Although the gates to our beloved Charlotte Square Gardens remain closed, we hope this year’s Book Festival – even in this new digital format – still holds something of the spirit and community of the physical experience. And it wouldn’t be the Edinburgh International Book Festival without celebrating the brilliant work of authors, writers and trailblazers who hail from our small country.
This August, we revel in some of the best writing from our shores, and also celebrate the fantastic work taking place as part of our Citizen Communities Project, which - in the face of the global pandemic - had to adapt to ‘a new normal’ and reimagine ways to connect communities and individuals both shielding and digitally excluded.
A Scots Dictionary of Nature brings together - for the first time - the deeply expressive vocabulary customarily used to describe land, wood, weather, birds, water and walking in Scotland.
The first modern anthology of Scottish nature writing which acknowledges the realities of our times, edited, curated and introduced by the award-winning author of Findings
And this is where our story begins.Set between England and the wintry land of Liminus, a world enslaved by the monstrous Gamp and populated by fearsome, enchanting creatures, D (Tale of Two Worlds) is a mesmerising tale of friendship and bravery in an uncertain world.
Little, Brown/Abacus has sold more than 12 million copies of Alexander McCall Smith's books. This is the twenty-first book in the perennially adored The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.
In Island Dreams, Gavin Francis examines our collective fascination with islands. He blends stories of his own travels with psychology, philosophy and great voyages from literature, shedding new light on the importance of islands and isolation in our collective consciousness.
Everyone has a Tully Dawson: the friend who defines your life. In the summer of 1986, in a small Scottish town, James and Tully ignite a brilliant friendship based on music, films and the rebel spirit. Tully has news. Mayflies is a memorial to youth's euphorias and to everyday tragedy.
Three days before her fifty-first birthday, Clio Campbell - one-hit-wonder, political activist, life-long-love and one-night-stand - kills herself in her friend Ruth's spare bedroom. And, as practical as she is, Ruth doesn't know what to do. Or how to feel. Because knowing and loving Clio Campbell was never straightforward.
Recommended by Genevieve Fay, our Communities Programme Officer:
Having recently been shortlisted for the Booker Prize, it is no wonder that many people, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, are reaching for a copy of Shuggie Bain. Douglas Stuart has written this powerful debut novel drawing on his own life experiences.
Set in 1980s Glasgow, which seems to be unravelling under the weight of its own identity crisis, families struggle with unemployment, crushing poverty, and the waves of addiction that are engulfing much of the city. It is a book of both sadness and beauty, a chronicle of memorable characters, their defiance and hope in the face of the grim realities of life and survival.
Recommended by Genevieve Fay, our Communities Programme Officer:
Having recently been shortlisted for the Booker Prize, it is no wonder that many people, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, are reaching for a copy of Shuggie Bain. Douglas Stuart has written this powerful debut novel drawing on his own life experiences.
Set in 1980s Glasgow, which seems to be unravelling under the weight of its own identity crisis, families struggle with unemployment, crushing poverty, and the waves of addiction that are engulfing much of the city. It is a book of both sadness and beauty, a chronicle of memorable characters, their defiance and hope in the face of the grim realities of life and survival.
The breathtaking new DCI Karen Pirie thriller from number one bestseller and queen of crime, Val McDermid. When a body is pulled from the sea, Karen must reopen a case from a decade before, drawing her into a sinister world of betrayal and dark secrets.