William McIlvanney (2013 Event)

Two years ago, fans flocking to see William McIlvanney at the Book Festival shared his exasperation that his seminal crime novels were out of print. Attending that event was Francis Bickmore, editorial director of Canongate, who immediately took action. Thanks to Bickmore we proudly welcomed McIlvanney back in 2013 to celebrate gorgeous new editions of Laidlaw, Strange Loyalties and The Papers of Tony Veitch. Hear him talk about what it was like to have his classic works republished at this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Loading the player... if your browser supports audio and video it should appear in a few moments.
Download MP3

Book Festival News

Celebrating the 2024 Book Festival Celebrating the 2024 Book Festival
Monday 26 August

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

Donate

Share

Listen to more

Billy Collins (2014 Event) Billy Collins (2014 Event) Billy Collins has twice been poet laureate in the US and says he hopes his poems ‘begin in Kansas and end in Oz’. Aimless Love, his first collection of new and selected poems for 12 years, is elegant, poignant and thrillingly accessible. In… Neil Forsyth (2012 event) Neil Forsyth (2012 event) Broughty Ferry's fictional hero Bob Servant was brought to life by Greg McHugh (aka Gary Tank Commander) in a sell-out performance. Since then… Jasper Fforde (2018 Event) Jasper Fforde (2018 Event) Jasper Fforde has spent years on the bestseller lists with his Thursday Next books. Now he’s written a standalone novel, Early Riser, creating a world where all humans hibernate except for the Winter Consuls. Fforde’s ability to write… Joyce Carol Oates (2010 event) Joyce Carol Oates (2010 event) Listen to a significant literary voice as she discusses her two books published in 2010, both of which, in very different ways, involve young people coming to terms with their own sexuality… 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, recorded… Yanis Varoufakis with Shami Chakrabarti (2018 Event) Yanis Varoufakis with Shami Chakrabarti (2018 Event) Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has written several influential books and has co-founded ‘DiEM25’, a pan-European progressive movement which will be competing in next year’s European parliament elections. Adults in… Matt Haig at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Matt Haig at the Edinburgh International Book Festival The modern world can make us feel like the walls are closing in, but a vanguard of writers are here to help us cope – and none more so than Matt Haig. After the storming success of Reasons to Stay Alive comes Notes on a Nervous Planet, a wise and… A.C. Grayling 'The Legacy of a Complex Man' (2016 Event) A.C. Grayling 'The Legacy of a Complex Man' (2016 Event) Best known for sci-fi novels such as The Time Machine and The Invisible Man, H G Wells also wrote numerous non-fiction works. His wide-ranging ideas pre-dated many modern concerns, including the internet and the black civil rights movement. Yet Wells was… Alan Warner Alan Warner An immensely welcome visit in 2007 from one of Scotland's most dizzingly talented and original writers, now living in Spain. Listen as Alan Warner, author of Morvern Callar and The Worms Can Carry Me to Heaven, discusses the scope and ambition of his work… Alan Johnson (2015 Event) 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…