Attending Edinburgh International Book Festival
Tips on Getting the Most From Scotland's Leading Literary Festival
Aug 26, 2009
Edinburgh International Book Festival runs for just over two weeks in Charlotte Square Gardens in the heart of the West End every August, attracting authors and visitors from all over the world with its extensive programme of talks, workshops and other events for readers and writers.
The Events
The word 'author' is interpreted loosely as anyone who has had a book published including novelists, illustrators, actors, journalists, comedians, academics, explorers, TV personalities, scriptwriters and experts in many different fields. Most events last for an hour in which the author will talk about his or her work and answer questions from the audience.
There are also workshop events which may focus on a particular type or genre of writing such as poetry or fantasy fiction or on different aspects of the life and business or being a writer.
What Is There? Bookshops, Live Events and Much More
The site consists of several tents arranged around the statue of Prince Albert. The entrance tent contains the box office, and has free copies of the current day's Times newspaper.
Some tents house the various events: the Main Theatre is the largest, plus there are the smaller Studio, Corner and Peppers Theatres and the Spiegeltent that hosts free live music events most lunchtimes and evenings.
There are two large bookshop tents, one specialising in children's books and the other more general. Books for some authors appearing on the current day can also be bought from the Signing Tent.
Book Signings
Following most events, an author will sign books and perhaps chat to fans in the Signing Tent or one of the bookshops. The whiteboards outside each venue specify the times that each author is signing there.
If you are keen on getting books signed and are buying them from the Festival's bookshops rather than bringing your own, buying them before the event will enable you to join the signing queue straight after and get a better place.
It is also worth checking which door the audience exits from and trying to get an aisle seat on that side so that you can get out more quickly. Be sure to queue early to have any chance of getting the seats you want, though, as seating is unreserved. There is sometimes a stampede for the exit at the end of an event as people rush for a place in the signing queue.
There may be restrictions on signings for some of the most popular authors, such as not allowing dedications or restricting the signings to one or two books per person, and for the busiest authors people with event tickets may be given priority over those who have just shown up for the signing.
Eating and Drinking
In fine weather, the gardens are an ideal spot for a picnic, but you can also buy food and drink on the premises.
The Spiegeltent and Signing Tent both contain café bars, and there is also a café at the back of the main bookshop. Locally-made ice creams are sold from a stall in the gardens. There are a couple of outdoor drinking water taps where you can refill your water bottles for free.
The Gardens
Entry to the gardens is free whether or not you are attending an event. There are chairs and tables outside the Signing Tent and scattered around the gardens, which soon become occupied in sunnier weather, but there is plenty of spare grass if you take a picnic blanket to sit on.
On wetter days – which are far from unknown in Edinburgh in August – you may wish to carry some kitchen roll with you. When the rain stops, most people are reluctant to sit on wet chairs, but armed with an absorbent towel you can have the pick of the chairs. If the rains come, some people prefer to sit under an umbrella and wait for it to pass rather than lose their seats.
Photography
Photography is not allowed in the events at all, but out in the gardens it is possible to take holiday snaps or discreet pictures of passing celebrities. If you are more obvious about targetting a celebrity, especially if you have a SLR rather than a compact camera or a camera-phone, you may be asked to stop or even marched off to the press tent for permission.
During the signings, sometimes you will be told not to take photos or you may just be told not to use flash. For authors who are not big celebrities, there isn't usually anyone around to stop you, but in such cases it is courteous to ask the author if he or she would mind. Such requests are rarely refused.
If you wish to take photographs for publication, even on the web, rather than just for personal use, you should obtain permission from the Festival's press office.
Tickets
Try to book most of your tickets soon after the brochure comes out in June, as not only will you be more likely to get into the most popular events but in recent years a voucher for a free Highland Park whisky in the Spiegeltent has been sent with tickets worth £3.50 at 2009 prices. A small booking fee is charged for each order however many tickets you buy and so getting them all at once saves money.
Once the Festival starts, have another look at the brochure and any changes to the programme – there are always cancelled events and new events added later – and you may find a few things to plug gaps in your schedule. Tickets are cheap enough to take a few risks on events that you think you might be interested in. Don't forget to check out the children's events either as many are interesting for adults too and much cheaper than the adult events.
The Book Festival is calm, friendly and civilised and a nice break from the hectic bustle of the rest of Edinburgh's festival season, providing a nice place to relax as well as some fascinating events for all the family.
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