Age 3-6
Wednesday 14 August 15:45 - 16:30
Discover your inner artist with Fifi Kuo, Macmillan Prize for Illustration winner and author of Everyone Can Draw. Using giant rolls of paper, create a story with Fifi and celebrate your unique drawing style. Then, taking inspiration from her new book...
Here Comes the Sun
Wednesday 14 August 16:00 - 17:00
Can sunbathing be good for your health? Why are children in Asia ten times more likely to be short-sighted? Linda Geddes, award-winning science writer and consultant for New Scientist magazine, has unearthed these questions and more while undertaking...
Capitalism and Our Political Crisis
Wednesday 14 August 17:00 - 18:00
What caused the current crisis of trust in politics? For leading economist Branko Milanovic, the issues go beyond the financial crash of 2008 to the neoliberal revolutions of the 1980s. In his new book Capitalism, Alone, he charts the rise of an...
Age 5-8
Wednesday 14 August 17:15 - 18:15
Think you know all there is to know about mermaids and witches? Wait until you meet bestselling World Book Day 2019 author Sibéal Pounder, creator of the Witch Wars and Bad Mermaids series. Find out the truth about your favourite fairy tales, and learn...
Cultivating a Shelf Life
Wednesday 14 August 17:30 - 18:30
Alberto Manguel, novelist and former director of the National Library of Argentina, is a man who truly loves books; in fact, he amassed a personal collection of 35,000 which he had to cull when moving from France to America in 2015. In his delightful...
By Any Means Necessary
Wednesday 14 August 17:30 - 18:15
All over the world people are persecuted for writing critically about their government or country. Prison places restrictions on communicating with the outside world and limits the availability of writing materials. Today we hear the words of imprisoned...
Global Female Writers
Wednesday 14 August 17:45 - 18:45
Margaret Busby’s historical anthology Daughters of Africa was published 27 years ago to international acclaim. Now there’s a companion volume. New Daughters of Africa is a glorious portrayal of the richness and range of over 200 contemporary women...
Hamish Matters
Wednesday 14 August 18:00 - 19:30
Celebrate the centenary of international icon Hamish Henderson's birth through his words and music, performed by a specially assembled collection of renowned singers and musicians. The Darg, an anthology of poetry inspired by Henderson and his many...
Charm Scholar
Wednesday 14 August 18:45 - 19:45
It’s impossible to predict what will happen at an Alexander McCall Smith event. There are his new books to discuss, including The Second Worst Restaurant in France, and The Peppermint Tea Chronicles, the latest book in his 44 Scotland Street series....
Mother-Daughter Love Hurts
Wednesday 14 August 19:00 - 20:00
Slip of a Fish is the ‘startling and inventive' debut by Amy Arnold, winner of last year’s inaugural Northern Book Prize. In the scorching heat of summer, Ash, mother to seven year old Charlie, does something unthinkable, spinning both their lives...
2019 Programme Launched: We Need New Stories 
