Unbound at the Edinburgh International Book Festival

• Niki Boyle
• 7 August 2012

This article is from 2012.

This year's Unbound will feature Jenni Hagan amongst others

Night-time strand of off-the-page experimentation featuring Sarah Hall and Jenni Fagan

As wonderful as the Edinburgh International Book Festival is – and believe us, it is wonderful – the leafy confines of Charlotte Square Gardens, the village fete-style white tents and the hordes of latte-sipping Guardianistas can sometimes make the whole shebang feel a bit, well, safe. Thank goodness then for the Unbound strand – a more rambunctious younger sibling to the Fest, curated each night by some of the finest avant garde literary organisations from Scotland and beyond. Each event takes a unique theme: the ‘Magic Words’ night combines spoken word and stage magic from members of Writer’s Bloc and Illicit Ink; ‘The Fable of the Hungry Icelander’ features appearances from Scandic poet/musician/author Sjon and fellow writers Audur Ava Ólafsdóttir and Kristín Ómarsdóttir; and Glasgow’s own Words Per Minute hosts a night of ‘Big Time Sensuality’, with Sarah Hall, Jenni Fagan and Alan Bissett, as well as folk-rock duo Two Wings.

Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, 12–27 Aug, 9pm, free.