GiftED II? - The Literary Banksy Strikes Again

‘This is for you in support of libraries, books, words, ideas …’

The ‘literary Banksy’ has struck again! Over a period of eight months last year, ten intricate and beautiful sculptures crafted from books were left in libraries, museums and even at the Edinburgh International Book Festival anonymously. Each bore a label thanking the venue for their work, “in support of libraries, books, words, ideas”.

GiftED by Anonymous

A book about the sculptures, GiftED: The Tale of 10 Mysterious Book Sculptures Gifted to the City of Words and Ideas, has just been published by Polygon, and a national tour of the works begins on Saturday in Aberdeen. Today, however, the artist – only ever identified as female – seems to have struck again with the appearance of paper flowers at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, each carrying a line by Oscar Wilde, “… freedom, books, flowers and the moon” and on the reverse A Gift For You and a limited edition number of /50.

A spokesperson for the Edinburgh International Book Festival said, “We are delighted that our mystery paper sculptor has visited us again, and thrilled that members of the public are finding these beautiful flowers around our site.”

GiftEd: The Tale of 10 Mysterious Book Sculptures Gifted to the City of Words and Ideas is available now, £9.99 hbk. Details on the tour of the original paper sculptures can be found at www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/gifted.

The Last Wolf

We like it very much when people say nice things about books we publish, and we especially like it when it's an 'unprovoked' review, so to speak, from an accidental reader.

The Last Wolf

"I had no real intention of buying anything," says Blurb."I was more than happy to just casually browse the shelves. By chance, I caught site of the words ‘The Last Wolf’ and I instantly reached for this slender black book. On reading the blurb, I knew this was the perfect book for me."

Find out what made The Last Wolf by Jim Crumley so perfect at blurbbookreviews.

Polygon Pleasure at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, 2012

Let’s start with a very exciting event for Polygon. They’re all exciting, but it’s not every day a Polygon title is shortlisted for the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards Book of the Year! Aibisdh by Angus Peter Campbell was the winner of the poetry category and is now in the running for the overall Book of the Year Award, to be announced on Friday 17 August at 6.30 p.m. He’s up against Ali Smith, Janice Galloway and Simon Stephenson, and the winner is decided by public vote. Click here before midnight on 6th August and then click here to buy your ticket for the event. Good luck Angus Peter!

Gardens were made for poetry and Charlotte Square abounds with it during the Book Festival, to the extent that you will find not one but two Scottish Poets Laureate courtesy of Polygon. Edinburgh’s Makar, Ron Butlin, will be reading from his brand new collection of The Magicians of Edinburgh at 8:30pm on Saturday 18th August. Scotland’s Makar Liz Lochhead makes two appearances this year. On Wednesday 22nd at 4.30 p.m. she will be reading from her recently published selection, A Choosing. And on Sunday 19th August at 8.00 p.m. she joins Polygon stablemate and arguably Britain’s greatest living novelist James Kelman to discuss his life and work. Two giants of Scottish literature on the stage at the one time – not to be missed!

Probably the greatest poet working in Gaelic today, Aonghas MacNeacail will be reading from his new collection Laughing at the Clock, published to celebrate his 70th birthday, at 10.15 a.m. on Tuesday 21st August. And rounding off this poets’ corner, Tom Pow's explores the modern phenomenon of rural depopulation through poems, essays and travelogue in his new book In Another World: Among Europe’s Dying Villages at 2.00 p.m. on 23rd August.
 

Now, crime fiction events are always an excellent choice at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, but we think this one represents particularly good value for money. Not one, but two brilliant writers each with their own unqiue take on the genre. Barry Fantoni is the legendary cartoonist of Private Eye and the man behind E. J. Thribb (17½) and his “In Memorium” poems, but he’s now the creator of Harry Lipkin, P.I.: The World’s Oldest Detective. Riffing on classic Marlowe gumshoe mysteries, Harry might not be the fastes but he’s definitely one of the funniest private investigators around. Barry (and Harry) share the stage with two very elegant ladies of crime, Mirabelle Bevan and her creator Sara Sheridan. Brighton Belle: A Mirabelle Bevan Mystery is set in Brighton in 1951 where Mirabelle – a former backroom girl for the Secret Service during the war – is working quietly as a secretary in a debt collection agency. She’s soon putting her sleuthing theory into practice when first a client and then her boss disappear amidst gold sovereigns, dead bodies and dubious accents. Barry and Sara will be appearing together on Monday 13th August at 2:30 p.m. Sara will also be taking part in the Amnesty International readings on Friday 17th August 2012 at 5.30 p.m. in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people across the world who have been criminalized or tortured because of their sexuality. Tickets are free for this event from the box office on the day.
 

Fancy seeing some stars? Stuart Clark is back with the second instalment in The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth Trilogy, The Sensorium of God. Two men - Edmond Halley, a dynamic adventurer and astronomer, and Isaac Newton, a reclusive mathematician and alchemist, could reveal the secrets of the universe. But human problems stand in the way. Newton has guilty secrets, not least his having stolen some of his ideas from fellow scientist Robert Hooke. The quarrelsome experimentalist is demanding recognition for his work but vital scientific advancement could stop dead in its tracks as the three men bicker and hold petty grudges. Join Stuart at 8.30 p.m. on Sunday 19th August to find out more!
 

A stand-out novel of 2011 was The English German Girl by Jake Wallis Simons, a hugely moving story around the Kindertransport during WWII. Now writing as Jake Simons, his new novel The Pure is something completely different, though, as the story of a disaffected ex-Mossad agent with revenge on his mind who comes face to face with old comrades, Wikileaks, an ex-CIA female agent and a chance to topple the government which left him by the wayside years ago. Fans of Robert Ludlum’s Bourne novels will love it! Hang on and hold tight at 8.30pm on Sunday 19th August 2012.

For more information or to book tickets, please visit www.edbookfest.co.uk or call 0845 3735888.

Birlinn Signs Bradley Wiggins Book!

Birlinn Ltd is delighted to announce the signing of ‘Bradley Wiggins: Tour De Force’ by John Deering.

Bradley Wiggins

Bradley Wiggins recently became the first British rider to win the Tour de France, and the book is written over 20 chapters each representing a stage of the iconic race. The book will present an insight into Wiggins’ Tour achievement, while simultaneously relaying his incredible back story. 

Deering is author of ‘Team on the Run – the inside story of the Linda McCartney Pro Cycling Team’ and the forthcoming ‘Twelve Months in the Saddle’, and is an old friend and colleague of both Wiggins and the man who guided him to glory in Paris, Team Sky manager Sean Yates.

Neville Moir, Birlinn Publishing Director, said, ‘I am thrilled that we will be publishing this title about Bradley’s incredible achievements for Christmas 2012, and that we have signed a writer of John Deering’s calibre for our growing sports list.’

 The Flying Scotsman

In cycling Birlinn also publishes The Flying Scotsman by revolutionary and visionary cyclist Graeme Obree, now a major motion picture starring Jonny Lee Miller.

Bradley Wiggins: Tour de Force by John Deering will be published in October 2012.

Alexander McCall Smith at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, 2012

They seek him here, they seek him there but in August it’s a pretty safe bet that Alexander McCall Smith will be at home in Edinburgh. ‘Home’ being the Edinburgh International Book Festival in Charlotte Square, mind you, as he appears not once, not twice, not even three but four times! And you still need to get in quick to get a ticket …

 

With a brand new 44 Scotland Street novel, Sunshine on Scotland Street, on the blocks, there’s a lot to talk about – has Bertie managed to escape Irene, are we really seeing double or are there two Bruces, how will marital bliss affect Cyril and his gold tooth, to name but three.

UPDATE: Alexander's three adult events are now sold out. Returned tickets might be available from the Box Office, please contact 0845 373 5888 or boxoffice@edbookfest.co.uk.

Saturday 11 August at 6.30 p.m. (now sold out)
Wednesday 15 August at 1.30 p.m. (now sold out)
or Thursday 16 August at 6.30 p.m. (now sold out)

And for younger readers there is a special event on Tuesday 14 August at 3.30 p.m. when Alexander will be talking about the latest case for a very young Precious Ramotswe, Precious and the Mystery of Meerkat Hill.

The weather might not be great at the moment, but when Alexander McCall Smith is around it is always sunny. Book your summer sun now!

Birlinn at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, 2012

The Book Festival

In amongst all the lovely big white marquees in Charlotte Square, you might notice a small orange, two-man tent. This is Birlinn HQ at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. We’re joking, of course, but it does seem as if we move lock, stock and barrel to the EIBF every year to support all our lovely authors, and this year will be no exception!

History fans are extremely well catered for this year with MSP Struan Stevenson talking about Russia under Putin, ahead of his new book Stalin’s Legacy, on Sunday, 26 August (now sold out). Cartophiles (that’s map lovers) can get their fix with Christopher Fleet on 13 August. Christopher is one of three authors of Scotland: Mapping the Nation, which was hugely popular in hardback and looks to be even more popular in paperback (available for the festival). And Birlinn stalwart Alistair Moffat will be revealing the hidden history of Scotland we all carry around with us in our DNA in The Scots: A Genetic Journey on 14 August (now sold out).

And if your history fan is a little bit younger we heartily recommend taking them along to see Allan Burnett on Tuesday, 14 August at 3.30 p.m. His And All That … series is a hilarious introduction some of the big names in Scottish history, including Bonnie Prince Charlie, Robert the Bruce, Mary Queen of Scots and Macbeth. Allan is a brilliant – and extremely enthusiastic – communicator of history and we generally come back from his events exhausted but much better informed! You have been warned …

"‎String-pulling, name-dropping, opinionated in every line,” Michael White called The Importance of Being Awkward: The Autobiography of Tam Dalyell and he wasn’t wrong. But it is also an insightful and urbane look back at a career in politics which we probably won’t see the likes of again for a very long time. As he turns eighty-years-old, join Tam Dalyell on 15 August as he talks about his life, and again on 20 August as he joins Merlin Waterson to discuss families who have donated their homes to the nation as the Dalyells did with The House of the Binns, their ancestral home for over 400 years.

In our modern world conflict is never far away. John Ashton was a researcher for the legal team of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the only person convicted of the Lockerbie bombing. He has uncovered evidence in the course of his research which throws doubt not only on Megrahi’s conviction but also the subsequent furore surrounding his appeals. John will be talking about his book Megrahi: You Are My Jury, The Lockerbie Evidence on 11 August in a discussion with Hans Köchler, the UN's official observer at the Lockerbie trial and Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was killed in the tragedy.

Max Benitz grew up surrounded by his father’s memorabilia of his time in the Scots Guards. He decided to find out what the day to day life, away from the headline and protests, for the average soldier in Afghanistan. He spent eighteen months with his father’s regiment in tanning and in Afghanistan and his book Six Months Without Sundays is a poignant, funny and thought-provoking piece of work from such a young writer. Join Max on 17 August when he will be talking about Afghanistan with veteran broadcaster Sandy Gall.

 
But if all that sounds too serious there is one man guaranteed to raise a laugh at the Book Festival. Bob Servant is a hero for our time, taking on email spammers promising everything from love to lions. About to become a star of television and radio, Bob’s creator Neil Forsyth brings us up to date with his meteoric rise to fame on 15 August. And for foodies, Mary Contini of Valvona & Crolla – the legendary Italian deli – takes us through The Italian Sausage Bible on 11 August. No drooling at the back.

Our noisy wee sister imprint will be along shortly to shout about her authors, but information on all our events can be found at www.birlinn.co.uk. Enjoy!

Who do you think you are?

Alistair Moffat

It has become more and more popular to ask ourselves, genetically-speaking, “Who do you think you are?” but is it something a nation can ask itself? A best-selling history writer and a population geneticist have begun to ask just this with startling results. Alistair Moffat and Jim Wilson are unravelling the complex and tangled history locked with our DNA. It’s an almost limitless archive of our history where the ancient story is being rewritten.

Alistair recently appeared on BBC Radio Four's Today Programme talking about 'deep ancestry', the very roots of where we come from, and revealed that almost everyone in Britain is an immigrant - it just depends when you arrived. Click here to hear Alistair talking about this on the programme.

The Scots

Alistair will be appearing at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on 14th of August talking about how the results of DNA testing almost rewrites Scottish history as outlined in the book The Scots: A Genetic Journey. And if you really want to know who you are, check out the Britains DNA site.