Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 Highlights 13–16 August An unforgettable few days with appearances from Val McDermid, Chris Hoy, Konnie Huq and more… Elif Shafak: Writing the World’s Wrongs ‘As the world becomes increasingly polarized, beset with anxiety, anger and tribalism, it’s time for us to turn to the art of storytelling for wisdom, connectivity and much-needed empathy.’ These are the words of Elif Shafak about her latest non-fic… The Siobhan Dowd Trust Memorial Lecture: Matt Haig (2015 Event) Award-winning author Siobhan Dowd died in 2007, bequeathing her royalties to a trust which aims to bring the joy of reading to those who need it most. In 2015 the Siobhan Dowd Trust Memorial Lecture was delivered by novelist Matt Haig, whose books for chi… Jussi Adler-Olsen (2015 Event) We were thrilled to welcome bestselling Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen to the Book Festival's home in Charlotte Square Gardens for the first time. The creator of the Department Q novels has sold over 10 million copies of his books worldwide; watch as… Trevor Royle speaks with Magnus Linklater at the Edinburgh International Book Festival While Scotland has been free of major military conflict since the 1940s, it could have been different had the Cold War escalated. In Facing the Bear, broadcaster, author and former associate editor of the Sunday Herald, Trevor Royle discusses how integral… Mary Robinson at the Edinburgh International Book Festival While the realities of climate change are not always visible, the realisation that our grandchildren will live in troubled times can catalyse action. After becoming a grandmother, former Irish president and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robi… Hadley Freeman (2016 Event) For many, the 80s was a decade that taste didn’t just forget, but totally bypassed. Guardian and Vogue columnist Hadley Freeman does not subscribe to that one bit and is so passionate about 80s American movies that she’s written a book about them. Lif… Interview - Elif Shafak (2015) Writing in multiple languages was the subject of the day, and we caught up with Turkish writer Elif Shafak before she took to the stage with fellow multi-lingual writer Aleksandar Hemon. We also asked some audience members what they thought about the even… Alain Mabanckou: Rewriting the Congolese Story On 18 March 1977 at 14.30, the third President of the People’s Republic of the Congo, Marien Ngouabi, is assassinated. In the frenzied aftermath, blame flies and ethnic divides widen, and far away, a family member is murdered for their alleged involveme… Ella Frances Sanders & Dominick Tyler (2015 Event) The mysterious beauty of certain words joins Ella Frances Sanders and Dominick Tyler at the literary hip, as their separate glossaries reveal. Sanders’ Lost In Translation is a beautifully illustrated book which contains a selection of wholly untran…