Edinburgh International Book Festival is starting at the end of this week! Running from August 10th – 26th, the festival offers something for just about every age and interest, bringing readers and writers together for inspiration, entertainment and discussion. And we’re thrilled to have a fantastic lineup of Nosy Crow authors and illustrators taking part this year!
Here’s who you can find at this year’s festival…
Award-winning author Chae Strathie will be at the festival on Saturday, August 10 from 10am – 11am, sharing his book, So You Think You’ve Got It Bad? A Kid’s Life in Ancient Greece. When you think of ancient Greece, you may picture sunshine and Olympic sports, but think again, blood soup diets and memorising epic poetry are just some of the things this book reveals! You can book tickets for Saturday’s event here – and here’s a look inside the book:
Chae Strathie will then return to the festival on Sunday, August 18 from 6:45pm – 7:45pm to discuss writing about history with Dan Smith. Learn about historical research, seeking out unheard voices, and get some creative writing tips for helping to get youngsters interested in history. You can book tickets for the event here – and here’s a preview of the latest book in the series:
Award-winning illustrator Jamie Littler will be at the festival on Sunday, August 11 from 11:30am – 12:30pm. Crazy for cartoons? Now’s your chance to create your own in this fantastic interactive drawing workshop from the illustrator behind Peter Ardagh’s The Secret Diary series. You can book your tickets for Sunday here – and here’s a look inside The Secret Diary of Kitty Cask, Smuggler’s Daughter:
Ross Collins, the illustrator and author behind award-winning There’s A Bear On My Chair, will be at the festival on Sunday, August 11 from 2pm – 3pm. Join Ross for a hilarious hour of live drawing as he shares his latest book, This Is A Dog – he’s guaranteed to have you howling with laughter at these very quirky animal characters! You can book your tickets for the event here – and here’s a look inside the book:
The Weird Friends Fan Club author, Catherine Wilkins, will be at the festival Monday, August 12 from 1:45pm to 2:45pm in conversation with bestselling author Holly Smale. Join them for a discussion about the trauma and hilarity of being in your early teens – and how they used their own experiences to write light-hearted tales. You can book your tickets for the event here – and here’s a look inside Catherine’s latest book:
Author Tom Huddleston will be introducing his new book, FloodWorld, on Monday, August 12 from 5pm – 6pm. Hear all about this cinematic new book set in a futuristic underwater city – and unlock the secrets of writing compelling fantasy adventures! You can book tickets for the event here – and here’s a look inside the new book:
Blast off with award-winning space scientist Sheila Kanani, who will be discussing her new book, How to be an Astronaut and Other Space Jobs, on Tuesday, August 12 from 12pm – 1pm. Have you got what it takes to become an astronaut, a space engineer, or to work at Mission Control? Discover all the incredible and unexpected space-related jobs that you could do in this interactive, out-of-this-world event. You can book your tickets here – and take a look inside Sheila’s book below:
Critically acclaimed author Christopher Edge will be at the festival on Saturday, August 17 from 5pm – 6pm. Join him for an interactive event packed full of mind-bending facts and sensational science as he introduces his latest book, The Longest Night of Charlie Noon! You can book tickets for the event here – and here’s a preview of the book:
I Am The Seed Who Grew the Tree illustrator, Frann Preston-Gannon, will be at the festival on Tuesday, August 20 at 3:15pm – 4:15pm. In this spellbinding drawing event, Frann will showcase her work from the poetry collection and discuss the creation process – a beautiful and fascinating evening for anyone interested in illustration. You can book your tickets for the event here – and take a look inside the anthology here:
Philip Ardagh will be at the festival (for the 22nd year!) on Saturday, August 24 from 1:30pm – 2:30pm, for an hour of historical hilarity as he discusses his two new Secret Diary escapades, Kitty Cask, Smuggler’s Daughter and Thomas Snoop, Tudor Boy Spy. Perfect for fans of Horrible Histories, Philip will show you how he weaves fact and fiction together with exciting plots. You can book your tickets for the event here – and take a look inside The Secret Diary of Kitty Cask, Smuggler Daughter here:
Award-winning author Pamela Butchart will be sharing the fun fifth instalment in the Wigglesbottom Primary series on Sunday, August 25 from 10:30am – 11:30am. Join in with three engaging stories set in the best school in the world, where classroom capers could lead to just about anything – can you help decipher the classroom cat’s secret message? You can book your tickets for the event here – and take a look inside Wigglesbottom Primary: The Classroom Cat here:
Much-loved illustrator and author Axel Scheffler, known for his work on Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo, will be at the festival on Monday, August 26 from 1:15pm to 2:15pm, sharing his delightful Pip and Posy page-turner, The New Friend. This gentle, funny event has something to teach all ages about the power of friendship and kindness. You can book tickets for this event here – and here’s a preview of the book:
David Solomons, winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, will be at the festival on Monday, August 26 from 4:30pm – 5:30pm, sharing My Cousin is a Time Traveller and My Arch-Enemy Is a Brain In a Jar. Venture through time and space as he discusses all things sci-fi, supernatural, and just plain wacky! You can book your tickets for this event here – and take a look inside the latest book below:
And finally, Tracey Corderoy and Steven Lenton will be at the festival on Monday, August 26 at 5:15pm – 6:15pm, sharing the latest in their series, Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Aliens are Coming. Full of slapstick humour and clever twists, this quirky tale of two canine robbers-turned-bakers is brought alive by the pet lovers behind this hugely popular series! You can book your tickets for this event here – and here’s a look inside the book:
You can see the full programme of events for the Edinburgh International Book Festival here.
We hope to see you there!
