Nussaibah Younis: Fundamentally Funny

Shortlisted for 2025's Women's Prize for Fiction, Fundamentally combines Nussaibah Younis' career in academia and Middle East peacekeeping with her recent training in stand-up comedy. In this darkly funny debut, set in an Iraqi internment camp for ISIS brides, Younis explores the grey areas that exist when faced with questions of identity, faith, and family. Younis talks with Anahit Behrooz today about navigating cultural divides and the intricacies of interweaving whip-smart humour and international crises.

Book Festival News

60 new events now available on demand 60 new events now available on demand
Tuesday 4 November

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

Donate

Share

Watch more

Raven Smith: On the Magnetism of Masculinity Raven Smith: On the Magnetism of Masculinity What is it about men that’s so intriguing? This is the question at the centre of Raven Smith’s Men. Often problematic, often privileged and always constant – still Smith can’t help but love them. Part memoir and part commentary, his book explores the… Laurie Bristow: The Ambassador’s Final Dispatch Laurie Bristow: The Ambassador’s Final Dispatch After a long career at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), including as director of national security, Laurie Bristow was British ambassador to Afghanistan in 2021 and one of the last civilians to leave when Kabul fell to the Taliban… Michael Sandel (2012) Michael Sandel (2012) In his book, What Money Can't Buy, Michael Sandel examines one of the biggest ethical questions of our time… Jura Unbound: Illicit Ink & Graphic Scotland (2013 event) Jura Unbound: Illicit Ink & Graphic Scotland (2013 event) Graphic Scotland and Illicit Ink joined forces to combine stories from the page with illustrators on the stage in this lively, late night Jura Unbound event…… Masha Gessen with Philippe Sands: Facing Down President Putin Masha Gessen with Philippe Sands: Facing Down President Putin Promoting their new book Surviving Autocracy, Russian-American author and journalist, and peerless chronicler of totalitarianism and dissent, Masha Gessen made a surprising declaration: that by the middle of 2020 it seems clear that Trump might be worse… James Kelman: Class Act James Kelman: Class Act It’s impossible to overstate the importance of James Kelman and his landmark 1994 Booker Prize win for Scottish literature. Nearly 30 years on, we welcome Kelman back to the Festival to speak with writer Graeme Armstrong on God's Teeth and Other Phenomena… Juliana Buhring (2017 event) 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 filmed live… Peter Hitchens speaks to Ruth Wishart at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Peter Hitchens speaks to Ruth Wishart at the Edinburgh International Book Festival A former member of the International Socialists, Peter Hitchens now leans firmly to the right. But his latest book, The Phoney Victory, may rankle with those on both sides of the political spectrum as he argues that Britain went into truncated decline… Joe Boyd: Bringing It All Back Home Joe Boyd: Bringing It All Back Home Responsible for the sound on the night Bob Dylan went electric, and producer of Nick Drake, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, and R.E.M, few know the 20th century’s most popular music better than the legendary Joe Boyd – or are more familiar with the global…… Samar Yazbek: Escapism for Survival Samar Yazbek: Escapism for Survival Today, Yazbek speaks to academic and activist Esa Aldegheri about her work.The TV news reports from war-torn countries such as Syria offer a picture of suffering amid the debris and devastation, with women and children often reduced to the role of…