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Edinburgh International Book Festival
Dates for 2008: 9 - 25 AugustContact Address: Charlotte Square, Edinburgh
Tel: +44 0131 624 5050
The Edinburgh International Book Festival continues to grow in size and scope, and is one of the largest literary festivals of its kind. During its inauguration in 1983, The Edinburgh International Book Festival hosted only 30 'Meet the Author' events. Today this festival is colossal in size, featuring a programme of around 650 events in Edinburgh's World Heritage Georgian New Town.
Charlotte Square and its Gardens is the main focal point for the Edinburgh International book Festival, situated in the West End of Edinburgh's splendid New Town. Every year, the gardens stage a magical tented village drawing in over 185,000 visitors and 550 writers in recent years.
The Book Festival's fifth director, Catherine Lockerbie, took the festival to a new dimension by introducing a series of high profile discussions and debates, now one of the festival's benchmarks. The festival is also a one of the world's leading forums of its kind, attracting world-class writers from all corners of the globe every year. Both the audience and authors have the opportunity to exchange concepts and ideas.
The highly acclaimed Lloyds TSB Scotland Children's Programme is an integral and significant part of the Edinburgh International Book Festival and coincides with the general literary programme. This particular programme has transformed into a cutting edge event tailored for children's writers and illustrators and features workshops, storytelling, panel discussions and book signings, popular with both the public and schools alike. It is now the world's premiere book event for young readers and literalists.
In 2004 The Edinburgh International Book Festival celebrated the 21st anniversary since it's inauguration in Charlotte Square Gardens. This was a significant year in the world of literature with J K Rowling's appearance being the highlight for both the young and mature. The author had elected Edinburgh for the big launch for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. 2004 was also the year for the city of Edinburgh's literature scene as it was awarded the status of UNESCO City of Literature in October 2004.
This annual event also plays host to a fun-packed free entertainment bill including live music in the tent, half hour sessions of story telling, songs and lullabies for babies and toddlers and free storytelling for adults and teenagers featuring some of today's most influential and inspiring raconteurs of international acclaim. The Edinburgh International Book Festival is also home to its own independent bookselling operation and all proceeds from sales are invested back into the event run by a not-for-profit charity organisation which generates eighty per cent of its own funds annually.
Along with its world renowned counterparts, namely the International, the Jazz, the Fringe and the Film Festivals, the Edinburgh International Book Festival is now widely recognised as an integral part of the world's largest and finest arts events and will continue to draw in bigger names from the literature arena in years to come.
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