Sunday 22nd August
11am - Writing Workshop
Twitter, Blogs, Networks and Platforms: Bare Necessities for Authors
Writers' Retreat
An avid blogger and twitterer, Nicola Morgan shows how authors can benefit from and enjoy social networking tools, building the platform that publishers increasingly want. This workshop is aimed at all writers, published or not.
In association with the Society of Authors.
12.30pm - Ewen Cameron & Christopher Whateley
Self-confidence, Identity and Everyday Life in Scotland in 1600
Peppers Theatre
The story of modern Scotland, from the lowlands and the borders to the highlands and islands, is told through the eyes of two eminent historians. Christopher Whatley is Professor of Scottish History at the University of Dundee, and co-editor of a book which looks at everyday Scottish life before 1800, while Ewen Cameron, senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, explores Scotland and its changing political relationship with England since 1880.
2.30pm - John Burnside
Fife Poet and Author Dips Bravely Into His Dark Past
Peppers Theatre
After A Lie About My Father, John Burnside brings us the latest segment of his memoirs with Waking Up in Toytown. Here, he recalls a troubled time dealing with the obsessive side of his personality which he attempts to douse by going to AA meetings and resolving to 'disappear into the banal'. It's the last word you'd use to describe John Burnside.
6pm - Karen Campbell & Simon Lelic
Two Novelists Stretching the Boundaries of Crime Fiction
Writers' Retreat
Karen Campbell used to be a police officer herself. No wonder her characterisation of Anna Cameron, her policewoman heroine, is so perceptive. Meanwhile, Simon Lelic's detective novel Rupture opens with a school massacre by a lonely psychopath teacher – a case that turns out to be far from straightforward. Enjoy two of Britain's leading young writers discussing their work.
8.30pm - Ken MacLeod & Adam Roberts
The Future of Fiction: Bonfire of the Genres
Peppers Theatre
Writing that is defined as 'fantasy' or 'sci-fi' is too often dismissed in literary circles but it can be where some of the most stylistically challenging and innovatively creative work is being done. The near-futures created by the best exponents of the craft, whether utopias or dystopias, are often the best critiques of our society, challenging our assumptions and questioning our collective future. Adam Roberts, author of New Model Army, and Ken MacLeod, author of The Restoration Game, discuss with Stuart Kelly their work and its role.
