2015 Edinburgh International Book Festival

According to UNESCO, every region of the world during the last 20 years has seen gains in literacy rates, but the situation remains highly uneven. To what extent can this improvement be attributed to the urbanisation of populations across the world and the role of libraries in the culture of cities? The panel includes: Sergio Fajardo, one of the best-known political figures in Colombia who as mayor of Medellin oversaw a highly successful campaign to improve literacy in the city by placing libraries in downtrodden and overlooked barrios; and Amina Shah, CEO of the Scottish Library and Information Council who is a key figure in the future of Scotland’s libraries. The event is chaired by Jenny Niven, Head of Literature, Languages and Publishing at Creative Scotland. Presented in partnership with Theatrum Mundi.

Forget about the maths you learned at school; the charismatic Cédric Villani has a gift for revealing the beauty and magic of mathematics at the highest level. Dubbed a ‘rock-star mathematician’, the French winner of the maths world’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize takes us on an inspiring, charming journey through his intellectual discoveries in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Monica Cantieni’s The Encyclopaedia of Good Reasons, translated by Donal McLaughlin, tells the deeply moving story of a young girl’s long wait for adoption into a Swiss family, and into a German-speaking community. Whilst Sunjeev Sahota’s much-anticipated second novel, The Year of the Runaways, describes the dreams and struggles of a group of young Indian men searching for a new life in Sheffield. Hear how these two authors powerfully explore the immigrant experience in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Honesty is Not the Best Policy in Crime Fiction S J Watson can count Dennis Lehane and Lionel Shriver among his fans for his crime debut Before I Go to Sleep, which was later made into a movie with Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. The Midlands-born author opens up a shadowy world of identity, lies and secrets as he delivers a follow-up psychological thriller entitled Second Life.

‘Moving beyond words’ was one critic’s response to The Possibilities Are Endless, a documentary charting Edwyn Collins’ return to relative good health after two massive strokes in 2005. That film, and a recent book, were the subjects of conversation in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, between Collins, his devoted wife Grace Maxwell and Ian Rankin, who has been a fan of the songwriter’s work since the days of 80s indie band Orange Juice and Postcard Records.

The Future of Mecca Born in Pakistan and raised in Hackney, Ziauddin Sardar is one of the most respected experts on Islam and is utterly fascinated by Mecca. Sardar has retraced its history from a barren valley in the desert to becoming arguably the most significant city in the world today. But what does the future hold for a location which contains immense meaning both to the Middle East and the West? Part of our The Changing Middle East series of events.

How do you navigate Edinburgh as a city of literature? Is there a map? Hosted by Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust, award-winning author and poet James Robertson is your guide to exploring the literary landscape of the city through time and as seen by different writers. Where are the hotspots which provided the most inspiration? Where are the quiet corners? Take a tour without moving a muscle.

Is Tom McCarthy a J G Ballard for the 21st century? Or is he just bullshitting? McCarthy would probably claim he’s somewhere in between. The Man Booker shortlisted author’s hugely entertaining, densely imaginative novel Satin Island introduces us to U, a ‘corporate anthropologist’ commissioned to write an epoch-defining Great Report, only to be overwhelmed by images and information. McCarthy explains his ideas to Stuart Kelly in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.’

Award-winning author Siobhan Dowd died in 2007, bequeathing her royalties to a trust which aims to bring the joy of reading to those who need it most. This year the Siobhan Dowd Trust Memorial Lecture is delivered by novelist Matt Haig, whose books for children, teens and adults brilliantly and cleverly explore the stories that connect us and what it means to be human. Chaired by Tony Bradman.

Museums and galleries dominate as destinations, attracting record numbers of visitors to blockbuster shows. Meanwhile libraries are facing a funding crisis and are increasingly asked to justify their existence. What can libraries learn from museums, and what do they offer that museums cannot? Tony Marx, president of the New York Public Library; Richard Sennett, professor of sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science and author of books on culture and cities; and Clementine Deliss, Independent Curator, debate the complementary and contrasting roles of the cultural institutions at the heart of our public life in this event chaired by Ken Worpole. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Acclaimed actor, screenwriter and author of Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee, Meera Syal returned to Edinburgh for the first time since 2000 to discuss her new novel. The House of Hidden Mothers moves between East London’s Little India and a village in rural India in a devastatingly moving story that shows the lengths some women will go to when they want to have a child. Chaired by Lee Randall, this event was recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Two novels which tackle issues of work and family head on. Kirstin Innes’ Fishnet takes us deep into the world of sex workers with Fiona hunting for the sister who went missing years previously, finding herself in a world she never knew existed. Melinda Nadj Abonji’s novel won prizes in Germany and Switzerland and Fly Away, Pigeon, which was translated into English by Tess Lewis, tells the story of families torn between fresh starts abroad and missing home. Part of our First Book Award Nominee series of events.

Evie Wyld is fast shooting to international fame as a novelist. Already the winner of Australia’s prestigious Miles Franklin Prize for All the Birds, Singing, her writing career takes a thrilling new turn in a graphic memoir, Everything Is Teeth, that she’s produced together with illustrator Joe Sumner. Their discussion about this beautifully beguiling book is chaired by Joe Gordon and recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Greg Proops is well-known for his appearances on the improv comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and for his hit podcast The Smartest Man in the World. Downloaded over 9 million times, it’s a weekly online radio show recorded live from different locations around the world. Now comes The Smartest Book in the World, a compendium of Proops’ insights on a huge array of subjects from politics and history to music and film. Listen to the charming know-it-all comedian in his event chaired by Lee Randall and recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

It’s a century since drugs were first banned in the United States, thus unleashing a war against narcotics that has raged ever since. Journalist Johann Hari conducted a three-year investigation into the reality of drugs and now presents Chasing the Scream, a game-changing book on the subject. Lively, highly personal and often poignant, Hari’s book questions the notion of ‘drug addiction’ and makes a powerful case for decriminalisation. In his event, chaired by Kevin Williamson, he asks the fundamental question: ‘are drugs really addictive?’. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

In this event entitled “a Rally, a Rant, a Story, a Song, a Protest, a Poem”, women – and men – take to the mike for five minutes each to tell us why they call themselves feminists. Authors Val McDermid, Christopher Brookmyre, Elif Shafak and Andrew O’Hagan; activists Emma Laurie and Caroline Criado-Perez; stand-up comic Nish Kumar; playwright Jo Clifford; and poets Robin Robertson and Natasha Kanapé Fontaine make a stand. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Chigozie Obioma’s thrillingly assured debut novel The Fishermen is set in small-town Nigeria, while Simon Sylvester’s seductive debut The Visitors unfolds on a remote Scottish island. Yet despite their disparate locations, these stories are united by the presence of mysterious outsider figures, whose unsettling effect on the community drives the tension. These two highly promising authors share their ideas with Economist literary editor Fiammetta Rocco in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Images of the 1992 LA riots were beamed across the world as six days of violence left a city bruised and broken. In All Involved, Ryan Gattis concocts a novel from separate voices of those whose story wasn’t told. The 1976 attempted murder of Bob Marley is the starting point for A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James’ multi-character tale featuring ghosts, beauty queens and Keith Richards’ drug dealer. Two ground-breaking novelists discuss their work in this event, recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.’

As a child of Kim Il-sung’s North Korea, a teenage Hyeonseo Lee believed the Dear Leader was her saviour, even holding on to that faith after she’d fled the country to live with relatives in China. Subsequently, Lee fought for the rest of her family to join her over the border in the South. In The Girl with Seven Names she tells her incredible story, and reveals human rights abuses that have largely been kept secret. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

What is the 21st Century Doing to Our Teenagers? Nicola Morgan, author of Blame My Brain and The Teenage Guide to Stress, reveals the science and psychology of teenage brains and the many challenges adolescents face, such as exams, friendships and anxiety disorders. Morgan believes that books can help us make sense of our problems and argues passionately for the power of reading for pleasure and for ‘readaxation’. An enlightening hour. Recorded live at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.