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giugno 12, 2017 - Edinburgh International Book Festival

Book Festival news

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Brave New Words


The 2017 #edinburgh International Book Festival programme is officially launched!

We have brought together over 1000 authors, performers and illustrators, who travel to #edinburgh from across the globe for the largest public celebration of the written word in the world.
 
Not only are we transforming Charlotte Square Gardens into a magical tented village, but we’re also extending activities onto the west end of #georgestreet, offering many more opportunities to be inspired, challenged and entertained.
 
This year’s programme asks some of the major, global questions facing society in 2017, exploring key issues through the lens of Brave New Words. Truth, post truth, globalisation, identity and gender are all up for discussion, as are more light-hearted matters which offer fun and pure entertainment.
 
Come and join us this August to share stories, ask the questions most important to you and revel in spectacular, thought-provoking, often unforgettable experiences. 

Read on to find out more about this year’s key themes and highlights, or  head over to our website to browse the full programme . Tickets on sale from Tuesday 20 June.

Brave New Words - Programme Themes

So what’s it all about?  In 2017, fake news, post truth and a ‘hard Brexit’ have dominated the headlines. We’ve invited authors and journalists from around the world to share their insights in  Age of Political Earthquakes . Our series of debates,  Visions of the Future  also sees writers and public intellectuals giving their interpretations of the big questions facing the world in the 21st century and offering new perspectives.

We’re  Playing with Books  in a strand that brings music and performance together with literature to create innovative and unique events. Partnering with Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre, we put a new spin on three of the most talked-about #books of the year, and we welcome virtuoso pianist David Greilsammer for a UK premiere performance involving two grand pianos and Guest Selector #davidmitchell Intrigued?
We celebrate phenomenal women in our  This Woman Can  series, which includes leading names from the world of sport, politics, entertainment and business.  Who run the world?  Girls.

What’s the magic number?  Definitely 70 in 2017. We celebrate Edinburgh’s 70th anniversary as a festival city in a keynote #event with  Paul Auster  (age 70) at the King’s Theatre on 14 August; mark the 70th anniversary of the Indian subcontinent’s independence from British rule in our  India & Pakistan: 70 Years On  series; and ask what it takes to make a town work in the series,  Writing the City , marking 70 years since the New Towns Act was passed.

Taking the Air  is a series of truly fascinating events looking at sighing, singing, poetry and air quality, supported by the Wellcome Trust and in partnership with Durham University’s Life of Breath project. Meanwhile,  Reading the Final Chapter  looks at how the written word can provide the perfect medium to tackle ideas around mortality.

Anything else?  Back by popular demand, our  Babble On - Spoken Word  and  Stripped series return, along with night-time literary mischief in the Spiegeltent with  Unbound , and the celebration of some of the best debut fiction around with our readers'  First Book Award .

For more information about our 2017 themes, including details of events in each theme, visit our website.

2017 Guest Selectors

Each year, we invite leading names to programme their own strands. Our Guest Selectors this August bring new insights, expertise and knowledge on a diverse range of topics.
Turkey’s most-read female novelist  Elif Shafak  explores the powerful connection between fiction and the political world in conversations with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, American writer Siri Hustvedt and others; acclaimed Scottish science fiction writer  Ken MacLeod  looks at how imagining a different world can help make sense of the one we live in with leading international and Scottish SF and fantasy authors; and award-winning author  David Mitchell  curates a series of events exploring the interplay between words and music.

Roxane Gay, the writer responsible for bringing issues of race, gender and identity into the American mainstream has collaborated with Scottish Makar  Jackie Kay  to programme a series of discussions about identity, which will all be chaired by Kay.

Joining them is our Illustrator in Residence,  Kristina Stephenson , best known for her character Sir Charlie Stinky Socks, who turns 10 this year. She brings children’s authors and illustrators together to celebrate the joys of reading with, and to, young #people.
Find out more about our Guest Selectors, and their events, on our website.

Leading Authors from Across the World

As a truly international Book Festival, we welcome over 1000 participants from 50 different countries. Brilliant writers, performers, illustrators, musicians and entertainers come together to share their brave new words.

Who will be there?

Authors appearing include:

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Zadie Smith, James Kelman, Ali Smith, Sebastian Barry, Limmy, Judy Murray, Tracy Chevalier, Jeremy Paxman, Aravind Adiga, Siri Hustvedt, Ian Rankin, Carol Ann Duffy, Paul Auster, M R Carey, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Bettany Hughes, John Boyne, Eimear McBride, Reginald D Hunter, Philippe Sands, Jenni Murray, Charley Boorman, Maggie O’Farrell, Richard Ford, Evelyn Glennie, Peter Høeg, Martin Sixsmith, John Simpson, Paula Hawkins, Paul Beatty, Hollie McNish and many, many more…

Visit our website to browse the full list of authors appearing at the Book Festival this year.


Baillie Gifford Children’s Programme


What’s the big idea?  The  2017 Baillie Gifford Children’s Programme  celebrates the very best in words, pictures and performance for young #people from tots to teens.

How To Train Your Dragon creator Cressida Cowellintroduces her much-anticipated new series; The Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson brings singing, dancing and rhyming fun; Olympic cyclist Chris Hoy presents his Flying Fergus series; and twice Carnegie Medal-winning author of A Monster CallsPatrick Ness, shares his most personal novel to date, Release.

Joining them are a host of acclaimed children's authors including Frank Cottrell Boyce, Nick Sharratt, Kathryn Evans, Juno Dawson, Clare Balding, Julian Clary, Meg Rosoff, Ed Vere, Robert Muchamore, Axel Scheffler, Greg James, Adrian Edmondson and plenty more…

As well as interactive events with authors and illustrators, the Children’s Programme also includes fun performances, comic workshops, crafts, fascinating debates and lots of hands-on activities. There’s plenty on offer at the Book Festival to create a memorable day for families and young #people.

You can find the full line-up of events for children and young #people on our website.

Browse the 2017 Programme


Event listings online

Visit our website to find the full list of events taking place at this year’s Book Festival.  You can browse events by theme, category, keyword, author, age range or date.

Get the brochure

You can  download a PDF of the 2017 brochure  from our homepage or find out how to get a copy of the printed brochure  here .

Our brochure is also stocked by many bookshops, cafés, arts and cultural organisations across Scotland and further afield. Look out for the six different covers! 


Booking Opens Tuesday 20 June

Tickets go on sale at 8.30am on Tuesday 20 June.

Tickets can be bought online, by phone or in person.

Find out everything you need to know about booking on the  How to Book  page of our website and on page 125 of the brochure.

We will be sending out a reminder email containing booking instructions over the next few days – so do look out for that.