Authors from 45 different countries - including 200 Scottish authors - will descend on the tented village in Charlotte Square Gardens this August for the annual Edinburgh International Book Festival.
One of the highlights, will be Margaret Atwood's launch of her new novel about the end of the world, The Year of the Flood, with music and song in nearby St John’s Church.
On a similar theme, Gaia theorist James Lovelock, who has made the most catastrophic prognostications about climate change, is part of an environmental strand that also includes Richard Hamblyn, Alistair McIntosh, Stuart Sim, Graeme Gibson, and comedian Griff Rhys Jones talking about the importance of Britain's rivers.
Among the fest's 750 events, Generation X author Douglas Coupland brings his latest novel Generation A to Edinburgh - another story that begins with an eco-crisis in the near future - the extinction of bees.
US author Garrison Keillor brings the latest instalment of his
popular Lake Wobegon series, and George Dawes Green will speak
about his first novel for 13 years following the
success of The Juror. Green will present his cult storytelling
event, The Moth, for the first time in Europe.
David Simon and
Richard Price, writers of the hit TV series The Wire, will be speaking
as will Valerie Martin, Nicholson Baker and poet Sharon Olds.
Charlotte
Square Garden will also welcome the winner of the first Arabic Booker
Prize, Bahaa Taher from Egypt, while crime writer Henning Mankell arrives with a dozen Swedish contemporary authors.
Among home-grown names are No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency author
Alexander McCall Smith, historian Tom Devine, and novelists Janice Galloway,
James Kelman, Iain Banks and Lanark author Alasdair Gray.
There are also new volumes of short stories by A L Kennedy, Irvine Welsh and Ben Okri.
Argument aplenty
The Book Festival programme was presented by Richard Holloway (pictured), former Bishop of Edinburgh and Chair of the Scottish Arts Council who is standing in as Guest EIBF Director of the Festival while Director Catherine Lockerbie is on sick leave.
Hollway promised argument aplenty in his series of evening debates in the Spiegeltent, bringing together Festival authors with thinkers and experts from across Edinburgh.
“Scots are an argumentative race," said Holloway, "but it is not all contrariness. We have learned during our turbulent history that ideas are dangerous things that need to be tested again and again in debate if they are to enhance rather than enchain the human community. We are proud of the fact that, once again, the EIBF will provide an arena for proposing and challenging ideas on science, religion, politics, and just about anything else that matters to the health of society.”
The Celebrating Scotland strand of the festival, part of Homecoming Scotland year, sees a series of events looking at Scotland's politic and literary past, present and future, in particular Robert Burns.
Vince Cable, Philip Augur, Paul Mason, Gillian Tett, Dan Atkinson and Andrew Simms will explore the implications of the global economic downturn. Richard Dawkins is back again at the festival, attacking creationism.
For those looking for something less heavy, veterans of the Fringe comedy circuit Frank Skinner and Arthur Smith bring their memoirs, while Dave Gorman shares his U.S. roadtrip adventures.
There's also a strand of food and drink related events including the launch of Edinburgh chef Tom Kitchin's first book From Nature to Plate.
Children's books
The children's strand of the book festival has become as important as the main book festival, with half the programme devoted to children's events involving authors such as Nick Butterworth, Jeremy Strong, Julia Donaldson, Steve Cole, Michelle Paver and Jenny Nimmo.
Highlights include Rebus author Ian Rankin launching his latest venture, Dark
Entries, his first graphic novel. He will be joined by Sandman author,
Neil Gaiman.
Jason Bradbury, from The Gadget Show, will talk about his novel, Dot Robot, accompanied by a troupe of robots.
And popular children’s writer Cornelia Funke will make a rare public appearance to talk about her Inkworld series, and her new book Reckless - coming out next year - which is set in a Grimmsian fairy tale world.
There will also be an Illustrator in Residence, Catherine Rayner, adding another layer of interactivity to the festival.
Booking Book Festival Tickets
For more info and tickets see our Edinburgh Book Festival page