Raja Shehadeh

Jonathan Agnew (2011 event) In 1991, cricket commentator Agnew was involved in a slice of broadcasting history with an innuendo-fuelled remark about Ian Botham. His throwaway line during a Test Match Special had his radio colleague Brian Johnston… Outriders: Harry Giles & Katherena Vermette (2017 Event) As part of our Outriders project to explore the Americas, poet Harry Giles travelled across Canada with Métis writer Katherena Vermette. Starting in Montreal amid the buzzy Quebecois writing scene, the two writers travelled to Winnipeg, where Lord Selkir… Robin Robertson reading Partytime The Scottish award-winning poet reads his brand new work on the theme of Elsewhere… Gavin Esler Co-presenter of Newsnight, one of our foremost commentators, Scottish broadcaster and writer Gavin Esler knows better than most what goes on behind the scenes in politics. In this 2008 event he talks about his new novel A Scandalous Man, which tells the t… Lewis Alsamari - with Marina Nemat Iraqi exile Lewis Alsamari and Iranian Marina Nemat both wrote deeply moving and personal accounts of their experiences of escape to the West… Gillian Baverstock To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the publication of Malory Towers, Enid Blyton's daughter, Gillian Baverstock, shares her memories of growing up with one of the world's best-loved children's authors. Hear about the real-life inspirations behind Blyton… Alasdair Gray (2011 event) Thirty years ago Lanark was published, which confirmed Alasdair Gray as the most ferociously inventive Scottish writer of his generation. His output since then has been characterised by a close relationship between his writing… Jo Nesbo (2011 Event) Jo Nesbø, the king of Nordic crime fiction, came to Edinburgh to discuss his latest thrilling work, The Leopard… The Principle of Capitalism (2014 Event) As part of a series of events examining the key ideas that have shaped the human race, sociologist Saskia Sassen, research director in international economics at Chatham House Paola Subacchi and professor of political economy Robert Skidelsky joined James… Billy Collins One of the most popular poets on the planet and former US Poet Laureate in his first visit to the Book Festival in 2006. Billy Collins speaks without pretension and with perfect perception about the revelatory detail of our daily lives…