David Lodge

Simmone Howell (2010 schools event) Eclectic Australian children's writer Simmone Howell joined us for a brilliant event for schools in 2010. Suitable for S2 - S6, she talked about place, people and invention in this fascinating and charming event… Pamela Stephenson-Connolly (2011 event) Her book is certainly engaging but can it live up to the claims that it is the most enlightening book on sex ever published? Pamela Stephenson-Connolly's event threw up some surprises at the Book Festival in 2011… Robin Robertson (2018 Event) A renowned poet whose work often hauntingly evokes the lives of Scottish outsiders, and a mesmerising reader of his own work, Robin Robertson strikes out with a breathtaking new project, The Long Take. In this verse novel, Walker is a war veteran from… Kristina Stephenson: Sir Charlie Stinky Socks (2011 Event) Children's author Kristina Stephenson introduced her new book featuring the lovable but slightly pongy Sir Charlie Stinky Socks to the delight of her young audience of 5-7 year olds at the Book Festival… Alan Johnson (2015 Event) Amid a slew of politicians’ memoirs in recent years, Alan Johnson’s This Boy was comfortably among the finest: one critic called it ‘the best political testament I’ve ever read’. The former Home Secretary returns to the Book… Malcolm Rifkind (2016 Event) As the longest serving minister of the 20th century, Defence Minister and Foreign Secretary in Thatcher’s government and more recently Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Malcolm Rifkind has witnessed the monumental political moments of recent times… Kate Tempest with Don Paterson (2015 Event) Still in her twenties, the ferociously-talented Kate Tempest has been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, won the Ted Hughes Prize for innovation in poetry and secured a novel contract with Bloomsbury… Oscar Guardiola-Rivera (2014 event) Colombian-born writer Oscar Guardiola-Rivera’s riveting Story of a Death Foretold lays bare the Cold War paranoia and rabid anti-communism which led to the downfall of Salvador Allende, Latin America’s first democratically-elected Marxist… Reggie Nadelson in conversation with Ian Rankin (2010 event) In this event crime writing extraordinaire Reggie Nadelson discussed the ventures of her brilliantly believable detective, with Edinburgh’s own favourite crime writer, Ian Rankin. The charismatic pair are well worth a listen – and another listen after… Fay Weldon She's stylish, sharp, satirical and a great speaker to boot. A free spirit with a long and remarkable writing career, Fay Weldon talks in this 2007 event about her latest novel The Spa Decameron, in which ten women gather at a spa for pampering, new…