Interview - Omid Djalili (2014)

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o: The Myth of Human Progress One of the greatest living writers, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o joins us by a live link from his home in Kenya. When he visited Edinburgh in 2018, Thiong’o discussed his detainment as a political prisoner in Kenya and his passionate advocacy for the use of local… Roy Hattersley at the Edinburgh International Book Festival The Labour Party was founded to give a political voice to the working classes and to end inequalities. But the challenge has changed; the gap between rich and poor has widened, and many conceive of Britain as two nations. Can the old remedies – trade… Martha Wainwright: Failure, Fame and Family It’s difficult to imagine acclaimed singer-songwriter Martha Wainwright as anything other than a singular success. Yet as the youngest member of a talented – often quietly cutting – musical family, Wainwright has long considered herself a failure in… Rose Boyt: Portrait Of A Father When looking at Lucian Freud’s piercing portraits, it’s impossible to imagine what it must have been like to sit for him. The artist’s daughter, Rose Boyt, explores that and much more as she discusses her remarkable memoir of the artist… Lisa Taddeo: Violently in Love In her bestselling non-fiction book Three Women, Lisa Taddeo gave an account of the defining sexual relationships in three real women’s lives. Now the American author turns her hand to fiction, and her debut novel Animal opens with a bang – literally… David Grossman with Elif Shafak: Duty or Love? According to writer Juan Gabriel Vásquez, 'Nobody can see the political in the personal like David Grossman. He is an interpreter of hearts and an investigator of social forces. Every book he writes is a revelation.' Inspired by the true story told to him… Richard Ford with Kirsty Wark (2017 Event) Richard Ford is one of America’s greatest writers, capturing the changing face of the USA since the late 70s. He writes of the human condition with wit, passion and an uncanny observational eye. His beloved country has gone through seismic shifts in the… UNBOUND: Electric Lit Orchestra Writers’ Bloc are modern day champions of the Scottish literary tradition the fantastique, and offer weird and wonderful tales… Future Library Announcement: Future Writer, Future Readers Since 2014, authors have contributed to Future Library, a collection of writing that will not be published for 100 years. The venerable group includes Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, Han Kang, and Judith Schalansky. This project was conceived by artist… Tsitsi Dangarembga & Esi Edugyan: The Past, Present and Future of Blackness Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Black and Female brings together essays on the ‘nervous condition’ of being a Black woman in a supposedly post-colonial world. Esi Edugyan’s Out of the Sun comprises five essays on Afrofuturism, immigration and the concept of ‘passing’…