David France (2018 Event) How to Survive a Plague is David France’s history of the fight against AIDS, the disease caused by HIV that has killed over 35 million people worldwide. Described as ‘subtle and searing', it won the Baillie Gifford Prize in 2017. In 2018, … Jason Donald reading Puerta Galera Listen to acclaimed author of Choke Chain read his story Puerta Galera, part of a series of podcasts… Juliana Buhring (2017 Event) Feats of human endurance never cease to amaze and enthral. In 2012, against all odds, Juliana Buhring became the first woman to circumnavigate the world on a bike, after very little training and with barely any financial backing. In this event, recorded l… Roger McGough A joyous return to Edinburgh in 2006 by the 'patron saint of poetry' - simply hearing him read his own work is a blissful experience. He has also written an autobiography filled with his usual idiosyncratic humour and humanity - growing up in Liverpool, o… Ma Jian (2013 event) Ma Jian’s criticisms of China’s government led to it placing a blanket ban on all his future books in 1987. He participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, and now… Powering the Planet (2010 Event) How do we provide fuel for the world without destroying it in the process, and can Scotland really be a key player? Part of our popular debates and environment strand in 2010, this event features a panel of experts to discuss the options… Henning Mankell The Swedish literary all-rounder chats about his varied writing career after his sold-out 2009 Book Festival event. Find out how living half the year in Africa and the other half in Sweden has affected his outlook on life… Gerry Hassan & Lesley Riddoch (2014 event) Two of Scotland's outspoken commentators reflect on what might happen next in Scotland, after the independence referendum on 18 Sept… Yiyun Li reading A Tale of Two Cities The brilliant young Chinese-American writer reads her short story on the theme of Elsewhere… Helen Macdonald (2014 Event) In her powerful, emotive memoir, H is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald recounts her obsessive pursuit to become a falconer. Following the shock of her father’s death and inspired by T H White’s The Goshawk, she embarked on a journey to train her own …