SATURDAY 8th OCTOBER

WRITING WORKSHOP: REBECCA MCKINNEY

10.30am-12.30pm                 PORTOBELLO BAPTIST CHURCH CAFÉ

Crosscurrents: writing inspired by the sea

What does the sea mean to you? Sunny holidays, storm surges, separation, connection? In this two-hour workshop, Rebecca, author of Blast Radius, will use the sights, sounds and smells of the sea to inspire creativity, awaken the senses and capture vibrant images. We will visit the Promenade so dress for all weathers and bring pen, paper and imagination. Writers of all levels welcome.

 

BRIDGES OVER THE FORTH  11.00am-12.00 noon  LIBRARY  UPSTAIRS  

Michael Meighan has written widely about the local and industrial history of Scotland. From his book Forth Bridges Through Time he talks about the history and heritage of the iconic bridges and other crossings that have spanned the river.

Chair:  Peter Ross

BOOKBUG 11.30am-12.00 noon      LIBRARY

Bookbug returns to the Book Festival for a half hour of fun, songs and rhymes.

 

SPANISH BOOKBUG 12.15-1.15pm    LIBRARY

Bookbug goes international! Join Sonia for Spanish songs and rhymes.

FILMISH  12.15-1.15pm     LIBRARY UPSTAIRS

Portobello-based comic artist Edward Ross, recently back from success at Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2016, discusses his debut graphic novel Filmish: A Graphic Journey Through Film, an engaging look at the history of cinema and the fascinating stories behind our favourite films.

Chair: Stephen Goodall

DANGEROUS WOMEN 1.00-2.30pm       PORTOBELLO BAPTIST CHURCH CAFÉ

Novelists Ajay Close and Catherine Hokin talk about what inspired them to write about women who shaped history. Catherine explores the fascinating story of medieval Queen Margaret of Anjou in her debut novel Blood and Roses.  Ajay’s A Petrol Scented Spring follows the extraordinary exploits of Edinburgh suffragette Arabella Scott.

Chair: Viv Cree

AN OLD LADY TALKING THE BLUES 1.30-2.30pm       LIBRARY UPSTAIRS

Novelists Isla Dewar, Women Talking Dirty, and Catherine Simpson, Truestory, discuss their adventures while writing, the catharsis they’ve experienced and problems they’ve encountered. They exchange views on favourite books, favourite bits of books, books they’d wish they’d written and books they’d like to write. Find out about their heroines, both living and on the page, and about the characters they admire, fear, love and hate.

 

KNOW YOUR PLACE 2.45-3.45pm    PORTOBELLO BAPTIST CHURCH CAFÉ

Sean Bradley is Chair of the Edinburgh Old Town Development Trust, publisher and editor of The Evergreen: A New Season in the North, a journal in four volumes based on polymath and urban planner Patrick Geddes’s 19^th century Evergreens. He will discuss the continuing relevance of Geddes’s work in urban renewal.

Chair: Bill Jameson

 

MESSING WITH THE MIND 2.45-4.15pm  LIBRARY UPSTAIRS

Mary Paulson-Ellis, debut author of The Other Mrs Walker, 

joins Graeme Macrae Burnet, whose His Bloody Project has been long listed for the 2016 Man Booker Prize, to talk about what inspired them to write their novels. They’ll discuss how they got into the mysterious minds of their characters and the appeal of psychological thrillers and the exploration of secrets, lies and deception. 

Chair: Graeme Howard

NORTH EDINBURGH NOIR 4.30-6.00pm  LIBRARY UPSTAIRS

Lesley Kelly, A Fine House in Trinity, and Alison Baillie, Sewing the Shadows Together, talk about the joys and pitfalls of setting crime stories in places they know really well. Come along to find out what inspired them and what the reaction has been to the places their crime novels are set: Portobello, Leith and Trinity!  

Chair: Caroline Dunford

 

BOOK QUIZ  8.00-10.00pm at the DALRIADA on the prom

£1 entry per person. No ticket required