The Edinburgh World Writers’ Conference 2012-2013 is a collaboration between the Edinburgh Book Festival and the British Council, which sets out to "build the most complete picture of writing and its relationship to modern life ever attempted."
The event was inspired by the 1962 literary conference that saw authors such as Norman Mailer, Rosamond Lehmann, and William S Burroughs debating the world of writing with such passion that, legend has it, several authors almost came to blows.
Fifty years on, 50 writers will be invited to explore the same topics as then, about how writers and writing can help to make sense of the world, over a five day series of events.
The events will be live streamed and organisers will harness social media tools to allow the general public to ask authors questions and to develop a global conversation that will continue throughout the year. The discussion will then be distilled into a book.
The Edinburgh World Writers' Conference is supported by The Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund, Creative Scotland, EventScotland and the City of Edinburgh Council.