2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival
Books & Literature
Nobel prize-winners and bestselling authors from around the world rubbed shoulders with the literary stars of tomorrow at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival in over 800 events which included enlightening Parkinson-style chats, lively debates and readings. You can listen to extracts from some of the events in our series of free podcasts, recorded live at the festival.
Location:
United Kingdom
Description:
Nobel prize-winners and bestselling authors from around the world rubbed shoulders with the literary stars of tomorrow at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival in over 800 events which included enlightening Parkinson-style chats, lively debates and readings. You can listen to extracts from some of the events in our series of free podcasts, recorded live at the festival.
Language:
English
Website:
http://www.edbookfest.co.uk/
Email:
steve@wired-nomad.co.uk
Episodes
Kurdo Baksi (2011 Event)
11/14/2011
Stieg Larsson’s books have sold more than 20 million copies in 41 countries. But because they were published after his death, many have been left wondering about the true character of a man who was as passionate in his campaign against Swedish neo-Nazism as he was about writing.
Duration:00:53:47
Robert Coover (2011 Event)
11/11/2011
The reissue of his early novels as Penguin Classics in 2011 underlines his status as a giant of American literary postmodernism. Stories like Spanking the Maid, Gerald's Party and Pricksongs and Descants show that a mordant – and morbid – humour are part of his genius.
Duration:00:59:41
Audrey Niffenegger (2011 Event)
11/9/2011
Michigan-born writer and artist, and one of our guest selectors, Audrey Niffenegger is the author of the runaway bestseller The Time Traveler’s Wife. In this event she chats about her various books, the most recent of which is a graphic novel, The Night Bookmobile.
Duration:01:01:24
Ben Mezrich (2011 Event)
11/7/2011
His last book was adapted to become The Social Network, one of the most successful movies of 2010. Mezrich then turned his attention to another strange-but-true American tale in his novel Sex on the Moon.
Duration:00:53:21
Stella Rimington (2011 event)
11/5/2011
The former director general of MI5 has forged a new career for herself as an author of spy novels, using her inside knowledge of intelligence activities to create a credible new hero, Liz Carlyle.
Duration:00:57:05
Michael Scheuer (2011 Event)
11/1/2011
The death of Osama bin Laden in May 2011 marked a key moment in the history of the so-called War on Terror. But Michael Scheuer, formerly the chief of the CIA unit responsible for capturing the elusive Saudi, believes bin Laden’s death will make no difference. Incandescent at ‘pro-terrorist’ US foreign policies,
Duration:00:55:11
Ed Stourton (2011 Event)
10/31/2011
When you hear that a book by a renowned journalist and broadcaster is subtitled ‘Time Spent Following a Lead’, you might assume it’s a memoir concerning the pursuit of headlines. But Diary of a Dog Walker is in fact Stourton’s tale/tail of going out with his pooch.
Duration:00:57:59
Melvyn Bragg (2011 Event)
10/30/2011
Since its publication in 1611, the King James Bible has been the world’s number one bestseller. But the book has become a story in itself. It has been the Bible of wars from the British Civil War to the American Civil War.
Duration:01:10:07
Niall Ferguson (2011 Event)
10/26/2011
Are we living through the dying embers of Western ascendancy? For Scottish historian and broadcaster Niall Ferguson, the ‘killer applications’ test is the best way to measure our status with the rest of the world.
Duration:00:58:04
Tam Dalyell with James Naughtie (2011 event)
10/24/2011
There can be few backbench politicians who have had as much influence on British politics as Tam Dalyell. Fiercely independent and a thorn in the side of several Prime Ministers, his contributions to politics include his vocal opposition to military intervention in the Falklands.
Duration:01:01:40
Neil Forsyth (2011 Event)
10/22/2011
The BBC Radio adaptation of Forsyth's Delete This at Your Perilcatapulted the fictional Dundonian anti-hero Bob Servant to national attention.
Duration:01:08:12
John Fardell: The Day Louis Got Eaten (2011 Event)
10/17/2011
In this fun, interactive event for 4-10 year olds, award-winning author-illustrator John Fardell introduced his new picture book The Day Louis Got Eaten and talked about his artwork, sketches and models.
Duration:00:57:19
Michel Faber (2011 Event)
10/14/2011
The astonishing, triumphant television adaptation of Michel Faber's novel The Crimson Petal and the White represents a radical new step for the previously tired costume drama genre. In this event, Faber discussed his book with Lucinda Coxon.
Duration:00:55:25
Pamela Stephenson-Connolly (2011 Event)
10/12/2011
Her book is certainly engaging but can it live up to the claims that it is the most enlightening book on sex ever published? Pamela Stephenson-Connolly's event threw up some surprises at the Book Festival in 2011
Duration:00:57:20
Dragons and Fairies with Julia Donaldson (2011 event)
10/10/2011
The opening event at the 2011 Edinburgh International Book Festival drew huge crowds of 5-9 year olds and their families to see the inimitable and forever-entertaining newly appointed Children’s Laureate Julia Donaldson.
Duration:01:01:52
Alan Hollinghurst (2011 Event)
10/7/2011
It's many years since Alan Hollinghurst's last novel, The Line of Beauty, was published – a story so powerful that it beat David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas to win the 2004 Booker Prize. His follow-up, The Stranger's Child,
Duration:00:57:39
John Hartson (2011 Event)
10/5/2011
The explosively talented Welsh footballer John Hartson enjoyed success with Arsenal and West Ham before becoming a striker for Celtic, where he scored more than 100 goals in a glorious five year period.
Duration:00:55:30
Kristina Stephenson: Sir Charlie Stinky Socks (2011 Event)
10/3/2011
Children's author Kristina Stephenson introduced her new book featuring the lovable but slightly pongy Sir Charlie Stinky Socks to the delight of her young audience of 5-7 year olds at the Book Festival.
Duration:00:48:14
John Byrne (2011 event)
10/1/2011
Painter and set designer, playwright and novelist, John Byrne is one of Scotland’s great polymaths. Best known for his plays the Slab Boys Trilogy and Tutti Frutti, Byrne has also designed record sleeves for Donovan and The Beatles.
Duration:00:55:36
Richard Bath and Sir Tommy Macpherson (2011 Event)
9/29/2011
Rugby writer Richard Bath has tackled a very different kind of battle in aiding Sir Tommy Macpherson with his memoir, Behind Enemy Lines. Britain’s most decorated living war hero with three Military Crosses, three Croix de Guerre, a Légion d'Honneur and a papal knighthood.
Duration:00:51:44