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Annual Review 2005 12535 Bookfest 24/2/06 2:54 Pm Page 2 12535_Bookfest_ 24/2/06 2:54 pm Page 1 in association with Heaven, bliss, simply the best. Carol Ann Duffy The Book Festival’s contribution to Scotland’s cultural, economic and intellectual life is considerable. Rt Hon George Reid MSP annual review 2005 12535_Bookfest_ 24/2/06 2:54 pm Page 2 Edinburgh International Book Festival annual review 2005 One of the great cultural successes of the past two decades. Sunday Herald About the Book Festival Did you know? • There have been five directors The Edinburgh International Book • In the last five years, every of the Book Festival, all female. Festival is the largest festival of its kind Booker prize winner has been • Ticket prices for Book Festival in the world. A vibrant meeting place invited to the Book Festival long events have been held at the for the greatest international writers before being shortlisted for the same accessible level for the last and thinkers and the finest Scottish prize: Peter Carey, Yann Martel, 5 years. authors, the Book Festival has grown DBC Pierre, Alan Hollinghurst rapidly to its current position of global and the 2005 winner, John • The Book Festival bookshops are importance. Banville. an important outlet and showcase for independent Scottish In 1983, the inaugural Book Festival • One of the first journalists publishers – we sell in three played host to just 30 Meet the Author to cover the Book Festival was weeks what a medium-sized events. Today, the Festival programmes the young Ian Rankin, writing bookshop would sell in one year! over 600 events for people of all ages, for a University newspaper. and is a potent magnet for publishers, • Among authors who have been the media, agents and others, as well • In 2001 V.S. Naipaul appeared invited to the Book Festival as ever growing numbers of the at the Book Festival and was long before they became general public. awarded the Nobel Prize for internationally famous are Literature immediately Salman Rushdie, Michael Ondaatje, Increasingly, the Book Festival afterwards. In 2002 Sir John Kazuo Ishiguro and of course, examines and sets the news agenda. Sulston appeared and was JK Rowling. In recent years, the festival has awarded the Nobel Prize for developed a high profile debates and Medicine immediately afterwards. discussions strand that is now one Other Nobel Prize-winners to The Book Festival gratefully of its most striking hallmarks. Each appear include Seamus Heaney, year, audiences and authors meet to Nadine Gordimer, Wole Soyinka, acknowledges the support exchange thoughts and opinions on Toni Morrison, Dario Fo and 2005’s of the Scottish Arts Council some of the most pressing issues that winner, Harold Pinter. and the City of Edinburgh face the international community Council as well as title today. sponsors The Herald and Sunday Herald. (See page 7 for all sponsors) 1 12535_Bookfest_ 24/2/06 2:54 pm Page 3 Edinburgh International Book Festival annual review 2005 heartening year. A broad but often challenging programme attracted more people than ever before. Our overall audience Welcome numbers are up (over 120% in the last five years), our average from Susan Rice CBE, attendance in each event is up, our spirits are up. Chair, Edinburgh The chief theme of the 2005 programme was Nations Unlimited, International Book a wide-ranging and in-depth look at the future of the nation- state. This was a major international collaboration with fellow Festival Board and Chief Executive, festivals in Norway and Sweden and was several years in the preparation: an interlinked series of events with leading writers Lloyds TSB Scotland. and thinkers which began in Edinburgh then crossed the North If I had to use one word to describe the Edinburgh International Sea to Stavanger and Gothenburg, powerful and productive Book Festival, it would be impact. There is, for example, a direct northern connections. thread leading from the Book Festival to Edinburgh being named the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature to the This too was the year of Russia, an opening weekend in which decision to award the inaugural Man Booker International a magnificent array of writers from and about that great nation Prize here – out of all possible global cities – in 2005. crowded into our Edinburgh garden. The Book Festival itself reflects a world stage, attracting Our festival must be purposefully, pointedly international, must authors from East and West, and this year in particular from prise open any parochialism and open our minds to the world. the North, from Canada and the Scandinavian countries. The Along with 170 Scottish authors – a record number – no fewer interconnections with authors and literary festivals in other than 30 different countries were represented in the 2005 countries continue to grow and strengthen. So does the Book programme. The great Italian Nobel prize-winner Dario Fo Festival’s reputation, if one judges the amount of imitation thrilled audiences (and organisers) with his style, energy and there is now both in Scotland and around the UK. unquenched radicalism; a focus on Africa included the great But I don’t know that anyone can simply imitate success. André Brink; a bigger than ever contingent of Canadians included The 2005 Festival was our biggest and our best ever. The ideas the peerless Margaret Atwood, whom we were proud to present that flowed around and out this summer can’t be bottled and with the Edinburgh International Book Festival Enlightenment delivered elsewhere. Award, for her distinguished contribution to world literature. In our final weekend, Salman Rushdie, confident and unbowed, In her own inimitable style, Director Catherine Lockerbie yet again passionately defended freedom of speech and the primacy of the took the Book Festival to a new level. She is supported by an able pen over the sword – a motto and mantra of the Book Festival. and dedicated team who are joined by many others during the summer. Behind it all is an enthusiastic Board whose members The organisational task of creating the world’s largest literary are passionate about both the idea and the reality of the Book festival remains vast. Public funding remains low (less than Festival. My thanks and gratitude go to each and every one. 18% of the income we need). Competition intensifies – there are Introduction now over 250 book festivals throughout the UK and more new ones, many inspired by our model, are constantly being set up. Ideas and the imagination are the raw material of the Book Complacency is not an option. Aware of the sheer scale of the Festival. Our content is to do with thought itself: thought, work which lies ahead, we are nevertheless proud of what we expressed in words, and contained within that most were able to offer in 2005. sophisticated and infinitely interactive device: the book. For those who care about such things, 2005 was another Catherine Lockerbie, Director 2 12535_Bookfest_ 24/2/06 2:54 pm Page 4 Edinburgh International Book Festival annual review 2005 The vibrant festivals are key to the city’s economy. Financial Times A powerful forum to talk about dangerous issues. The Scotsman Of all the book festivals I have been to this year (pretty much all of them), Edinburgh is the best and boldest. Hilary Spurling, Winner, Whitbread Book Of The Year 2005 Edinburgh International The Book Festival is increasingly Book Festival in 2005 popular with businesses: sponsorship income increased The Nations Unlimited theme 379 author events and workshops by 33% this year. comprised almost 40 events, with were programmed for adults. speakers including Neil Kinnock, The Book Festival created 1,061 George Monbiot and the leading 31, 272 people attended the 269 weeks of employment. Norwegian broadcaster and writer events in the Children’s Programme. Åsne Seierstad. 27% of ticket sales were made 12,780 pupils from 171 schools through the Book Festival website, Ian Rankin wrote a brand new short across Scotland came to the 60 traffic to the site overall increased story exclusively for those who events in the Schools Programme – by 59% on the previous year. attended his events. 2,000 more than the previous year. 93 free events were created for Several international authors 3,493 primary school children adults and children including 15 completely new to the UK, and attended 16 events on the Schools evenings of free live jazz and hitherto unknown here attracted Gala Day. In addition 727 pupils blues music in the Glenmorangie capacity audiences. attended 18 Book Festival outreach Spiegeltent and twice-daily events in locations across Scotland. storytelling sessions. 11 authors long-listed for this year’s Man Booker Prize took part in the Nearly 40% of all events sold out 60,000 books were sold in the Book 2005 Edinburgh International Book (253) and 100 more sold over 80% Festival bookshops, the proceeds of Festival. of their available seats. which go directly towards producing the Book Festival. Nearly £3m of media coverage was There were 500 participating generated in the UK alone. authors, 170 from Scotland. Authors There was a steep increase in the were invited from over 30 countries number of creative writing including Sudan, Estonia, Palestine, workshops offered; demand still far China and South Africa. More than exceeds supply. ever before performed in their native language with a translator. 3 12535_Bookfest_ 24/2/06 2:54 pm Page 5 Edinburgh International Book Festival annual review 2005 Visitors to the Book Festival Where do they come from? Where do first-time visitors come from? have steadily risen: 51% Edinburgh 49% Edinburgh 24% Rest of Scotland 19% Rest of Scotland 13% Rest of UK 12% Rest of UK 12% Overseas 20% Overseas 60,000 85,000 20,000 1 207,500 1 1 220,000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 A dazzling choice of writing for adults and children, fiction and non-fiction.
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