with comic-marts, before moving into publishing (with titles including Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean’s Violent Cases in the 80s) and writing hundreds of books, articles and columns on…

Helen Fitzgerald

Gruesome tales from Glasgow-based Aussie

7 Aug 2008

Currently writing her fourth thriller, ex-parole officer and social worker turned screenwriter Helen FitzGerald was in perpetual ‘movie development hell’, until her latest rejection prompted her to transform the story into a debut novel. ‘Dead Lovely…

Helen Walsh

Warrington author cleanses the past

7 Aug 2008

If Helen Walsh’s Betty Trask Award-winning debut Brass came from the guts, its follow-up Once Upon a Time in England comes from the heart. Set in the author’s native Warrington, the book charts two decades of English/Malaysian family the Fitzgeralds…

Kapka Kassabova

Travel memoir about Bulgaria from Edinburgh-based scribe

7 Aug 2008

Kapka Kassabova likes to travel. You can tell, because the writer’s accent is all over the place: there’s Eastern European, Antipodean and a hint of Scottish in there as she chats away. Kassabova was raised in Bulgaria before living in New Zealand for…

Thomas Glavinic

Telling a tale about the very nature of being

7 Aug 2008

From Mary Shelley’s The Last Man to I Am Legend, the idea of being the last person alive would seem to have an abiding fascination. Thomas Glavinic’s take on it, Night Work, tracks Jonas, who awakens one morning to discover he has, for reasons that are…

Alan Johnston

Life-enhancing event from ex-hostage

7 Aug 2008

When Alan Johnston was kidnapped at gunpoint in Gaza and held in solitary confinement for 114 days, he used an imaginary wooden life raft and a mind-game called the River of Time to keep himself sane. As the last western journalist who had stayed to…

James Meek

Johnny Depp-friendly author and journo

7 Aug 2008

As well as writing novels, James Meek has spent a lot of time as a journalist reporting from conflict zones, and this experience fed into his latest fictional work, We Are Now Beginning Our Descent. A global book, it ranges from London to rural America…

Ziauddin Sardar

Seeking to redefine British multiculturalism

7 Aug 2008

‘The immense diversity of British Asians even surprised me,’ admits author and journalist Ziauddin Sardar, who has spent the last three years investigating the many identities of Asians in this country. Named after the fabricated ‘Indian’ dish which…

Norman Lebrecht

Cataloguing the classical music industry

7 Aug 2008

Journalist, writer and broadcaster Norman Lebrecht is a long familiar name in classical music criticism. Known to be controversial, what he says is not always to everyone’s liking, but his knowledge of the classical recording industry is undoubtedly…

Top 5: Blur Moments

7 Aug 2008

With Alex James coming to chat about his past life as a Britpop superstar, we reflect on the bits of Blur that we remember ‘There’s No Other Way’ As much of a Madchester rip-off as it was (those guitar lines ride in the slipstream of The Stone…

Hitlist: Festival books

7 Aug 2008

Mohammad Hanif The mysterious death of Pakistan’s President Zia is the start-point of a splendidly silly debut novel A Case of Exploding Mangoes. Certainly wins our vote for book title of the year. 12 Aug, 7.30pm, £6 (£4). Danny Wallace The…

Martin Wishart

Michelin star chef preaches accessibility in the kitchen

7 Aug 2008

It’s hard to believe that next year will mark the tenth anniversary of Martin Wishart’s arrival on Leith Shore. Then, a young Scottish chef opening a small fine-dining restaurant with his own name above the door seemed, well, confident. But Martin…

Andrew Mawson

Social entrepreneur takes matters in hand

7 Aug 2008

When Andrew Mawson walked into Bromley-by-Bow Centre in 1984, the voluntary organisation was neglected, under-used and falling apart, much like the East London community surrounding it. Yet both were filled with enormous potential and today, the centre…

5 Questions - Laura Marney

7 Aug 2008

Laura Marney’s new novel is My Best Friend Has Issues, about an innocent Scottish lass heading to Spain. Here she takes on our wide-eyed Q&A Give us five words to describe your books? Fun, sexy, dark, page turning. Which authors should be more…

Kids' Events

Trains and tweens dominate the first week

7 Aug 2008

Trains and tweens dominate the first week The good, the naughty and the hungry are all in evidence in the opening salvo of the kids programme, with the whole shebang kicked off in boisterous style by queen of tween Cathy Cassidy (9 Aug) who presents…

Steve Bloom and the Elephants

7 Aug 2008

The gentle giant is Steve Bloom’s thing. Having spent over a decade following elephants across India and Africa, he is launching his new children’s book, Elephants at the book festival in two events showcasing his sumptuous photos and his first-hand…

Amnesty International Imprisoned Writers Series

7 Aug 2008

Now firmly set as a Book Festival tradition, the AI series finds many of our top writers expressing solidarity with authors around the world who are being persecuted for simply putting words on to a page. Among those in attendance this week are Maggie…

Home James - Sean Connery

Edinburgh International Book Festival

22 Jul 2008

As Sean Connery returns to Edinburgh for a date in Charlotte Square Gardens, author Ewan Morrison recalls growing up in the ultimate 007’s shadow and wallowing in those iconic one-liners

No more heroes - graphic novels

Edinburgh International Book Festival

22 Jul 2008

The Book Festival is once again acknowledging the rapid expansion in graphic novels. Henry Northmore chats to a number of comic book guys (and girl) to ask what the future may hold for the superhero While graphic novels may be still be a minority…

You've been mangoed - Mohammed Hanif

Edinburgh International Book Festival

22 Jul 2008

The mysterious death of Pakistan’s dictator General Zia is still the subject of fevered speculation today. Mohammed Hanif tells Claire Sawers about a debut novel he’s based on memories, rumours and jokes Mohammed Hanif has always been a daydreamer.

Kid loves - Children's books round-up

Edinburgh International Book Festival

22 Jul 2008

Harry Potter may have played his last game of Quidditch and Lemony Snicket’s series of events have unfortunately ceased to be, but there are still plenty of iconic figures hanging around in children’s literature. Brian Donaldson finds ten of them…

Salman Rushdie

Edinburgh International Book Festival

22 Jul 2008

Salman Rushdie’s new book The Enchantress Of Florence came close to being stillborn but he believes it represents the rebirth of his talent. The writing of his 11th novel was disrupted by the exit of his fourth wife, Padma Lakshmi. Distraught, Rushdie…