Friday 20th August

Writers' Retreat

A forensic analysis of the bones of crime writing - plot, character, suspense and misdirection - with highly popular Scottish crime writer Aline Templeton.
In association with the Society of Authors.

RBS Main Theatre

Tense tales of passion and compassion, of growing up and chopping things up; Scottish writer Janice Galloway's short stories throw down a challenge to her readers, and give back stunning rewards. Collected Stories brings together some of her most distinctive writing: menacing, gripping and often very funny, her work reminds us that Galloway is a master of the short story form.
A British Council Bookcase Event.

ScottishPower Studio Theatre

Various national myths are questioned in this impressive initiative by the Dalkey Archive Press, which surveys fiction from across the continent with a selection of some thirty writers. In this event, chaired by Stuart Kelly, three of the contributors - Scotland's own Alasdair Gray, Igor Štiks from Bosnia and Michal Witkowski from Poland - discuss their work.

ScottishPower Studio Theatre

Can we gain deep insights into ourselves and our home by writing about somewhere else? After all, you can only write about 'elsewhere' if you know something about the place you've started from. This idea is tested in a series of short stories by leading international writers and specially commissioned by the Book Festival. Join these three leading authors to hear them read their hilarious, nuanced and haunting work. Chaired by Jenny Brown.
A British Council Bookcase Event.

RBS Main Theatre

This prestigious literary prize is the oldest in Britain and past recipients have included D H Lawrence, Graham Greene, E M Forster and Antonia Fraser. This year's shortlist includes Anita Brookner, A S Byatt, Kazuo Ishiguro, Reif Larson and Hilary Mantel in the fiction category, as well as a strong shortlist in Biography. The awards will be presented by renowned crime writer and advisor to the prize, Ian Rankin.
In association with the University of Edinburgh.

Peppers Theatre

Is she the official Godmother of Scottish crime writing yet? Whatever her official status, Denise Mina is having a ball penning plays, graphic novels and bloodcurdling fictions, and with Still Midnight she cements that reputation. Stuart MacBride joins her, having concocted six gritty thrillers set in Aberdeen, the latest of which is Dark Blood.

RBS Main Theatre

Carol Ann Duffy will be reading from her collected poems and also reading a lot of new work from The Bees which will be published in 2011. She will be joined by the musician John Sampson in the presentation of poems which celebrate and elegise the public and the personal.
In association with the Scottish Poetry Library.

ScottishPower Studio Theatre

A decade ago, Alan Warner's The Sopranos introduced a group of fearless Scottish teenage girls to the world and watched them run riot. Now, in The Stars in the Bright Sky, the gang are in their early twenties and they're planning a reunion. With holiday bags packed, the young women must decide which ultra-cheap flight they'll take for a fortnight of debauchery in the sun. Warner discusses his new book and his involvement in our commissioned writing project, for which he has created a story on the theme of Elsewhere.
A British Council Bookcase Event.