Claire Askew & Kate Foster: Tales of Two Edinburghs

What is it about the Scottish capital that makes it such fertile ground for fictionalised mystery? Claire Askew’s The Dead Don’t Speak sees DI Helen Birch drawn back into action when an anonymous vigilante starts stalking the streets of Edinburgh. Kate Foster’s thriller, The Maiden, is inspired by the real-life trial of a 17th century Edinburgh woman charged with murder. Join two writers securing Scotland’s reputation for world-class crime fiction. Chaired by Susan Mansfield.

Book Festival News

Celebrating the 2024 Book Festival Celebrating the 2024 Book Festival
Monday 26 August

Enjoying this event? You can help us produce more like it.

Donate

Share

Watch more

Pussy Riot's Maria Alyokhina with Yanis Varoufakis (2018 Event) Pussy Riot's Maria Alyokhina with Yanis Varoufakis (2018 Event) 'To back down an inch is to give up a mile,' says Maria Alyokhina in Riot Days, her account of Pussy Riot’s extraordinary rise to infamy in 2012. Following an iconoclastic balaclava-clad performance in a Moscow cathedral, Alyokhina and two of her… Pankaj Mishra: The Personal is Always Political Pankaj Mishra: The Personal is Always Political A prolific, award-winning writer, Pankaj Mishra has kept us waiting two decades for his second novel; this event, with one of our bravest and most insightful contemporary writers, is not to be missed. Seeking a way out of his small railway town, Arun… Julia Donaldson and Peter May (2015 Event) Julia Donaldson and Peter May (2015 Event) With the domination of the English language in publishing, we can often overlook what happens beyond our borders. How does a writer's work travel to other nations? How do authors keep ownership of their translations? Watch two of our finest literary… Douglas Stuart with Val McDermid: Knives, Doves and Forbidden Love Douglas Stuart with Val McDermid: Knives, Doves and Forbidden Love Shuggie Bain won the Booker Prize, sold over a million copies and catapulted Douglas Stuart to instant worldwide fame – his follow-up is doing nothing to dampen the hype. Set in the 1990s amid the brutal landscape of sectarian working-class Glasgow, Young… Jessie Greengrass & Gwendoline Riley: The Agony of Love Jessie Greengrass & Gwendoline Riley: The Agony of Love ‘Jessie Greengrass makes words dance. And she makes me want to stand up and dance with them.’ Elif Shafak’s selection of Greengrass as one of ten exciting women writers in the UK coincides neatly with the publication of her second novel, The High House –… Ian Rankin at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival Ian Rankin at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival There’s no stopping Rebus. Ian Rankin’s iconic detective has recently made a stage debut in Long Shadows and will be resurrected on TV in a new series by Black Watch playwright Gregory Burke. The latest Rebus novel, In a House of Lies, is one of the… Aidan O'Rourke, James Robertson & Kit Downes at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Aidan O'Rourke, James Robertson & Kit Downes at the Edinburgh International Book Festival In 2013, James Robertson wrote a story every day of the year, each 365 words long. Then, Scottish fiddler Aidan O’Rourke wrote a tune a day as a musical response. 2019 marks the next chapter: O’Rourke launches Volume 2 of the music; the trio created a new… Grace Blakeley & Ian Goldin: Creating Global Change from Crisis Grace Blakeley & Ian Goldin: Creating Global Change from Crisis The pandemic has demolished global norms more emphatically than anything we have seen since the Second World War. But rather than simply hoping the world can bounce back, is there a chance for a more fundamental rethink? In The Corona Crash, economics… Sophie Hughes & Fernanda Melchor: Another Mexico Sophie Hughes & Fernanda Melchor: Another Mexico Celebrated Mexican author Fernanda Melchor’s first book translated into English, Hurricane Season, has been shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. In a piece for Granta, the book’s translator Sophie Hughes reflected: ‘Melchor goes with her… George Monbiot George Monbiot Passionate campaigner for environmental and social change, George Monbiot gives us practical, powerful solutions on a global scale of how to prevent further destruction of our planet through climate change in this 2007 event. The video of this event is…