The perfect beginning and plenty more to come

Wow – what a day we had yesterday!

There was dancing and drumming.

Books being browsed...

...and books being signed.

Jeremy Strong made the audience laugh their socks off...

and Salman Rushdie told us that ‘You cannot be a novelist unless you are fully engaged in life’.

And that was only day one!

There is so much more in store this evening and tomorrow, including many events with tickets available. Below is a hand picked selection of things you might like to see. For the full programme of events see our website.

Later today…

Rome-born Niccolò Ammaniti unveils his new novel, Let the Games Begin at 7pm, tickets cost £7 (£5).

Alice Rawsthorn shows how design is not just about the glamorous worlds of fashion and the Bauhaus, it is also a vital agent of change. At 8:30pm, tickets cost £10 (£8)

Harriet Tuckey tells the forgotten story of her father Griffith Pugh, the mountaineer whose scientific breakthroughs made the first ascent of Everest possible. At 8:30pm, tickets cost £10 (£8).


And tomorrow (Monday 12 August)...
Journey through Alexandria and Colombia with Michael Jacobs & Peter Stothard at 11am, tickets cost £10 (£8).

This year’s Carnegie Medal winner, Sally Gardner, presents her fairy detective Emily Vole at 12 noon, tickets cost £4.50 (Age range 7-10).
 
Brigadier David Allfrey from the Edinburgh Tattoo presents his enchanting story for youngsters, The Tattoo Fox, which was inspired by a real vixen on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle. At 2pm, tickets cost £4.50 (Families and 7+).
 
There will be literary Chinese whispers when Adam Thirlwell presents his magnificent feat of translation - The Multiples project at 3:30pm, tickets cost £10 (£8).
 
Three of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists 2003 – Rachel Cusk, A L Kennedy and Toby Litt – share the stage at 5pm, tickets cost £10 (£8).

Our Blueprint Debate for the day examines Justice – come and have your say at 7pm, tickets cost £10 (£8).

Val McDermid presents her brand new thriller, Cross and Burn at 8pm, tickets cost £10 (£8).


Not able to join us?  
If you’re not able to come and join us we’re live tweeting from selected events – follow #edbookfest for the latest.

The 2013 Book Festival is here!

The 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival is well and truly up and running! The first visitors to Charlotte Square Gardens this morning were greeted by the rousing rhythms of The Edinburgh Samba School kicking of the day – and the Festival – to a glorious start in the sunshine. 

First up was Julia Donaldson who brought an entire team to enthral and entertain young and old in the packed Baillie Gifford Main Theatre. We caught a glimpse of one of the team chilling out backstage just before curtain up.

 










There are plenty more great events later on today and tickets are still available for many, so if you’re in the area and looking for some top-quality entertainment of a bookish kind why not drop by and see one of these fantastic events…

Novelists Patrick Flanery & Philipp Meyer explore the darker side of the American Dream with their latest books, one a tense literary thriller, the other an epic depiction of an ambitious family in the American West.
At 6.45, tickets cost £10 (£8)

For families and children there’s a chance to get Hooked on Drawing with author Vivian French and illustrator Cat Rayner, as they explore the process of drawing pictures for words and offer tips for budding picture book artists.
At 6pm, tickets cost £4.50.

Harold Davis went from plucky young Scot facing bullets in the Korean War to celebrated professional footballer. He shares his astonishing life story at 7pm, tickets cost £10 (£8).

The importance of Gaelic fiction to the 21st century will be explored when novelist and poet Angus Peter Campbell joins German-Gaelic author Michael Klevenhaus and Màiri E MacLeod. At 8.30pm. Tickets cost £7 (£5)

This is just a mere handful of the events we have on offer. See a full list of what’s lined-up for, today and the rest of the Book Festival, on our website. 

Say hello to the Open University
This weekend we're delighted to welcome The Open University who are hosting two Open Days in our Bookshop. They're here to spread the word about their wonderful range of study options - including courses on creative writing - so if the Book Festival has inspired you to put pen to paper, or you're curious to find out more about their other courses, pop in and say hello - they'd love to see you.

Grab yourself a red hot ticket

August is upon us and there’s just 7 days to go before we open so we've created a hand-picked selection of some of the hottest names in publishing – all coming to the Book Festival and all with tickets still available…

(listed in event date order)

Roddy Doyle presents his follow up to The Commitments.
Sat 10 Aug at 8pm, £10 (£8)

George Monbiot gets back to nature with Feral.
Sun 11 Aug, 3pm at 8pm, £10 (£8)

Former Design Museum director AliceRawsthorn offers a life affirming exploration of design as an agent for change.
Sun 11 Aug at 8:30pm, 8pm, £10 (£8)

Much-loved novelist A L Kennedy describes the courage and the crises behind the writing process.
Mon 12 Aug at 11:30am, £10 (£8)

Master Irish writer John Banville returns with his latest novel, Ancient Light.
Mon 12 Aug at 1:30pm, £10 (£8)

Scottish crime writing legend ValMcDermid presents her brand new thriller, Cross and Burn. Mon 12 Aug at 8pm, £10 (£8)

Statistician and political forecaster Nate Silver reveals the art and science of prediction.
Tue 13 Aug at 10, £10 (£8)

Famed neuroscientist Baroness SusanGreenfield shares the story of her remarkable career with Kirsty Wark.
Tue 13 Aug at 6:30pm, £10 (£8)

Joe Sacco casts a light on the power of comic journalism to grasp at the truth.
Tue 13 Aug at 8.30pm, £10 (£8)

Award-winning novelist Jane Gardam presents the final instalment of her bestselling ‘Old Filth’ trilogy.
Wed 14 Aug at 11:30am, £10 (£8)

The popular foodie duo TheFabulous Baker Brothers come to town.
Thu 15 Aug at 3:30pm, £10 (£8)

William McIlvanney presents the gorgeous new editions of Laidlaw, Strange Loyalties and The Papers of Tony Veitch.
Fri 16 Aug at 3pm £10 (£8)

Andrew Wilson explores the intriguing life of Sylvia Plath before she met Ted Hughes.
Fri 16 Aug at 5pm, £10 (£8)

Stand-up funny man Mark Watson brings a tragicomedy in novel form.
Fri 16 Aug at 9:30pm, £10 (£8)

Scotland’s finest, Ali Smith, displays her non-fiction talents.
Sat 17 Aug at 12pm, £10 (£8)

Former US Poet Laureate Kay Ryan presents her Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry.
Sun 18 Aug at 5pm, £10 (£8)

Liz Lochhead, Scotland’s Makar talks about 30 years of Scottish culture.
Mon 19 Aug at 3pm, £10 (£8)

Daniel Rachel takes a look behind the art of songwriting with Idelwild frontman Roddy Woomble.
Wed 21 Aug at 8:30pm, £10 (£8)

Celebrate 20 brilliant years of DCC Bob Skinner with Quintin Jardine
Thu 22 Aug at 4:30pm, £10 (£8)

Get the inside story on the world’s favourite superheroes with Grant Morrison.
Fri 23 Aug at 8pm, £10 (£8)

Paula Byrne presents her brand new biography of Jane Austen.
Sun 25 Aug at 10:30am, £10 (£8)

Poetry and music straight from the heart of the Egyptian revolution.
Sun 25 Aug at 8:30pm, £10 (£8)

Of course the above is but a selection of the programme, there are many more events besides along with some great children's writers andillustrators - you can find them all on the website, searchable by subject, theme, author, age range.... Enjoy!

See the 2013 Man Booker Prize nominees at the Book Festival

So we now know who has been longlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize and many of the authors will be appearing in events at this year’s Book Festival. Which will be the winner? We don’t know but we think this lot are in with a good chance…

Tash Aw, Five Star Billionaire
Tash Aw’s Five Star Billionaire follows five extraordinary characters, all of them Malaysian migrants, as they forge new lives for themselves in the dazzling streets of Shanghai.

See Tash Aw on Mon 19 Aug at 8.30pm, £10 (£8)

Eleanor Catton, The Luminaries
The Luminaries is a richly evocative historical mystery set in the goldmines of New Zealand. When one man goes there to make his fortune he finds himself in the midst of a series of unsolved crimes and a complex network of fate and fortunes.

See Eleanor Catton on Sat 24 Aug at 7pm, £7 (£5)

Richard House, The Kills
The Kills is an epic novel of crime and conspiracy which moves across continents, characters and genres. Beginning with a man on the run and ending with a burned body, it’s an astonishing political thriller that began life as a sequence of four digital books with accompanying multimedia content that’s well worth a look.

See Richard House on Sun 18 Aug at 8:30pm £7 (£5)

Charlotte Mendelson, Almost English
Almost English is a heart-warmingly funny story following the troubled16 year-old Marina as she struggles to fit into life in a new school and find her identity in a land that isn’t home.

See Charlotte Mendelson on Sat 17 Aug at 7pm, £7 (£5)

Colm Tóibín, The Testament of Mary
The Testament of Mary is a short and immensely powerful novel which sheds new light on this well known figure.

See Colm Tóibín on Tue 20 Aug at 4:30pm, £10 (£8)

New event announced: Another chance to see James Robertson

James Robertson is one of Scotland’s foremost literary talents so it came as no surprise when tickets to his Book Festival event on 18 August were snapped up.

Due to the huge demand for tickets we’ve scheduled another event and you can now seeJames on Friday 23 August at 12 noon.

James’ novels are known for tackling the sometimes difficult territory between real and imagined lives and his work has been inspired by topics such as the Lockerbie bombing and post-war Scottish politics. In this new event James will read from his work and discuss his writing with Ruth Wishart.

Youcan buy tickets to see James in this new event on our website or by calling the Book Festival Box Office on 0845 373 5888

Record ticket sales on opening day

After much anticipation, our tickets went on sale on Friday 28 June and we have been thrilled with the response to our 2013 programme. Thousands of people booked by phone, on the website and at our Box Office counter at the Roxburghe Hotel in Edinburgh - in fact we sold more tickets this year on our opening day of sales than we have ever done - proving that literature has Wembley Stadium-sized rock-star status in the hearts and minds of anyone who loves a good read, doesn't mind dipping their toes into the unknown and enjoys being part of a great discussion - whether serious or not.

Competition for tickets was fierce: the first customers in the queue for the Box Office at the Roxburghe Hotel arrived at 3.10am and by the time we opened at 8.30am there were already 286 people waiting.

Our new strand of Reading Workshops across both the adult and children’s programmes has proved popular (although they aren’t all sold out yet so have a look at availability) as have talks featuring Caitlin Moran, Andrew Marr, Robert Peston, Kate Atkinson and Rupert Everett, which all sold out quickly. The Independence Debate with Kirsty Walk, the Celebration of Iain Banks and The Phoenix Comic Workshop in the Stripped programme also sold out.

There are literally hundreds of events which haven’t sold-out though – as you would expect with a programme of over 700 events and 800 authorsso plenty of tickets still available for all sorts of wonderful authors, poets, illustrators and graphic novelists.

Here’s a link which you can use to check what’s sold out:

http://online.edbookfest.co.uk/soldout/

This is an active link which updates automatically so you can use it from now until the end of the Book Festival.

A few tips for browsing online:

Have a look at the themes pages – they are a great guide to broad subject areas and give you a good idea of the shape of the overall programme.  

If you just want to know whether we have any events with a focus on a particular subject, for instance ‘Russia’, ‘birds’ or ‘classic novel’, simply type it into the keyword search box.

And use the drop-down category search menu for finding events on a whole variety of subjects such as music, health, science, education, politics, European Fiction, Free events, debates and so on.

And of course you can always just search for a particular author too by using the Author A-Z.

We hope you enjoy browsing the programme – if you prefer to flick through a paper version of the brochure we’d be happy to send one to you, simply email mailinglist@edbookfest.co.uk.

Or you can browse the digital edition of the brochure on screen instead.

We've launched the 2013 programme!

After months of hard work gathering together hundreds of authors from across the globe and crafting over 700 events, we are thrilled to unveil our 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival programme. Hopefully some of you will have already have had the chance to look through the literary gems on offer - we hope you enjoy choosing what and who to see.

 

 

This year we celebrate our 30^th birthday, looking back over the past three decades to the year we started in 1983 and forwards thirty years to 2043.

 

Use our website search fields to browse events - you can search by author, subject or theme or by the age of your child if you are looking for children's events.

 

You can also view events by looking at the brochure: download a PDF file of the brochure.

 

Or if you'd like us to post you a copy, email your name and address to mailinglist@edbookfest.co.uk with the subject line 'brochure request'.

 

Our Director Nick Barley and Children's Programme Director Janet Smyth pose for the press at the launch of the Edinburgh International Book Festival's 2013 programme.

Transporting the big 30 from the Signet Library in Parliament Square,Edinburgh back to our office on the other side of town.

 

Down the Mound and past the Galleries...

Finally reaching Charlotte Square Gardens a bit puffed, a little bruised but generally intact.

Safely tucked into a corner of our office - waiting for August.