Borders Book Festival
The sixth Borders Book Festival kicks off on Thursday 18th June with sell-out talks by Michael Palin, Rory Bremner and John Fortune and Gervase Phinn. But that is just the start of four days of book events which cover current affairs, history, entertainment, travel and music, as well as celebrating an eclectic mix of novelists, poets and children's writers, and revealing the winner of the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards.
With ticket sales up by 50%, and several events selling out within days of the box office opening, the 2009 Borders Book Festival is set to be the biggest and best yet. Events which have caught the public's interest are Rory Bremner and John Fortune in conversation; James Naughtie on Barack Obama; Sir Chris Bonington on his life and achievements; shadow chancellor Vince Cable on the economic meltdown; Conor Woodman on trading his way across four continents; and Hardeep Singh Kohli on cooking his way across India.
This year's new Family Book Festival has been equally popular, with a host of top children's writers including Julia Donaldson on the 10th birthday of her creation The Gruffalo; the new darling of ‘little chick lit', Clare Grogan; a canter through the whole history of the entire world with Christopher Lloyd; and the distinguished actors Bill Paterson and Diana Quick bringing old nursery stories to life.
Completing the stellar line-up for 2009 are prizewinning authors James Kelman, Jackie Kay, and James Robertson - who will also be reading Pooh in Scots at a special children's event; Ian Rankin on Dame Muriel Spark; legendary musicians Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain discussing their lives and careers; a rare appearance outside London by the celebrated nonagenarian and winner of the Costa Biography Prize, Diana Athill; and the journalist David Aaronovitch revealing how the craziest conspiracy theories have shaped world history.
The Borders Book Festival takes place in Harmony House gardens in Melrose, in the lee of the magnificent ruins of Melrose Abbey, which will also feature as a ‘midsummer stories' venue.
For the second year, the winner of the Scottish Arts Council's Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards will be announced at the Festival at an awards ceremony hosted by Rory Bremner.
In addition, Book Aid International, the charity dedicated to increasing access to books in sub-Saharan Africa, will have a high profile presence at the festival including an already sold out champagne reception hosted by one of its main supporters, actor and writer, Michael Palin. Over the four days, Book Aid International aims to raise in excess of £3000 to help send 1,500 books to libraries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Alistair Moffat, Borders Book Festival Director said:
"What's particularly striking is the range of tastes. People want to listen to authors right across the spectrum of literature, from childrens to history to travel writing and memoir. And good old-fashioned lectures seem to be in vogue again with Jim Naughtie's talk on Barack Obama and Ian Rankin's on Muriel Spark selling out within days. Personally I can't wait for the festival to begin!"
