Edinburgh International Book festival 2015

Iain MacWhirter

At EIBF; Edinburgh International book festival 2015

‘Around the world’ brochure and Trading Stories. ‘We would be a much poorer culture had those wayfarers not persisted in gazing beyond the next horizon.’
This year I met a personal hero of mine, the incomparable Nicola Sturgeon. She seems more approachable than Salmond and since she took over as first minister last year has achieved unparalleled popularity from the public. On the road for the Referendum she took time to listen - a crucial skill for a successful politician. At the same time she has a clear vision for where she sees the future for Scotland. At EIBF she interviewed the crime writer Val McDermid. 

Nicola Sturgeon and Val McDermid

 I went to interesting talks by the Scottish authors Robert Crawford on the young American poet TS Eliot - http://www.musicfootnotes.com/robert-crawford-on-young-ts-eliot

and Iain MacWhirter on his book 'Disunited Kingdom: How Westminster won a Referendum but Lost Scotland.'  Blog to follow. 

Alan Cumming

Ian Rankin

The famous Scottish actor Alan Cumming attended a photo call. He has written a autobiography titled Not my Fathers Son. I also met the well known Scottish actor Brian Cox that evening. 

Other famous writers attending EIBF included – Greg Proops, Celia Imrie, Terry Waite, Helen Lederer.

Celia Imrie

Some of the outstanding woman writers at EIBF included – Elif Shafak, Liz Lochead,, Phillappa Gregory, Val McDermid, Antonia Frazer, Ali Smith, Lesley Riddoch, Margaret Atwood, Shami Chakrabarti.   

 

Chtristobel Kent

Lucy Ribchester

Shami Chakrabarti

The festival is also a platform for new writers - Lucy Ribchester, Oscar Coop-Phane, Neil Zink,

While I didn't manage as many talks as I would wish to - I purchase the books that interest me. I am always inspired by the book festival.

Tom Holland

*EIBF BOOKS

Stuart McHardy - Scotland's Future History

Iain MacWhirter – Disunited Kingdom: How Westminster won the Referendum but lost Scotland

Martin Kemp – Art In History. How art is connected to history.

Shami Chakrabarti. -  On Liberty

Marianne  Liner – Sacred Scotland

Simon Armitage

Oscar Coop-Phane

Terry Waite

 *Music EIBF. At the Jura Unbound there were several music evenings. 

 I met the Scottish SAY award winner 2015 Kathryn Joseph. Her old piano was being carefully lifted in the side gate. She was the headline for Vic Galloway’s music evening at Jura Unbound.

 https://www.edbookfest.co.uk

Michael Hofmaa, Stories without Borders. (poet, translator and essayists). Does it matter where stories originate from?

 Sadly this year I was busy with personal events, and also unwell, so I wasn’t able to attend as much as I would have liked to.

 

Charlotte Higgins

Richard Havers

Nell Zink

Kevin Mayer 

It is not what you see but what one makes others see.