Books 17 Aug 2008
Hamish Fergusson: The theme that unites Doug Johnstone and Toby Litt for the purposes of this reading is rock and roll, as we are reminded by chair Alan Morrison through an ongoing series of puns: "Hello Edinburgh! ...
Tom Crookston: Bookslam, a monthly "performance literature club-night" held in London's Notting Hill, is the brainchild of the author Patrick Neate and Ben Watt, one half of the briefly ubiquitous late-nineties p...
Paris Gourtsoyannis: Tony Benn is taking no chances these days. The “untrained classroom assistant to the nation” now carries his soapbox around with him, in the form of a rucksack with a collapsible campin...
Books 13 Aug 2008
Paris Gourtsoyannis: Keen to prove that Edinburgh’s UNESCO World City of Literature status is deserved by its present crop of literary talent as well as its rich heritage, the EIBF has lined up a host of Scottish...
Reviews, Books 13 Aug 2008
Tom Crookston: Something about joining the crowds on George Street as they pour towards the main Book Festival entrance in Charlotte Square recalls the short walk up the old Wembley Way, from the tube station to ...
Tom Crookston: Paula Kirby introduces Richard Dawkins with a word of warning. This talk, she says, is going to be something of a "walk on the wild side," as Dawkins – author of the phenomenally successful a...
Paris Gourtsoyannis: It is a fitting reflection of the billing that the audience of Sir Menzies Campbell should be almost exclusively of a certain vintage. However, an hour in the company of the elder statesman and for...
James Horton: One gets the impression that Stephen Berkoff is unused to the interview format. Either that, or entirely indifferent to it. His host began along fairly standard lines: "Stephen is here to talk abou...
Reviews, Books 10 Aug 2008
Paris Gourtsoyannis: Consider this metaphor for rock 'n' roll excess: there was a time, shortly after the release of the single ‘Song 2’ marked the height of Blur’s global popularity, that the band&rs...
Paris Gourtsoyannis: Having already seen Louis de Bernières deliver an almost identical pitch for his latest novel, A Partisan’s Daughter, in his musical event at Valvona & Crolla, it is quite fortunat...
Books 10 Aug 2008
Paris Gourtsoyannis: The Edinburgh International Book Festival is, as the name suggests, strong on foreign authors published in English. This year, the festival is running several series of events showcasing overseas t...
Paris Gourtsoyannis: It is an odd admission for a books editor publishing mainly on the internet to make, but television remains the most pervasive medium of communication at our disposal. Accordingly, while its import...
Natalia Baal: Better known as the ‘pubic triangle’ of Edinburgh for its smattering of strip clubs and lap-dancing dens, or for the 19th Century Burke and Hare murders, West Port is also home to a gat...
Books 07 Aug 2008
Paris Gourtsoyannis: As well as avid devourers of books, the EIBF pulls crowds of writers through its gates, not least because of the particularly dense concentration of literary agents in and around Charlotte Square. ...
Paris Gourtsoyannis: French writer Henry de Montherlant once said that “happiness writes white,” suggesting that good literature is inherently the product of a troubled mind. He would know; in 1972, aged 86...
Books 05 Aug 2008
Claudia Monteiro: Discouraged by the long list of sold-out events at this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival? Fest asked for an insider’s view on what was best from the vast selection of shows ...
Books 03 Aug 2008
Paris Gourtsoyannis: Arthur C. Clarke, the British doyen of science-fiction who died this year, once wrote that since politics was the art of achieving the possible, it only attracted second-rate minds. Though ...
Features, Books 28 Jul 2008
Yasmin Sulaiman: Of all Edinburgh's multitude of summer arts festivals, the International Book Festival, now in its 25th year, boasts a unique character of sophistication thanks to its tranquil New Town setting. Ch...
Books 22 Aug 2007
Nick Garrard: Wonderfully, though the end of the book festival looms, a number of highlights still remain. Just as this year’s festival has embraced eclecticism throughout an all-too-brief two we...
Books 20 Aug 2007
Leo Robson: The so-called super-don John Carey once described Clive James's grand statements about George Bernard Shaw (that in his later works, "garrulity displaced eloquence and brainwaves insight&q...
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