Griff Rhys Jones

David Vann and Willy Vlautin (2010 event) Another chance to listen to two writers who have produced riveting, heartbreaking and sometimes shocking accounts of father-son relationships. An interesting, intelligent and compelling event, chaired by Hannah McGill, well worth revisiting… Nina Stibbe (2016 Event) Already a wildly popular author thanks to her memoir Love, Nina and bestselling debut novel, Man at the Helm, Nina Stibbe returns with Paradise Lodge. Set in a 1970s ramshackle old people's home, this lovingly created story of chaos, love and elderly… Michael Scheuer (2011 event) The death of Osama bin Laden in May 2011 marked a key moment in the history of the so-called War on Terror. But Michael Scheuer, formerly the chief of the CIA unit responsible for capturing the elusive Saudi, believes bin Laden’s death will make no… Julia Donaldson reading Ballad of Jemmy Button The massively popular children's writer and new Children's Laureate reading her contribution to our Elsewhere series of stories… Narinder Dhami Following her blockbuster success with Bend it Like Beckham, Narinder Dhami visited the Book Festival to talk to her young fans (this event was for ages 8+) about her new series, which focuses on six friends and their everyday lives: surviving school… Edna O'Brien (2016 Event) Philip Roth called it Edna O’Brien’s masterpiece; for John Banville it’s savage, tender and true; Claire Messud described it as arduous and beautiful. The Little Red Chairs is the work of a truly great Irish writer at the height of her powers. A decade… Paul Preston Leading foreign correspondents such as Hemmingway, Gellhorn, Orwell and many others, now forgotten, were present during the Spanish Civil War. In this fascinating event, eminent historian Paul Preston explores their courage and skill and, through a huge… Alexander McCall Smith An international publishing phenomenon, Alexander McCall Smith chats to Louisa Donaldson in this 2007 podcast about life, the festival and his popular series of books which include The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency and 44 Scotland Street… Julian Barnes (2015 Event) One of our finest writers, Julian Barnes first wrote about art in his novel A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Since then, the Man Booker Prize-winning author has written a series of scintillating essays on a range of artists as diverse as… Jim Al-Khalili (2017 Event) For decades we’ve been told there's something out there. Jim Al-Khalili, host of Radio 4’s The Life Scientific and an inaugural winner of the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication, has been gathering the latest word from within the science…