Edinburgh Book Festival Wrap-Up
Edinburgh Book Festival Wrap-Up
As you may recall from this post, I have been at the Edinbugh Book Festival for the last few days. I also tried to keep you all updated on Twitter as well. Now that it is all over, I just wanted to do a little wrap-up on how everything went, along with some of the wonderful things that the author’s said and did on their panels.
So the first thing I need to mention is that I was far too ambitious with my plans for the few days I was here and unfortunately didn’t make it to some of the panels I had planned. In fact, I only ended up going to four of the panels. This was due to an issue on the Saturday on our way back from Loch Ness, getting caught up in sightseeing on the Monday (I was actually down in the Dungeons when I should have been seeing Abi Elphinstone), a flat tyre that I needed to get sorted on Tuesday morning, and pure exhaustion. Next time, I will definitely have to spend more time and do less each day!
Malorie Blackman
The very first panel I went to was for the lovely Malorie Blackman and it was such a wonderful panel to kick off my Edinburgh Book Festival experience! As always, Malorie Blackman was a delight to listen to and it was just so fascinating getting to hear more about her inspiration for the Noughts and Crosses series.
The talk itself lasted an hour and I have a mountain of notes from it – and writing them down by hand was definitely an experience. Within the talk we were shown an exclusive clip from the new TV series of Noughts and Crosses – and it looks like it is going to such an exciting show.
Malorie also gave a reading from Crossfire which definitely had me further interested in the book. Definitely glad that I had the chance to go to this panel.
Deirdre Sullivan & Maria Turtschaninoff
After Malorie Blackman, I then went to the Feminist Fantasy panel with Deirdre Sullivan and Maria Turtschaninoff. This was such a fascinating panel to sit in and it was really wonderful listening to these two authors talk about their books and the genre as whole. I especially liked how both authors tried to combat the “strong” feminine hero trope. We don’t have to become masculine to become strong.
Both authors also talked about how their books are character led and show strong friendships between women – another plus on my behalf so I am definitely going to be picking up their books soon.
M A Bennett & Gabriel Dylan
Finishing the first day, I headed to the panel with M. A. Bennett and Gabriel Dylan. This was a panel looking at the horror side of YA books and it was a really interesting discussion to witness between the authors and the chair. I found myself as fixated on the panel as I am sure we all hope to be when reading this thrilling novels.
We were privy to the trailer for M. A. Bennett’s new book, D.O.G.S. as well which was really fascinating to see. And both authors also read out exclusive excerpts from their books too. Needless to say, I will be reading their books shortly.
Hannah Beckerman & Bev Thomas
The final panel that I managed to go to was Hannah Beckerman and Bev Thomas. Yet another amazing panel that I really enjoyed. It was full of interesting discussions around family – including estrangements within families and the issues with flawed therapists -which are the themes surrounding these authors’ books.
We were also allowed to listen to both of the authors read from their books and I am going to let you all know that after the talk, I will absolutely be purchasing their books soon because I have to know what happens next!
All in all, the Edinburgh Book Festival was a wonderful experience that I am incredibly grateful I got a chance to go to. I would definitely be interested in going again and would highly recommend it as something to do. It lasts for two weeks so you might even have a chance to go this year if you’re quick!
Another post with my experience in Edinburgh itself will go live in a week or so.
Do you think you’ll go to the festival?
