Reviews & features: Edinburgh International Book Festival
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EIBF 2011: five lengthy literary works
24 Aug 2011
featuring Adam Levin, Thomas Pynchon, David Foster Wallace, Stephen King and Tolstoy
The Instructions The story of a megalomaniac 10-year-old boy who may or may not be the messiah takes place over the course of just four frenetic days, but Levin’s massive book takes in Israel’s battle for existence and an entire religion’s search for…
Jane Harris
24 Aug 2011
The author of The Observations and Gillespie and I on making Glasgow an evocative character
‘The secret was what I began with,’ says Jane Harris about her most recent work, Gillespie and I. And what a mystery we unravel, as narrator Harriet Baxter reflects on her time in 1880s Glasgow and the consequences of a chance meeting with ‘soulmate…
Rebecca Hunt
24 Aug 2011
The author of Mr Chartwell creates a credible and empathetic vision of illness
One of the most intriguing and delectably-crafted debut novels of the past year is Mr Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt. The black dog of Winston Churchill’s legendary deep depression is brought vividly to life through the eponymous mutt (also known as Black…
Janice Galloway
24 Aug 2011
The All Made Up author takes on our Q&A
Give us five words to describe All Made Up? True. Funny. Sad. Teen-to-adult. Novel. Which author should be more famous than they are now? VS Naipaul. Because he’s irritating, self-regarding and self-involved enough that massive fame would be in…
EIBF 2011: Christopher Brookmyre adopts subtle pseudonym for latest work - interview
23 Aug 2011
Chris, not Christopher, for Where the Bodies are Buried
When Christopher Brookmyre has three syllables thrown at him, he knows he’s done something wrong. Despite his full first-name appearing on every book jacket since his debut novel in 1997, those around Brookmyre have called him Chris for years. ‘I tend…
Interview: Jon Ronson - The Psychopath Test
19 Aug 2011
Author on madness, public appearances and panicking unnecessarily
During his career, he’s met a sports commentator who believes giant lizards rule the world and encountered Christians who donate human kidneys for Jesus. In his new book Jon Ronson learns the skills for spotting psychopaths. Brian Donaldson wonders…
Profile: Sapphire - The Kid
19 Aug 2011
Author set for appearance at 2011 Edinburgh Book Festival
Sapphire is the voice of America. She doesn’t write about the glitz of Manhattan, the subtle discontents of suburbia or the gothic claustrophobia of the deep south. Her terrain is one in which the American Dream has not only failed but is a total joke…
Will Self
19 Aug 2011
The author on his upcoming reading of Fleck with Alasdair Gray
I’ve known Alasdair Gray for a long time now, nearly 20 years. We had the same publisher in England and he came to one of my events in Glasgow, probably in about 1982 or ‘83. We did some other events together around that time and struck up a…
Moon Talking - Ben Mezrich Interview
19 Aug 2011
The Social Network author brings new novel to Edinburgh Book Festival
Ben Mezrich is not finding it hard to find subject matter for future books. The American author started as a novelist but is better known for writing a string of bestselling non-fiction books including The Accidental Billionaires about Facebook founder…
James Yorkston
19 Aug 2011
A droll and heartfelt memoir from the Fife bard
Earlier this year, James Yorkston seduced a full-house in Glasgow, clad with a well-thumbed touring diary. It was not the first time, and it won’t be the last. While the Fife-based singer-songwriter and commended Fence Collective affiliate has long…
David Almond
19 Aug 2011
Crossing the divide from children’s books to adult fiction
Since penning his first children’s novel, 1998’s Whitbread Award and Carnegie Medal-winning Skellig, David Almond has been lauded as one of the UK’s greatest authors for younger readers. In 2010, the Skellig prequel, My Name is Mina, had critics falling…
Julie Myerson
17 Aug 2011
The author's apocalyptic novel 'Then' delves into the heart of darkness
‘Oh dear, I’m sorry!’ says Julie Myerson. She’s apologising for giving me nightmares with her latest novel, Then. ‘Well, I’m only half-sorry as I suppose I do want to have that effect.’ The London-based writer has never shirked from disconcerting…
EIBF 2011: five book-to-screen adaptations
17 Aug 2011
Featuring Joe Dunthorne, Val McDermid, Michel Faber, Alan Hollinghurst and Alexander McCall Smith
Joe Dunthorne With his debut, Submarine, the Welsh poet and author captured the peculiar, rainy-day awkwardness of adolescence, and Richard Ayoade’s film, with Dunthorne’s assistance, did a fair old stab at bringing it further to life. 19 Aug…
Edinburgh International Book Fest 2011: 5 poetry picks
17 Aug 2011
Featuring Michael Longley, Robin Robertson, Czeslaw Milosz, Wendy Cope and John Burnside
Michael Longley One of the most decorated verse-conjurors at this year’s festival, the Belfast-born writer has the TS Eliot Poetry Prize, a Whitbread and the Hawthornden Prize under his belt as well as being the proud recipient of the 2001 Queen’s…
First Writes: Sunjeev Sahota, author of Ours are the Streets
17 Aug 2011
The debut author discusses his first novel, Edinburgh and some of his favourite novels
Give us five words to describe Ours are the Streets? Fathers. Sons. Responsibilities. Belonging. Home. Which author should be more famous than they are now and why? I don’t know how famous or not she is, but I don’t think I hear that much in the UK…
Jo Nesbø
17 Aug 2011
Crafty Oslo crime scribe brings us his fiendish ’tec
There are many ways to cause a fatality, and crime writers are renowned for finding the most imaginative route to the grave possible. But Norwegian author Jo Nesbø has really outdone himself in his latest novel The Leopard. His serial killer’s…
First word: Bob Servant
16 Aug 2011
Hero of Dundee (and creation of Neil Forsyth) on Jesus, Brian Cox and Broughty Ferry
Bob Servant, Hero of Dundee (and creation of Neil Forsyth) talks to The List about Jesus, Brian Cox and Broughty Ferry First record you ever bought The theme tune to Puff the Magic Dragon. I have never heard anything sum up life’s challenges better…
Darren Shan, Barry Hutchison and Alexander Gordon Smith talk horror
16 Aug 2011
Creating terrifying tales for teenage readers at the EIBF
As far as groundings in the horror business go, young adult writer Barry Hutchison knew exactly what fear was from an early age. ‘I lived in a perpetual state of terror when I was a kid,’ says the Fort William-based creator of the Invisible Fiends…
Horror Stories for Kids at 2011 Edinburgh Book Festival
16 Aug 2011
Darren Shan, Barry Hutchison & Alexander Gordon Smith talk horror
As far as groundings in the horror business go, young adult writer Barry Hutchison knew exactly what fear was from an early age. ‘I lived in a perpetual state of terror when I was a kid,’ says the Fort William-based creator of the Invisible Fiends…
Gordon Ferris - The Hanging Shed
16 Aug 2011
Evoking the dark side of 1950s Scotland
For an author whose subject matters might be referred to as solidly traditional – a compelling combination of post-war historical drama and ripping crime thriller – Gordon Ferris is at the leading edge of a publishing revolution. The first two novels in…
Grant Morrison - Supergods at 2011 Edinburgh Book Festival
16 Aug 2011
Tracing the flashy history of superheroes
If anyone knows what makes a great superhero, it’s Grant Morrison. Having written for both Marvel and DC, the Glaswegian has made valuable contributions to the popular mythology of Batman, Superman and Fantastic Four. In Supergods, he traces his own…
Bella Bathurst - The Bicycle Book
16 Aug 2011
New literary vehicle for Lighthouse Stevensons author
Bella Bathurst’s The Bicycle Book navigates the past and present of two-wheeled travel. From the suffragettes who recognised it as a ‘freedom machine’ to the huge rise in cycling’s popularity in Britain since the millennium, it features a cast of…
Kristin Hersh set for Edinburgh Festival show
10 Aug 2011
Indie rock goddess brings new memoir, spoken word and live music
Alternative rock idol Kristin Hersh is spoiling us. She’s playing four shows in the Edinburgh festival, although she doesn’t realise it. ‘Am I? I don’t know!’ she laughs. ‘I’ll do whatever you say...’ The List is tempted to exploit this congenial…
Interview: Ali Smith - There but for the
9 Aug 2011
Scottish writer appears at 2011 Edinburgh Book Festival
There can be few more anxious experiences for an author than turning to the literary section of a newspaper as the book they have slogged over for possibly years is taken apart by a faceless critic. One national paper gave Ali Smith the fright of her…
Ned Beauman set for Edinburgh International Book Festival appearance
9 Aug 2011
Debutant with a palate for the distasteful
Ned Beauman’s first novel, Boxer, Beetle, comes prefaced with the rather haughty caveat: ‘This is a novel for people with breeding. Only people with the right genes and the wrong impulses will find its marriage of bold ideas and deplorable characters…
