If you have been having a look through the programme for this year’s Portobello Book Festival and noting down the events you would like to see, then NOW is the time to get yourself down to the library! Tickets are available from today, exclusively from the library in Rosefield Avenue.
Tickets, which are all free, can only be collected from Portobello Library in person. When collecting tickets, you are restricted to four per event per person. Library opening hours are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 10-8pm and Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10am-5pm.
If you have tickets and find you can’t use them, please return them to the library. There are sometimes places available for events on the day. So if you have missed out on tickets for an event you really wanted to see, it’s worth coming along just before the event in case there any spaces.
PortobelloBook Festival: 5th – 8th October2023 All events are free, but ticketed.
The programme for this year’s festival was officially launched at the library last night. Copies are now available to pick up from the library and you’ll find them in various places around Portobello too. Tickets will be available to collect in person from the library from 10am on Monday morning, 4th September.
PLOT TO PLATE – 7.00-8.00pm at PORTOBELLO BOOK SHOP
Join Art Walk Projects for an event to celebrate their latest publication, Plot to Plate Cook Book, the result of their collaboration with artists Felicity Bristow, Susie Wilson and Craigentinny Telferton Allotments. The book, which has evolved through a continuing friendship with the working group who volunteer at the allotments, is to share recipes that are about place, people and a community.
FRIDAY 6th OCTOBER
THE ZEKAMERON: BEHIND BARS IN BELARUS
1.00-2.00pm LIBRARY UPSTAIRS
This book is a collection of 100 vignettes about life behind bars in Belarus today which were smuggled out of prison. The author, Maxim Znak, a brilliant lawyer and opposition activist, is currently serving a 10 year sentence. This session is a collaboration between Amnesty International and the People’s Consulate of Belarus in Scotland, whose members introduce the book and read selections from it.
Chair: Cathy Crawford, Portobello Branch of Amnesty
LOCAL VOICES
2.00-3.00pm at JAMESON GATE
Portobello-based authors Grahame Howard and Bill Flockhart talk about their work. Grahame has written both fiction and memoir, his work characterised by his sympathy for his characters and ability to see humour in almost all situations. His most recent novel, The Norris Sanction, is a humorous tale in the style of Tom Sharpe. Bill has written the Operation Large Scotch series of thrillers inspired by Alistair MacLean, Frederick Forsyth and Wilbur Smith. His most recent novel, Vengeance in Valescure, is a tense thriller in which MI6 attempts to thwart rogue arms dealers in the south of France.
Chair: Paul Hudson
WRITING FROM LIFE
2.30-3.30pmLIBRARY UPSTAIRS
The most resonant writing often comes from deep personal experience. Portobello resident Jane Chisholm’sMemories of Zambia recounts her experience as a young VSO nurse in the 1970s taking charge of a remote mission hospital deep in the African bush. Frances Hider is a writer of creative non-fiction who has a special interest in the overlap of nature with art and literature, science and medicine. She is winner of the 2021 Women on Writing Creative Nonfiction Contest. Catriona Windle is a Musselburgh-based author. Her new novel, NFF, tells the tale of her rocky transition from teenage to adult life as she navigates the stormy waters of the 1980s NHS system and comes face to face with the leviathan that calls itself psychiatric care.
Chair: Allan MacRaild
Left to right: Jane Chisholm, Frances Hider, Catriona Windle
Frances Hider photo (c) Frank Alford Smithers
OUR FATHERS FOUGHT FRANCO
4.00-5.00pm LIBRARY UPSTAIRS
Why did four young men (including Donald Renton of Portobello and Geordie Watters of Prestonpans) put their lives on the line and go to fight fascism in Spain with the International Brigades in 1936? How did they all end up in the same prison cell? And what is their legacy today? Family members/authors Willy Maley, Jennie Renton, Tam Watters and Lisa Croft tell their stories.
WHISKY – DISCUSSION OVER A DRAM
5.30-6.30pm LIBRARY UPSTAIRS
Jake King has written an invaluable guide, The A-Z of Whisky Place-Names: Landscape, Language and Inventions. This is essential to those with an interest in the history of whisky. There will also be a chance to try a dram and discuss the unique and complex flavours, courtesy of Annabel Meikle, Director, Keeper of the Quaich.
Chair: Bill Jameson
TRIAL BY JURY
7.00-8.30pm LIBRARY DOWNSTAIRS
Mark Bridgeman, best-selling author of Blood Across the Water and The Nearly Man, brings a real life murder trial to the Portobello Book Festival, in which YOU the audience become the jury! With a PRIZE for the winner, the verdict revealed, and a Q&A with the author, this promises to be an evening to remember – don’t miss out. Will you send a man to the gallows?
Mark Bridgeman
SATURDAY 7th OCTOBER
WRITING WORKSHOP
10.15am-12.15pm THE WASH HOUSE
Creative writing workshop open to writers of all abilities and all forms. Come along for some writing inspiration and exercises in the company of other local writers and writing enthusiasts. Led by local writer J L Hall.
FEEL-GOOD FICTION
10.30-11.30am LIBRARY UPSTAIRS
Sam Canning (Virtual Strangers), Niamh Hargan (The Break-Up Clause) and Nina Kaye (Just Like That) discuss their funny, feel-good novels, the enduring appeal of a happy-ever-after and why romantic fiction deserves as much respect as other genres.
Chair: Joanne Baird
BOOKBUG and KIRSTY OXLEY
11.00am LIBRARY DOWNSTAIRS
The usual mixture of fun, songs and rhymes, followed by local author and illustrator Kirsty Oxley who will read from her book Pablo Goes To Portobello and talk about her work.
FREE TO GO
12.00-1.00pm LIBRARY UPSTAIRS
Esa Aldegheri and Frances Guy discuss Esa’s Free to Go, a travel book which explores aspects of freedom, borders, motorbike journeys, motherhood, pandemic restrictions and Brexit. Esa is a poet, a multilingual writer and researcher at the University of Glasgow. Frances, CEO of the International Development Alliance, is an expert on the Middle East and gender politics, formerly UK Ambassador to Lebanon and Yemen and was UN Women Representative in Iraq.
WOMEN OF PORTOBELLO HERSTORY WALK
1.00-3.00pm TOP OF KING’S ROAD
With Louise Meiklejohn and Fiona Watt
There are lots of plaques commemorating men’s history in Portobello, but only one for a woman. We know that women have done some cool stuff in history – it just doesn’t get talked about enough. Come on this walk to hear about the achievements and stories of notable Portobello women! Donations invited for Scottish Women’s Aid.
CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION
1.30-3.00pm LIBRARY UPSTAIRS
Research shows that translated books are on the rise. This is an opportunity to hear four Edinburgh-based translators, Siân Reynolds, Ian Giles, Vineet Lal and Tim Gutteridge, discuss their experiences. Subjects for discussion could include analysing the original novel, determining the original authors’ intentions and reinterpreting historical novels for modern tastes with fascinating anecdotes between authors and their translators.
Chair: Duncan Beattie, Crime Writers’ Association judge
PLAYWRITING IN SCOTLAND
3.30-4.30pm LIBRARY UPSTAIRS
Join Hannah Lavery, Edinburgh Makar, poet, playwright and performer, and Jemima Levick, Artistic Director of A Play A Pie and A Pint, as they consider opportunities for playwrights and the role of theatre to educate, enlighten and entertain the people of Scotland.
Hannah LaveryJemima Levick
BIOGRAPHY, HISTORY AND IMAGINATION
5.00-6.30pm LIBRARY UPSTAIRS
Jean Barr, author of The Legacy: A Memoir, which explores one family’s role in Britain’s cover-ups, Chitra Ramaswamy, whose latest book, Homelands, traverses a century of history and her friendship with 99-year-old German Jewish refugee Henry Wuga, and Eleanor Thom, whose novel Connective Tissue interweaves narratives from 20th century Germany to 21st century Scotland, discuss the historical in the present.
Chair: Donald Bloxham, Professor of History, University of Edinburgh
THE QUINE OF CRIME AND THE PRINCES OF POETRY
7.00-8.30pm LIBRARY DOWNSTAIRS
A Saturday Treble Fandango with Val McDermid, Michael Pedersen, William Letford and special guests. Poetry, readings, and music.
Val McDermidMichael PedersonWilliam Letford
SUNDAY 8th OCTOBER
HUGH MILLER – THE CASTAWAY
11.00am-12.00noon LIBRARY UPSTAIRS
Brian McLaughlin and Anna Tallach in conversation. Hugh Miller was both a part of and apart from his tumultuous times. Brian’s three-part novel, An Edinburgh Suicide: The Death of Hugh Miller, traces Hugh’s rise and fall and Anna is exploring his time in Orkney as a clue to his character. Much has been made of Hugh’s active participation in geological research, the formation of the Free Church of Scotland, the political debates of his day and his defence of Scottish culture. But he died alone, in many ways an outcast. How did this come about?
Hugh Miller
DOOKING DISCOURSES
11.00am-12.00noon LIBRARY DOWNSTAIRS
Take a stroll down the promenade any day and you’ll spot plenty of people bobbing about in the Firth. The benefits, history and magical lure of cold-water swimming runs much deeper than the dry-robe dipper fad. Join us in conversation with local author Kellan MacInnes and writer, broadcaster and social media legend Calum Maclean as they share their passion for the water. Kellan’s evocative memoir The Wild Swimmer of Kintail beautifully retraces the steps of a pioneer in the field while Calum brings us his authoritative and engaging 1001 Outdoor Swimming Tips.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE FICTION
12.30-1.30pm LIBRARY UPSTAIRS
Award-winning crime writer Doug Johnstone discusses how his background as a physicist has informed his recent science fiction thriller The Space Between Us. He is joined by debut author Sheila Averbuch, whose life as a tech journalist and copywriter inspires her fiction for teen readers. She discusses why her novel Friend Me tackles how AI and social media technologies impact on our lives. There will also be a chance to catch up with Doug about his latest book in the Skelf family crime series The Opposite of Lonely.
Chair: Louise Kelly
AS LONG AS WE’VE GOT A VOICE
12.30-1.30pm LIBRARY DOWNSTAIRS
Lesley Fox’s book tells the life story of Jimmy McIntosh MBE, a well-known Edinburgh disability rights campaigner. Born in 1939, Jimmy spent most of his adult life in Scottish institutions, moving to Gogarburn Hospital in 1956. His generous spirit and tireless campaigning contributed to winning the vote for patients in 1981. His legacy reminds us of the cruelty of the institution and the necessity of everyone’s voice being heard. Jimmy was a survivor, a battler and above all a people’s champion who believed in the right to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves.
Panel: Maureen Martin, Tom Frank and Steve Coulson
Chair: Howard Mitchell
BLUE SCOTLAND
2.00-3.00pm LIBRARY UPSTAIRS
Inspirational adventurer Mollie Hughes who, by the age of 26, successfully summited Mount Everest from both the north and south sides, then followed that by skiing solo from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole, comes closer to home to talk about her new book Blue Scotland – a personal guide to exploring the waters of Scotland by paddleboard, kayak, swimming and surfing. In conversation with Rona Gray
OUTSIDERS
2.00-3.00pm LIBRARY DOWNSTAIRS
Angie Spoto’sThe Grief Nurse is set in a world where the rich employ others to experience their negative feelings so they can live untroubled. When Lynx, the titular grief nurse, questions her role, her life is upended. Anya Bergman’sThe Witches of Vardø, is set in Norway in 1662, during real witch hunts where accusations of witchcraft rained down on women who dared even to dance. This event discusses how thrilling storytelling and extraordinary settings help us explore sensitive topics and the role and fate of outsiders.
Chair: Susan Elsley
NEVER TELL ANYONE YOU’RE JEWISH
3.30-4.30pm LIBRARY UPSTAIRS
Maria Chamberlain’s book is a story of her assimilated Jewish family in Nazi-occupied Poland. The last part covers her early life in Stalinist Poland and her family’s emigration to Edinburgh. In this session she is in conversation with Gica Loening, Portobello resident, family friend, and herself second generation German Jewish.
THE PUNK ROCK POLITICS OF JOE STRUMMER: RADICALISM, RESISTANCE AND REBELLION
3.30-4.30pm LIBRARY DOWNSTAIRS
Gregor Gall, Visiting Professor of Industrial Relations, University of Leeds and Affiliate Research Associate, University of Glasgow, draws on Joe Strummer’s lyrics, bootleg recordings, interviews and testimony from over 100 followers, to take the reader on a journey through the political influences and motivations that defined one of the UK’s greatest punk icons and produced a lasting legacy of progressive politics.
Chair: Joe Herzberg, drummer and Clash follower
WEAK TEETH
5.30-6.30pm LIBRARY UPSTAIRS
Our very own Lynsey May (formerly one of the organisers of PBF) talks about her debut novel Weak Teeth – an emotional roller coaster of love, loss, family dynamics and odontophobia. Lynsey is in conversation with author Catherine Simpson.
HISTORICAL THRILLERS
5.00-6.30pm LIBRARY DOWNSTAIRS
Step back in time with DV Bishop (Ritual of Fire), Kate Foster (The Maiden) and Sarah Smith (Hear No Evil). Their thrilling historical mysteries bring the dark pasts of 16th century Florence, 17th century Edinburgh and 19th century Glasgow vividly to life on the page.
PORTOBELLO BOOK FESTIVAL is organised by a group of local book enthusiasts in collaboration with Portobello Library. If you have ideas or would like to be involved, please contact portobellobookfestival@gmail.com Tickets are free and contributors are not paid. The festival is entirely dependent on donations to meet basic running costs. Books by contributing authors can be purchased at the festival bookstall in the library and from the Portobello Bookshop.
Keep an eye on the website next week. The 2023 programme will go live on Friday 1st September. As always, tickets will be free and can be collected in person from Portobello Library from Monday 4th September at 10am. Oh and, despite the lovely picture on the calendar above, the festival isn’t taking place in Musselburgh but right here in Portobello of course!
The Portobello Book Festival organising committee have already met to start planning this year’s festival. We are excited to have had lots of interesting suggestions passed on to us and of course we all have lots of ideas ourselves. It’s already looking like it’s going to be a great festival again. So save the dates – this year’s festival will run from Thursday 5th October to Sunday 8th October.
Don’t forget you can keep up with the book festival on all kinds of social media, including our new Instagram account. Click the links and give us a follow!
Believe it or not, we will be starting to plan for our October 2023 festival early in the new year. We begin well in advance so if you’re interested in being considered for inclusion, contacting us in the first half of January is a good idea. There are always limited spots and after our early planning sessions most of these are already accounted for. We’re a small group of volunteers so can’t always keep track of requests carrying over year on year so getting in touch in early January makes it easier for us to consider you.
Don’t forget you can keep up with the book festival on all kinds of social media, including our new Instagram account. Click the links and give us a follow!
The 14th Portobello Book Festival was a great success and we hope you all enjoyed itas much as we did. One lady when collecting her tickets said Portobello Book Festival is the highlight of her year and it’s certainly the highlight of ours. .
Over the weekend, Portobello Book Festival attracted over 500 people to the library, Jameson Gate and the Portobello Bookshop, and comments across the board have been very positive indeed. Our intention is always to try as far as possible to make sure that those who make up the community of Portobello see themselves, their experience and their interests reflected in the programme. The programme is also designed to bring together a distinctive mix of subjects, writers, commentators and readers.
The organising team would like to thank:
All our participating writers for inspiring and entertaining us
The talented musicians who took part in the Friday evening event Songs from the Last Page
Our fantastic chairs for keeping everything running smoothly
Our soundman Jock and his assistant Riley for making sure that everyone could be heard
Our volunteer Antonia who was a great help on a busy Sunday
Our security man Bill for providing a cheery presence at the door over the weekend and dealing with a rowdy attendee. Don’t worry, it was only Oreo the cat!
The Portobello Bookshop for hosting a great event to kick off the festival. Also for providing staff for the weekend and making sure all our authors’ books were available for sale after each event
Jameson Gate for hosting a fantastic and very popular event on Friday afternoon
A special thanks to Paul Hudson and the staff of Portobello Library, a fantastic resource on our doorstep. The collaboration with the library and the help and time given by the library staff are what make the festival the success it is
And of course, thanks to everyone who came along to the events and created such a vibrant atmosphere
We start to plan our October festival well in advance so if you’re interested in being considered for inclusion, contacting us in the first half of January is a good idea. There are always limited spots and after our early planning sessions most of these are already accounted for. We’re volunteers so can’t always keep track of requests carrying over year on year, so getting in touch in early January makes it easier for us to consider you.
The 2023 programme will be launched early September with tickets available shortly afterwards.
Books by all our participating authors will be available to buy or order from our local independent bookshop, The Portobello Bookshop. The lovely staff will also be running a book stall at the library during the festival.
You will find the bookshop at 46 Portobello High Street. Opening hours are 10am – 6pm, seven days a week. You can order books in person, by phone or online, either to Click and Collect or for delivery. The phone number is 0131 629 6756.
With just over a week to go until the 2022 Portobello Book Festival, here is an update about tickets.There are still plenty of tickets left and plenty of time to pick them up from Portobello Library. Remember all events are free to attend.
Events currently fully booked
Writing Workshop
Speaking To Us From The Past
Literary Walking Tour
Slaves and Highlanders
Trudy & Me
A Matter of Time
The Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer
Dr Gavin Francis and Professor Devi Sridhar
Extra tickets available
We have been able to make more tickets available for the Witches in Scotland event on Sunday 2nd October. These are now available from the library
If you have tickets for an event and find you can’t come anymore, particularly if it’s for one of the fully booked events, please return them to the library so someone else can get the chance to come along.
If an event you wanted to go to is fully booked, it is always worth coming along on the day just before the event. We’ll let ticket holders in first of course but if there are spaces, you might get in.
Remember you can get up to four tickets per event per person so if you have a friend who would find it difficult to get to the library to pick up a ticket, why not get one for them?
If you have been having a look through the programme for this year’s Portobello Book Festival and noting down the events you would like to see, then NOW is the time to get yourself down to the library! Tickets are available from today, exclusively from the library in Rosefield Avenue.
Tickets, which are all free, can only be collected from Portobello Library in person. When collecting tickets, you are restricted to four per event per person. Library opening hours are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 10-8pm and Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10am-5pm.
If you have tickets and find you can’t use them, please return them to the library. There are sometimes places available for events on the day. So if you have missed out on tickets for an event your really wanted to see, it’s worth coming along just before the event in case there any spaces.
Portobello Book Festival 