Closing Night: A Case For Hope Hope — Rebecca Solnit memorably wrote — is an embrace of the unknown. While embraces might be a lost pleasure from a pre-COVID age, it’s clear we’re living in an age of plentiful unknowns. But amidst the uncertainty and fear, the grief and the los… Rose McGowan (2018 Event) In 2018 the film industry, for so long a haven of misogyny and sexism, has found itself at the heart of a worldwide ‘cataclysmic global reckoning’, in which women everywhere are standing up defiantly against predatory male behaviour. In Brave, the Ame… Mieko Kawakami: Three Daughters of Osaka While this year’s release of Breasts and Eggs marks the first time Mieko Kawakami has been translated into English (by Sam Bett and David Boyd), she has been a literary sensation in Japan for more than ten years. Her legions of fans include Haruki Murak… John Pilger Radical, passionate and often controversial, John Pilger is one of the most important free spirits in worldwide journalism and filmmaking. In these video highlights from his 2007 event, he talks about the long shadow of imperialism, hidden censorship and … Akala (2018 Event) Race and class have shaped the world of MOBO award-winning hip hop artist, poet and political commentator Akala. In Natives, his searing polemic on race in the UK, he considers his own experiences in both childhood and as an adult, and connects them to th… Omid Djalili (2014 event) Acclaimed comedian and actor Omid Djalili has produced a joyously funny memoir about growing up and finding fame as a young Iranian in London. He beautifully captures his unique childhood in his parents’ guesthouse, describing meetings with an array… George Monbiot - pt2 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 sp… Matt Haig (2017 Event) Acclaimed writer of novels and screenplays for adults and children, Matt Haig’s new book, How to Stop Time, was so heavily anticipated that Benedict Cumberbatch signed up to play the key role in the movie adaptation well before its actual publication da… 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… Cathy Newman at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Bloody Brilliant Women is Channel 4 News anchor Cathy Newman’s paean to those women who’ve shaped modern Britain, with the likes of Emmeline Pankhurst sharing pages with heroes like Beatrice Shilling, whose engineering prowess helped win the Battle of…