“The
more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the
more places you'll go.” – Dr. Seuss
Charlotte
Square Gardens in the heart of Edinburgh boasts a literary feast in the form of
a specially created tented village for the Edinburgh International Book
Festival. The event features talks, workshops, book launches and signings,
literary soirées in the magical Moulin Rouge tent, and a bumper children’s
programme.
 |
| The tranquil Charlotte Square Gardens. Photo Sanabelle Ebrahim |
The
festival welcomes more than 800 authors in over 700 events each year including
novelists, poets, scientists, philosophers, sportsmen, illustrators, comic
creators, historians, musicians, biographers, environmentalists, economists,
Nobel and Booker prize-winners.
 |
| Taking
in the launch of the Unbound sketchathon sessions in the theatrical Moulin
Rouge Spiegeltent with Scotland's Phoenix team of comic artists. First up in
the interactive spot is Sanabelle Ebrahim taking up the challenge through
sketching the traditional BunnyKat and picking up a new thread of frames to the
'gleeful spy in rush hour' storyline. The audience strongly warms to the
BunnyKat and the antics depicted in the continuing frames of carrots, turnips
and explosions. Bravissimo! The folk dolls make it from the Valley of 1000
Hills to the international stage. Next stop London Screenwriters' Festival.
Photo Mikhail Peppas |
The
2016 event ran from 13 to 29 August. Amidst an explosion of festivals
celebrating music, comedy, theatre, dance, opera, books and literature, the
Edinburgh International Book Festival signifies an oasis of tranquillity sitting
at the centre of the hustle and bustle that characterises August in the city.
 |
|
A
giant willow sculpture of Roald Dahl’s Big Friendly Giant (BFG). Photo Sanabelle
Ebrahim
|
The
Edinburgh International Book Festival began in 1983 and is now a key event in
the August Festival season. The city’s literary attractions include the Writers’
Museum, Scottish Poetry Library, and Scottish Storytelling Centre. Edinburgh
has been the birthplace, home and hangout to some of the world’s biggest and
best loved writers such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Walter Scott, Robert
Burns, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, JK Rowling and Alexander McCall Smith. In 2004, Edinburgh
was recognised as the world’s first designated UNESCO City of Literature. Plans
are underway to have Durban considered as a UNESCO City of Literature, the 21st
in the world and the first in Africa.
 |
|
BunnyKat
Wordish thrills to the Alexander McCall Smith book signing. Photo Sanabelle
Ebrahim
|
