Edinburgh International Book FestivalPreparations have begun in Scotland for the Edinburgh International Book Festival, which is the literary component of the Edinburgh Festival, the UK’s biggest annual cultural jamboree, and which this year runs from August 10th to 26th, and showcases 800 authors in over 700 events.

Many of the discussions and appearances this year will be either dealing with issues raised by the digital disruption of publishing and book production, or presenting authors in the context of their e-books and digital media work. “It’s our 30th birthday this year and we celebrate with a programme of events looking back over three astonishing decades and forward to what might happen over the next generation,” the Festival declares.

Edinburgh International Book Festival
A scene from EIBF 2012

“We have a number of events in the programme that deal with e-books and self-publishing,” said Frances Sutton, for the Festival, when I touched base with her on the official launch of the Festival lineup this year. She singled out the Blueprint Debate on Copyright on August 14th, and the panel discussions “Being a Writer in the Digital Age: A Brave New Publishing World,” in association with the Society of Authors, on August 21st, and “Publishing in a Digital World: The Changing Nature of Writing,” in association with Publishing Scotland, on August 23rd.

“We have a number of authors who will be speaking about their self-publishing or e-book experiences, or whose books are only available as an e-book,” she added.

Edinburgh International Book FestivalThese include “Future Books with Andrew Jamieson and Damien M Love,” tackling “this exciting emerging world of publishing” with the help of two e-book-only authors, on August 14th; Sergio de la Pava and Richard House on August 18th, with their achievements in “recasting novels for the 21st century”;  Liz Bankes and Samantha Young “reaching boiling point” on August 20th, with two younger writers who “both started their writing career on-line and were offered publishing deals on the strength of the following for their blogs,” according to Sutton; and Laurie Penny, also on August 20th, taking a more factual, investigative approach to the Greek financial crisis.

For graphics fans, Sutton added, “in the Stripped programme, our strand on graphic novels and comics, there are a number of authors who are extremely active with on-line content, and our Mini Comic Fair, which runs from 24 to 25 August, is a showcase for Scottish independent (self-published) comics.”

The Festival is also pulling out all the stops in informational and marketing outreach technology this year. “We will be launching an interactive online timeline in July, where you can add your own memories and ideas – go to our website to find out more,” announces the Festival brochure.

The Festival will take place in Edinburgh’s Charlotte Square Gardens, with entrance to the Gardens free, although individual events and tracks in the tented venues are usually ticketed. UK residents or visitors are seriously urged to head over to the Festival website to find out more.

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