The Edinburgh International Book Festival is delivering events online as a response to COVID-19, and as usual, a number of our Fellows, alumni/ae and friends will be participating.
We are delighted to sponsor Maggie O’Farrell: Giving New Life to Shakespeare’s Son on Saturday 15 August at 7pm BST, in which renowned author Maggie O'Farrell will discuss her brilliant new novel Hamnet. "In a short but scorchingly emotional book, O’Farrell brings us into the 16th century world of Shakespeare’s family living in Stratford. It is the time of the bubonic plague and with one of the family members falling into a fever, the novel charts the emotional journey of Shakespeare’s wife Agnes as trauma approaches. Surely Maggie O’Farrell’s most accomplished novel to date, Hamnet centres around the emotional life of a deeply intuitive woman, charting the terrain of her grief at the loss of a child." The recording of the event is free to watch online: https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/maggie-o-farrell-giving-new-life-to-shakespeare-s-son/player
On Wednesday 19 August at 8:30pm BST, 2011 IASH-Traverse Creative Fellow Jo Clifford will be participating in Shaping a Better Future with Val McDermid and Jo Sharp. "At last year’s Book Festival, bestselling author Val McDermid and professor of geography Jo Sharp were inspired by the festival theme, 'We Need New Stories'. So inspired, in fact, that they turned to a loveable rogues gallery of Scottish cultural folk to submit a piece of writing about their dreams for a better future. Edited by McDermid and Sharp, Imagine A Country is the fascinating, eclectic and often inspiring result. In today’s event, McDermid and Sharp host acclaimed writers Ali Smith, Jo Clifford and Leila Aboulela, who read their contributions and discuss how we might create a better future for the greatest number of people." The event is free to watch online: https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/val-mcdermid-jo-sharp-shaping-a-better-future
On Monday 24 August at 10am BST, long-time friend of IASH and emeritus professor at the University of Edinburgh Alexander McCall Smith is joined in his garden by Scottish politician (and new appointee to the House of Lords) Ruth Davidson MSP, for a socially-distanced "chat about life, the universe and pretty much everything – including How To Raise An Elephant, the latest in his No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, and The Talented Mr Varg, the second in a captivating new series featuring the world’s kindest detective." The event is free to watch online: https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/alexander-mccall-smith-with-ruth-davidson-for-the-love-of-humankind
Later that day at 11:30am BST, 2018-19 Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Kate Simpson chairs Outriders Africa: Following in their Footsteps, featuring Booker Prize-longlisted writer and film-maker Tsitsi Dangarembga and rising star of Scottish poetry (and contributor to IASH's Dangerous Women Project) Nadine Aisha Jassat. "Fascinated by the rich tradition of storytelling in their shared Zimbabwean ancestry and the voices erased within it, they set out to retrace the funereal route of David Livingstone, whose body was carried from modern day Zambia to the coast of Tanzania by his two attendants, Susi and Chuma. Their adventure took an unexpected turn when Jassat was forced to return to the UK at short notice during the height of the pandemic, leaving Dangarembga to complete the journey solo." The event is free to watch online: https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/nadine-aisha-jassat-tsitsi-dangarembga-outriders-africa-following-in-their-footsteps
IASH Advisory Board member Allan Little presents several events on politics and journalism, in his capacity as Chair of the Edinburgh International Book Festival. On Thursday 20 August at 4pm BST, he interviews veteran journalist James Naughtie and discusses his new memoir about reporting from the USA: https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/james-naughtie-the-usa-from-reagan-to-trump (BSL interpreted). On Monday 24 August at 7pm BST, he discusses the theme of Democracy Under Siege with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Anne Applebaum: https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/anne-applebaum-democracy-under-siege. Lastly, on Thursday 27 August at 8:30pm BST, Allan will chair the annual Frederick Hood Memorial Lecture, delivered by war correspondent, senior policy advisor to Barack Obama, and US Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power: https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/samantha-power-with-allan-little-what-one-person-can-do (Captioned). All events are free to watch online.