Welcome to the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
A Selection of Highlights for Tomorrow: Saturday 10 August
Fatima Bhutto 10.15am
Published against the backdrop of the Shamima Begum controversy, Bhutto’s novel could hardly feel more topical: set between Portsmouth and Karachi, it charts the lives of three vividly-drawn characters from contrasting backgrounds. The Runaways offers compelling reasons why jihadis are able to lure rootless, marginalised people into terrorism.
Ibram X Kendi with DeRay McKesson 10.30am
Ibram X Kendi is a founding director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center in Washington DC. How To Be an Antiracist is his extraordinary, inspiring guidebook which helps build a vital new understanding of racism – and how to work against it. This superb teacher and storyteller talks to educator and activist DeRay Mckesson, a key figure in the Black Lives Matter movement and our 2019 Guest Selector.
Tim Winton 1.30pm
The Shepherd’s Hut is the latest masterful work by one of the world’s greatest living novelists. To celebrate Winton’s first visit to Edinburgh since 1993, he looks back over an oeuvre that includes classics such as Dirt Music, Cloudstreet and Breath.
This event is part of the WWF Series.
2.30pm James Robertson & Aidan O’Rourke launch 365: Stories & Music – the sound installation in our George Street Bookshop. See more here
Prue Leith 3.15pm
If The Great British Bake Off is your first encounter with Prue Leith, you’ve missed a great deal. Founder of Leith’s School of Food and Wine, restaurateur, journalist, novelist and now TV judge – she is one of the nation’s most respected foodies. As Leith introduces her first recipe book for 25 years, Prue: My All-Time Favourite Recipes, she shares suppers, showstoppers, and the personal stories behind her recipes with Sue Lawrence.
This event is sponsored by the National Library of Scotland.
Kate Atkinson 6.45pm
Jackson Brodie is back, but this time he’s working as a private investigator in a sleepy seaside Yorkshire village. The Costa Prize-winning Kate Atkinson is simply one of Britain’s most ferociously talented writers. She reintroduces one of her greatest creations in Big Sky.
Casey Gerald with DeRay McKesson 7.15pm
Called ‘extraordinary’ and ‘electrifying’ by Marlon James and Colm Tóibín, Texan writer Casey Gerald’s powerful memoir traces fault lines in American racial and masculine identity. There Will Be No Miracles Here examines how Gerald grew up underprivileged, black and gay in Dallas but went on to study at Yale and Harvard, and work on Wall Street. It’s an American Dream story; so why does he spurn the classic rags-to-riches narrative? He shares his thoughts with educator and civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson.
Mark Walters 8.45pm
Footballer Mark Walters is remembered for his wing wizardry, but while he’s revered by the Rangers faithful who cheered him for four trophy-laden years, he also endured racist chants – an issue he campaigns against now. Today, Walters talks to Pat Nevin about new memoir Wingin’ It, working for Graeme Souness, great moments at Liverpool and Aston Villa, and his views about the modern game.
Changes to the Printed Programme:
7.30pm The Future of Humanitarianism – Abigeal Baldoumas, Humanitarian Policy Advisor for Oxfam and Simon Gill, Acting Executive Director of the Overseas Development Institute will now participate in this event. David Pratt will chair.