Jokha Alharthi at the Edinburgh International Book Festival

In May 2019, Jokha Alharthi became the first Arabic language writer to win the Man Booker International Prize for her searing novel Celestial Bodies. She also became the first female Omani novelist to be translated into English thanks to Marilyn Booth, with whom she shares the prize. Alharthi joins the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2019 to discuss her path to success as well this work of incredible depth, which follows the lives of three sisters in the village of al-Awafi through heartbreak, marriage and duty with tenderness and subtlety. Expect to hear an enlightening introduction to Omani literature and celebration of international ideas chaired by Fiammetta Rocco.

Loading the player... if your browser supports audio and video it should appear in a few moments.
Download MP3

Book Festival News

Book Festival reveals first author events for 2024 Book Festival reveals first author events for 2024
Sunday 14 April

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

Donate

Share

Listen to more

Val McDermid & Jo Sharp: Shaping a Better Future (2020 Event) Val McDermid & Jo Sharp: Shaping a Better Future (2020 Event) At last year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival, bestselling author Val McDermid and professor of geography Jo Sharp were inspired by the festival theme, We Need New Stories. So inspired, in fact, that they turned to a loveable rogues gallery of Sc… James Naughtie: The USA, from Reagan to Trump (2020 Event) James Naughtie: The USA, from Reagan to Trump (2020 Event) On the Road is Naughtie’s compelling memoir of his American experiences during this period of change. In this event recorded live at the 2020 Book Festival, he discusses his adventures – and a rollercoaster half-century of USA life - with fellow BBC j… Yanis Varoufakis with Shami Chakrabarti (2018 Event) Yanis Varoufakis with Shami Chakrabarti (2018 Event) Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has written several influential books and has co-founded ‘DiEM25’, a pan-European progressive movement which will be competing in next year’s European parliament elections. Adults in th… Blake Morrison (2018 Event) Blake Morrison (2018 Event) The Sunday Times called him ‘One of our most sensitive and stylish writers’ and with his latest book, The Executor, it’s easy to see why. The bestselling novelist and poet Blake Morrison has created a biting portrait of male friendship, … Chigozie Obioma & Simon Sylvester (2015 Event) Chigozie Obioma & Simon Sylvester (2015 Event) Chigozie Obioma’s thrillingly assured debut novel The Fishermen is set in small-town Nigeria, while Simon Sylvester’s seductive debut The Visitors unfolds on a remote Scottish island. Yet despite their disparate locations, these stories are un… Maggie Fergusson & Michael Morpurgo (2012 event) Maggie Fergusson & Michael Morpurgo (2012 event) He's a master storyteller who has left an indelible mark on countless children who’ve grown up with his stories… Cecilia Ekbäck & Graeme Macrae Burnet (2016 Event) Cecilia Ekbäck & Graeme Macrae Burnet (2016 Event) In the mid-19th century, what unites the Sami people of Lapland and a band of crofters in north-west Scotland? In the fictional worlds of Cecilia Ekbäck and Graeme Macrae Burnet, each community has witnessed a brutal triple murder. Ekbäck’s In The Mon… Anne Donovan reading Not Scotland Anne Donovan reading Not Scotland Prize-winning short story writer and novelist reads her story on the theme of Elsewhere… Alain de Botton Alain de Botton What does work mean to us? Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? Alain de Botton's gift for looking deeply behind the ordinary, taken-for-granted things in our lives has won him huge popularity. In this event he brings us The Pleasure and Sorrows of… Tom McCarthy (2015 Event) Tom McCarthy (2015 Event) Is Tom McCarthy a J G Ballard for the 21st century? Or is he just bullshitting? McCarthy would probably claim he’s somewhere in between. The Man Booker shortlisted author’s hugely entertaining, densely imaginative novel Satin Island introduces…