Books
Ed Ballard: The Financial Times recession oracle Gillian Tett spoke compellingly about the causes of the credit crunch, and discussed the economy's likely directi...
David Sedaris: On his profession It helps to surround yourself with people who do stuff - fucked up stuff. My oldest sister Lisa came to visit me in France this su...
Ed Ballard: “I just tweeted absolute nonsense to the universe” says Neil Gaiman by way of an apology. For the next sixty seconds he’s absorbed i...
Comedy | Books
Adam Knight: In the beautiful chaos that we affectionately call the Edinburgh Fringe, there are few certainties. After attending a number of shows, however, it qui...
Ed Ballard: There's a nice story behind the New York storytelling organisation founded by novelist George Dawes Green. It’s named after the insects that cam...
Simon Mundy: Ten years ago, Andrew Motion’s appointment as poet laureate was overshadowed by rumours surrounding a rival candidate: Tony Blair had ruled out ...
Jess Winch: "It’s always next to impossible making a final choice," says Edinburgh University's Professor Colin Nicholson of the James Tait Black Memorial p...
Uncle Jack was a reprobate, an infidel. And so he plunged himself into the murky depths of alcohol. Nonetheless I loved him, though he did bad things ...
Lemma Shehadi: Melvyn Bragg 29 August 11:30am Melancholy, moving and introspective, Lord Bragg's latest novel Remember Me—inspired by the suicide of his firs...
Lee Bunce: It can be easy, in the whirlwind of creativity that is Edinburgh in August, to take our freedom to express ourselves for granted. A sobering reminder ...
Ed Ballard: Emmanuel Jal doesn't know his birthday. He reckons he was born in in 1980, but he might be a year or two out. In any case, his life really began with ...
Ed Ballard: The marquees may still be going up in Charlotte Square, but the few days before the International Book Festival kicks off are the perfect time to expl...
Jenny Baldwin: A decade on from bulldozing the comedy circuit with his amiable West Midlands swagger, Frank Skinner—in his own words, a “mouthy Brummie,w...
Ed Ballard: US poet and crime writer George Dawes Green founded The Moth twelve years ago to fill a gap in New York’s literary scene: he wanted to offer a s...
Ed Ballard: There’s no shortage of big names unveiling new books at this year’s festival—William Boyd, Richard Dawkins and Douglas Coupland, to ...
