1308 results

Michael Ondaatje: Roots and Restlessness If you know Michael Ondaatje’s beautiful, lyrical fiction, you won't be surprised to learn that over 50 years ago the Booker Prize-winner of The English Patient began his career as a poet. Today, in a special digital event, Ondaatje shares his first… Jess Phillips: A Breath of Fresh Air ‘Your leader was beaten by a woman who was beaten by a lettuce’ – so begins a recent online-retort from Labour’s Jess Phillips in typically direct style. One of the nation’s most outspoken MPs, Phillips stands out for her integrity. She talks to Liz Lloyd… James Crawford: Traces of the Past The search for hidden landscapes drives the work of Shetland-born author James Crawford, whose books have explored borders, lost buildings, and – in conjunction with his BBC series Scotland from the Sky – the views revealed by photography from the air… Friend of Dragons with Cressida Cowell Join multi-million-selling author-illustrator Cressida Cowell as she talks about a How to Train Your Dragon short story collection coming in September, gives a Festival exclusive sneak peek of the next book in the Which Way to Anywhere series, and live… Andrew O'Hagan: How the Mighty Have Fallen A celebrated London professor falls from grace in Andrew O’Hagan’s new novel, Caledonian Road. Immersive and Dickensian in ambition, it’s a brilliant state-of-the-nation novel about privilege and what’s really going on behind high society’s façade. As… Rosemary Goring: Mary Stuart's Homecoming Despite spending just 12 years in Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots irrevocably shaped the nation; she inhabits our imagination like no other monarch. In Homecoming, literary editor Rosemary Goring ‘breathes life into this legendary queen’ (Southern Reporter)… Adrian Tchaikovsky: Future Tense (with Aliens) Arthur C Clarke Award-winning Adrian Tchaikovsky is a sci-fi legend, celebrated for his epic world-building. He talks to Ann Landmann, exploring what imagining distant futures can teach us about our earthly world. Have sci-fi writers been ahead of the… Make a Supersonic Beano Comic Make a supersonic Beano comic*! Beano’s Directors of Mischief and Mayhem, Mike Stirling and Craig Graham reveal their top tips for creating laugh-out-loud stories and pictures, share jokes from their latest Beano Boomic, Minnie and the Camp of Chaos, AND… Lisa Jewell: Broadcasting Secrets None of This is True is the addictive new psychological thriller by internationally bestselling Lisa Jewell. It follows a podcaster whose life begins to unravel when a seemingly chance encounter leads to the discovery of dark secrets. Hear Jewell in… Kate Atkinson: Last Good Man Standing Twenty years after it began, this year Kate Atkinson’s Case Histories series of murder mysteries celebrates its sixth instalment with Death at the Sign of the Rook. Come and hear how another master of the form does it as Atkinson speaks with Alex Clark… Jackie Kay: The People's Poet Beloved poet, novelist, playwright, and former Makar Jackie Kay joins us with her latest poetry collection, May Day. These profound and urgent poems draw on Kay’s decades of political activism, bringing influential figures from history to life, whilst… Jump into the SPOOKY World of Spoken Word with Joseph Coelho Prepare to jump into the SPOOKY, spellbinding world of spoken word poetry, with your guide: Joseph Coelho. In this interactive session with the Waterstones Children’s Laureate, you’ll be thrilled (and maybe even a litttttle scared) by performances from… The Front List: Alan Cumming & Forbes Masson in conversation with Jackie Kay One of Scotland’s most beloved comedy double acts of all time, Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson, are delving back into their comedy past, to present ‘Victor and Barry’s Kelvinside Compendium’, a riotous romp through their formative years treading the boards… Jeremy Bowen: Making the Middle East Jeremy Bowen, International Editor BBC News, has been covering the Middle East since 1989. His deep understanding of the political, cultural, and religious differences between countries as diverse as Turkey, Syria, Israel, and Palestine shine from The… Alistair Moffat: Walking Scotland's History One of Scotland’s most beloved historians, Alistair Moffat arrives at the Festival with two new books: Between Britain: Walking the History of England and Scotland, and The Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Today, he joins James Jauncey to talk about…