Programme for 70th Edinburgh International Book Festival launched
Last updated 13th Jun 2017
The Edinburgh International Book Festival has launched the programme for its 70th year today.
It's a world leading event and this year will partner with Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre, the University of Edinburgh and the City of Edinburgh Council.
It's set to welcome over 1,000 participants from 50 different countries over two weeks in August.
For its 70th anniversary the Book Festival will expand from Charlotte Square Gardens and its surroundings to George Street.
From the 12th to the 28th of August the city will be hijacked with events that celebrate words and aim to answer big global questions of our time exploring truth, terrorism, fanaticism, identity, and globalisation.
There will be hundreds of events including lectures, panels, workshops, and discussions featuring international writers.
Home talents include Maggie O’ Farrel and Val McDermid who will launch her latest crime novel. As for poetry, novelist and poet John Burnside will introduce to the public two new works.
Turkish novelist Elif Shafak will also explore the connection between fiction and the political world, as Yazidi teenager Farida Khalaf tells her powerful and unforgettable story of being kidnapped and sold into slavery by ISIS in 2014.
In addition, the Book Festival’s Outriders projects sent five Scottish writers on a journey across The Americas. All of them will reunite in Charlotte Square Gardens to tell their adventures and share their inspirations by each of their journeys.
The Baillie Gifford Children’s Programme welcomes authors and illustrators from Australia, New Zealand, Iceland and Iran telling tales of discovery, mermaids, and ponies. The award-winning British novelist Alex Wheatle and author Cressida Cowell will speak at the event.
Tickets can be purchased from 8.30 am on Tuesday 20 June 2017 online at www.edbookfest.co.uk, in person on the same day, at the Box Office at Edinburgh International Conference Centre or at The Hub thereafter.