Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 Highlights 13–16 August

A L Kennedy (2010 event) Exclusive extracts from her 2011 novel and the amusing Q & A with the audience that followed… Norman Scott: The Establishment (Almost) Always Wins This is the story of a man who took on the establishment – and it seemed he’d lost. But Norman Scott’s own perspective on his secret affair with politician Jeremy Thorpe in the 1970s has gained credence thanks to the TV drama, A Very English Scandal… Olivia Laing: Your Body is a Battleground Olivia Laing had the idea for her new book Everybody in the summer of 2015 at the height of the refugee crisis in Europe. The chaotic times that followed – including Britain’s vote for Brexit and Trump’s victory in the US elections – only served t… Raynor Winn with Sally Magnusson: Nature and Mortality The Salt Path chronicled the experiences of Raynor Winn and her husband Moth when, both in their 50s, they were evicted from their beloved farm in Wales. Shortly afterwards, Moth was diagnosed with an incurable brain disease. Against all medical advice, t… Interview - Julia Donaldson and Peter May We caught up with brilliant and best known writers Julia Donaldson and Peter May to talk writing and translation, which was the subject of their joint event in Charlotte Square Gardens. We also asked some audience members what they thought about the event… Richard Holloway with Alison Watt: This One’s From the Heart Book Festival regulars need no introduction to Richard Holloway: he has spoken at the Festival every August for the past 23 years. He joins us this time to discuss The Heart of Things – a collection of his favourite poems and quotations, knitted togethe… Alan Johnson at the Edinburgh International Book Festival If today’s politicians make you miserable, Alan Johnson may be the antidote. The former Labour Home Secretary has written a series of witty memoirs, and he’s regularly regaled Book Festival audiences with colourful tales of life beyond Westminster. In… Jeremy Atherton Lin: Coming Out, Going Out For the past generation it has been possible for LGBTQIA+ people in most of Britain and the USA to go out in an open display of solidarity and sexual freedom that was long denied to those who came before them. The culture of the Gay Bar is the subject of … Elif Shafak (2012) Elif Shafak’s novel Honour is a moving account of love and family set in Kurdistan, Istanbul and London… Marian Keyes: Family Matters Marian Keyes didn’t start writing until her twenties, she felt that she was ‘all washed up at 30.’ But readers have had a love affair with Keyes that has lasted over two decades now. It’s hard to imagine a greater, more reliable comfort than …