This year sees the Edinburgh International Book Festival (10–25th August) move to its new home, the Edinburgh Futures Institute at the University of Edinburgh – an exiting development which bodes well for the future of the festival. But rest assured, despite the move the EIBF is set to continue to be a literary oasis as the pandemonium that is Edinburgh in August rages all around.
Reflecting the changes, this year’s varied and extensive programme is entitled Future Tense, with various themed strands running throughout. You can find all the details of who, what, when, and where at edbookfest.co.uk, but, with so many events to choose from, here is Scots Whay Hae!'s guide to 10 things to see at this year’s festival.
Two of the finest historical novels of the year are Lesley McDowell’s Clairmont and Sara Sheridan’s The Secrets of Blythswood Square, and both writers will be at the festival to talk about the secrets and scandals which are at the heart of their respective novels, but there will be so much more. I envisage a discussion of the nature of the historical novel, comparisons between the 1800s and the present day, the lessons we can learn from the past. Taking place on the opening day of the festival, I can’t think of a better way to kick things off.
Lesley and Sara will be in conversation with Catrin Kemp.
This is an event which will take you to the darker corners of the literary world, featuring two award-winning writers whose work offers up alternative takes on the nature of existence. The Coiled Serpent is Camilla Grudova’s latest short-story collection which promises to bring together the surreal, the absurd and the unexpected while examining contemporary life, while Irenosen Okojie’s new novel Curandera takes place across time and place, weaving magic, mythology and the miraculous throughout. If you like your fiction fantastic, then this is a conversation for you.
Camilla and Irenosen will discuss the art of experimental fiction with Jess Brough.
Nature writing has always been with us, but some of the most notable literature of recent years has looked to the natural world to find inspiration and greater understanding. Three of the very best writers who capture that relationship are at the festival in Jen Hadfield, Amy Liptrot and Roseanne Watt. This event promises to celebrate Orkney and Shetland in particular. The discussion is bound to touch upon language, literature, and identity, as well as place, as they each reflect on how the islands have shaped their lives and work.
Jen, Amy and Roseanne will be in conversation with Christine de Luca.
You may know Michel Faber as the author of great novels, including Under The Skin, The Crimson Petal and the White, and The Book of Strange New Things, but last year he published a wonderful philosophical investigation of his life-long love affair with music. Listen: On Music, Sound and Us looks beyond the music itself to examine the psychosocial, emotional, and even physical effects it can have on us, in an attempt to better understand why we like what we like, and why we are who we are. Expect a thought-provoking, literate, passionate, and surprising discussion on all things sound.
Michel will be in conversation with Dan Richards
Celebrating Edinburgh’s 900th anniversary, the city’s Makar, poet Hannah Lavery, is joined by storyteller Donald Smith – who is the author of Edinburgh: Our Storied City – to celebrate and honour the nation’s capital by reflecting on its complex past while also considering the present, as well as looking to what the future may hold. In terms of time, place, and subject this could just be the perfect event for this year’s festival.
Hannah and Donald will be chaired by Amina Shah.
It’s an exciting prospect to have an event which features two of the finest poets around today. Perhaps better known for her fiction, which includes the feted novels The Panopticon and Luckenbooth, Jenni Fagan is quite simply a great writer in any form. She has recently had a new collection of poems published, Swan’s Neck on a Butcher Block, and this will be one of the first chances to hear her discuss those poems. Published last year, Iona Lee’s Anamnesis is one of the finest debut collections of recent times, easily justifying the anticipation, of which there was plenty. For poetry lovers, and those who simply love literature, this promises to be very special indeed.
Jenni and Iona will discuss their work with Samuel Tongue.
It is increasingly challenging for new writers to make their mark, but this events bring together two whose debuts are among the most talked about and celebrated novels of recent years. Lynsey May’s arresting and affecting Weak Teeth was one of SNACK’s Best Scottish Books of 2023, and Margaret McDonald’s Glasgow Boys has been widely praised, announcing the arrival of a writer of whom to take note. This promises to be a compelling conversation involving two writers at the start of their careers.
Lynsey and Margaret will be talking to with Catherine Wilson.
Andrew McMillan’s Pity is set across three generations of men from the same South Yorkshire family, examining complex issues of masculinity and identity. It is also my favourite book of the year so far. Jon Ransom won the Polari First Book Prize for his novel The Whale Tattoo, and his latest The Gallopers was published earlier this year. Both books touch upon Queer love set in testing times, and this promises to be a discussion where the title of the event, ‘Men in Love’, only scratches the surface.
Andrew and Jon will be chaired by Euan Tait.
Graeme Macrae Burnet’s new novel A Case of Matricide is the latest in the Inspector Gorski series, the Georges Simenon inspired detective thrillers set in small-town France. Perhaps overshadowed by Graeme’s Booker-nominated His Bloody Project and Case Study, these are further examples that this is one of the finest writers around and it will be intriguing to hear about the challenges in writing a series of thrillers, if this is the end for Inspector Gorski, and what the future holds for Graeme Macrae Burnet himself.
Graeme will be talking to Samuel Tongue,
Another two notable debut novels will be discussed on the final day of the festival. Soula Emmanuel’s Wild Geese won the 2024 Lambda Literary Award Winner for best transgender fiction, as well as winning a Society of Authors award. Until now best known as a poet, Andrés N Ordorica’s novel How We Named the Stars is a heartbreaking, profound, and ultimately uplifting story of first love, grief, and life-changing relationships and events, and it’s another literary highlight of the year. Telling stories still too rarely told, this promises to be a fascinating conversation with two of the most exciting writers around.
Soula and Andrés will be in discussion with Sasha de Buyl.
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A version of this article also appears in the current SNACK magazine
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