All Events

There are events for just about every age and interest at the Book Festival, bringing readers and writers together for inspiration, entertainment and discussion. Over 900 authors appear in around 800 events, including novelists, poets, scientists, sportsmen, illustrators, comics creators, historians, musicians, biographers, Nobel and Booker prize-winners and many more besides.

Showing events on Wed 21 Aug.

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    Browse this year's themes

    Yasha Levine

    Internet History Revealed

    Wednesday 21 August 12:30 - 13:30

    Yasha Levine
    San Francisco-based investigative journalist Yasha Levine traces the history of the internet back to its secretive origins as a tool of the US military when it sought to outwit the Vietnamese. In Surveillance Valley, Levine shows that spying wasn’t...
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    Nothing But the Poem on Niall Campbell

    Reading Workshop

    Wednesday 21 August 13:00 - 14:30

    Nothing But the Poem on Niall Campbell Sold Out
    Niall Campbell is a multi award-winning Scottish poet originally from South Uist. His work explores the landscapes, myths and memories of the Outer Hebrides and the altered states of fatherhood. Today's workshop, led by Samuel Tongue from the Scottish...

    Joseph Coelho: Warm-Hearted Words

    Age 3-6

    Wednesday 21 August 13:15 - 14:00

    Joseph Coelho: Warm-Hearted Words
    Hear award-winning performance poet Joseph Coelho share an uplifting story about the importance of being yourself. With sensitivity and warmth, Joseph encourages little ones to get to grips with big topics, including loss. Expect lots of rhymes and...

    James MacMillan

    Scotland’s Classical Music Titan

    Wednesday 21 August 13:30 - 14:30

    James MacMillan
    As he reaches the landmark age of 60, internationally renowned composer and conductor James MacMillan reflects on a classical life well lived in A Scots Song. Ayrshire-born MacMillan's recent achievements have included the formation of The Cumnock Tryst...
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    Annie Ernaux

    Remembrance of Things Past

    Wednesday 21 August 13:45 - 14:45

    Annie Ernaux Sold Out
    A book that's truly special comes along all too rarely. But Annie Ernaux’s The Years is one. Though billed as a novel, it’s really a kind of ‘collective memoir’ of post-war France from a lower-middle class perspective: a Proustian rush of...
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    Masterclass: Character Development

    Hone Your Creative Writing

    Wednesday 21 August 14:00 - 16:30

    Masterclass: Character Development Sold Out
    Bestselling novelist Marcus Sedgwick has won many awards, and has been shortlisted multiple times for the CILIP Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. His writing for adults and young people is brimful of compelling characters....
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    Fintan O'Toole

    Politics of Pain

    Wednesday 21 August 14:00 - 15:00

    Fintan O'Toole Sold Out
    Brexiteers have called on the ‘Dunkirk spirit’ to carry us through these tumultuous times, but there may be more to their connection than intended. In Heroic Failure, bestselling Irish commentator Fintan O’Toole insists Brexit is a genuine...

    Sara Stridsberg & Naomi Wood

    Artistic Differences

    Wednesday 21 August 14:00 - 15:00

    Sara Stridsberg & Naomi Wood
    The most striking art movements of the 20th century tended to be framed by the male gaze. It’s time for a fresh perspective. Swedish novelist Sara Stridsberg’s The Faculty of Dreams reimagines the last days of Valerie Solanas, author of the feminist...

    Toby Faber

    Paperback Writers

    Wednesday 21 August 14:15 - 15:15

    Toby Faber
    Faber & Faber marks the 90th anniversary of the publishing house but it’s no puff piece, instead it offers a bewitching insight into 20th century literary culture. Drawing on unpublished diaries, letters and minutes, the founder's grandson Toby Faber...

    Dive into Reading with Sally Gardner

    Age 7-10

    Wednesday 21 August 14:30 - 15:30

    Dive into Reading with Sally Gardner
    Award-winning author Sally Gardner champions positive debate about dyslexia; her latest book Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Sea Dragon has been printed in a font designed to make reading easier. Join her for an event encouraging struggling readers to dive into...

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