Every August, book writers and readers gather in Edinburgh for several weekends of author talks, workshops, panel discussions and other events. It’s a busy time of year – the start of Edinburgh International Book Festival coincides with the Edinburgh Fringe and the end with the Film and TV Festival. It makes it a great time to head to the Scottish capital, and for those with a particular focus on China/Asia, there are a number of events at this year’s festival that may be of special interest. Here’s what you should look out for.
Yan Ge & Andrzej Tichý: The In-Between Places, 12 August, 11:00-12:00
Yan Ge writes in English, Mandarin and Sichuanese. She’ll be in discussion with Andrzej Tichý, a Swedish-Czech-Polish writer, about the art of the short story. Yan Ge’s 2023 short story collection, Elsewhere: Stories, was praised by The Guardian: “Yan Ge’s English debut is preoccupied with language, its failures, and its relationship to human emotions and the raw reality – the ‘food’ – of life. … These stories map out the distance between the head and the gut – the way language can fail to convey the deepest, most visceral facts of life.”
Yuan Yang: How China is Changing, 12 August, 12:30-13:30
FT journalist and Beijing Bureau Chief Yuan Yang’s revelatory book Private Revolutions has been getting a lot of positive press this summer. It tells the story of four ordinary women in China’s new social order caught between capitalist ambition and authoritarian reality. Yuan Yang will present her book at the Courtyard Theatre.
Anton Hur, R F Kuang & Emily Wilson: Found in Translation, 13 August, 19:45-20:45
Those with a thing for translation and language will want to see RF Kuang in conversation with editor and translator Daniel Hahn talking about the complexities of translation, the Korean language and her speculative novel, Babel.
Robin Niblett & Yuan Yang: Shaping Our Century, 13 August 18:45-19:45
Yuan Yang is back, this time in conversation with Robin Niblett of Chatham House, talking about the geopolitical rivalry between China and the US and her new book Private Revolutions.
R F Kuang & Samantha Shannon: The Future of Fantasy, 14 august, 20:30-21:30
RF Kuang is back talking about fantasy writing and its future with fellow fantasy writer Samantha Shannon.
R F Kuang: Wicked Ambition, 15 August, 19:30-20:30
There’s one more go-round with RF Kuang, this time talking about her bestselling book (serialised by BBC Radio 4, too) Yellowface and about cultural appropriation, race and the misdeeds of the publishing industry.
Xiaolu Guo: Personal Geographies, 18 August, 19:15-20:15
UK based Chinese writer Xiaolu Guo has a new book, My Battle of Hastings, out this summer talking about what happens when a Chinese writer looking to escape the pressures of writing in London pitches up on England’s south coast and contemplates English history.
First Edition with Edward Wong, 19 August, 10:00-11:00
Former Beijing correspondent Edward Wong talks about how to maintain quality journalism and avoid fake news over morning coffee and croissants in the famed Edinburgh Spiegeltent.
Nick Bryant, Olesya Khromeychuk & Edward Wong: Democracy on the Brink, 19 August, 19:30-20:30
These three veteran journalists will discuss Ukraine, America’s internal dissent and China, among other globally-important topics.
Edward Wong: China Under the Lens, 21 August, 14:00-15:00
NYT journalist and former Beijing correspondent Edward Wong has a new book, The Edge of Empire, about his own heritage, China, and the last century of change in the country. In this talk, he’ll dissect China’s recent authoritarian turn.
William Dalrymple: When India Led the World, 24 August, 18:45-19:45
William Dalrymple’s new book, The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World, reveals the nation’s position as the preeminent Eurasia intellectual and philosophical superpower for a millennium and a half until 1200 AD. The focus of Dalrymple’s book may be India, but you can expect some questions on India-China relations and India’s influence on China’s religions and belief systems as the moderator is FOCUS’ own Paul French.
Find out more about the above events and purchase tickets at www.edbookfest.co.uk
