Saturday 23 August 18:45 - 19:45
- Attend in person
- Captioned
Juxtaposing past and present, ecstasy and heartache, both authors use homes as a structure to explore and illuminate queer histories. They discuss capturing queer truths in their discussion today…
Saturday 23 August 19:30 - 20:30
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- Captioned
Bestselling authors Saara El-Arifi and Juno Dawson join us for an enthralling conversation about all things dark fantasy. Come along to delve into their otherworldly tales: Human Rites and Cursebound…
Saturday 23 August 20:00 - 21:00
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- Captioned
Set within Scotland’s Sierra Leonean community, Foday Mannah’s The Search for Othella Savage, is a vibrant mystery. Today Mannah asks – can loyalty always prevail over power?…
Saturday 23 August 20:30 - 21:30
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- Watch online
- Captioned
Edinburgh’s Makar, Michael Pedersen, is an effervescent poet, poignant memoirist, anarchic event host… and now a debut novelist. He joins Russell Tovey to discuss the offbeat Muckle Flugg…
Suitable for age 9 - 11
Sunday 24 August 10:00 - 11:00
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- Captioned
From Tracey Beaker, Hetty Feather, and now to Daisy, Lily, and Scruff, how does Jacqueline create the characters that fill her many stories? Find out from the beloved author herself as she chats about her remarkable books and life as a writer…
Sunday 24 August 10:15 - 11:15
- Attend in person
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Explore the practical and philosophical dimensions of crisis response with Lucy Easthope, emergency planner and international advisor on disaster recovery…
Sunday 24 August 10:30 - 11:30
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- Captioned
Legendary chef José Pizarro is an icon of Spanish cuisine in the UK. Today he chats to us about his passion for fresh, quality produce prepared with simplicity and lashings of enthusiasm…
Suitable for age 3 - 5
Sunday 24 August 11:45 - 12:45
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- Captioned
See Jarvis create beautiful drawings on stage and learn all about how the objects we collect with our loved ones can hold memories that last a lifetime…
Sunday 24 August 11:45 - 12:45
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- Watch online
- Captioned
Suffering from burnout, political adviser Chloe Dalton retreated from the big city to the English countryside. There she found a seemingly abandoned leveret, or baby hare, and took it home…
Sunday 24 August 12:00 - 13:00
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- Captioned
In the aftermath of defeat, what kind of legacy did Boudicca, warrior queen and mastermind of one of history’s greatest revolts, leave her child?…
Sunday 24 August 12:15 - 13:15
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Malcolm X was born 100 years ago this year. Yet his legacy of resistance ‘by any means necessary’ continues to resonate globally. With special guests Bonnie Greer, Vayu Naidu, and Ekow Eshun. Chaired by Colin Grant…
Sunday 24 August 13:30 - 14:30
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- Watch online
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Ahead of the highly anticipated publication of his new novel, What We Can Know, Ian McEwan reflects on a truly remarkable career which has produced so many works which are at once timeless and yet always remain in close conversation with current affairs…
Sunday 24 August 13:30 - 14:30
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- Captioned
What does it take to write a thrilling murder mystery series? Join us as the authors sit down together to dissect how to create multi-faceted characters who live in the minds of readers…
Suitable for age 6 - 9
Sunday 24 August 13:30 - 14:30
- Attend in person
- Watch online
- Captioned
Viral for spittin’ school lessons and stories as beats and bars, MC Grammar is in the Book Festival hood with his debut book, The Adventures of Rap Kid…
Sunday 24 August 14:15 - 15:15
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Romance is in the air in this YA rom-com event that will explore how to boldly be yourself, no matter who’s watching. In Elle McNicoll’s Wish You Were Her, autistic actress Allegera wants to enjoy a normal teenage summer at a book festival but…
Sunday 24 August 15:00 - 16:00
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In The Strangers, journalist, broadcaster, and curator Ekow Eshun challenges the public preconception of ‘the Black male as outsider’ with tender, insightful profiles of five fascinating men…
Sunday 24 August 15:15 - 16:15
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- Captioned
Unnerving, strange, and skin-prickling are words frequently used to describe leading Argentinian writer Samanta Schweblin’s short stories, which expertly balance literary elegance with emotional depth…
Sunday 24 August 15:15 - 16:15
- Attend in person
- Watch online
- BSL interpreted
- Captioned
Drawing on 40 years’ experience in the field, for Richard Susskind, balancing the benefits and threats of artificial intelligence is the defining challenge of our age…
Sunday 24 August 16:00 - 17:00
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Chris Whitaker’s All the Colours of the Dark became a word-of-mouth sensation last year, and shows no signs of slowing down…
Sunday 24 August 16:30 - 17:30
- Attend in person
- BSL interpreted
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As the first ever poet to win the Rathbones Folio Prize (for The Perseverance), we’re delighted to have Raymond Antrobus back with us to launch his debut work of non-fiction, The Quiet Ear…
Full 2025 Book Festival programme is announced with key theme of Repair 
