Book festival with ‘curiosity and open-mindedness at its heart’ gets under way

Scotland’s Culture Secretary has opened this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival – hailing it as an event with “curiosity and open-mindedness at its heart”.

Mairi McAllan joined festival director Jenny Niven for the opening gala on Saturday.

It marks the start of a festival programme that will run until the end of August, featuring some 600 events with writers from 41 countries.

Former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon is due to speak at the event, as is former UK prime minister Gordon Brown and the founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales.

Bestselling author John Grisham will also be taking part, with Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin and fellow novelists Ali Smith, Matt Haig and Maggie O’Farrell.

The theme of this year’s festival is “changing your mind” and Ms McAllan said she was “delighted to open a programme that puts curiosity and open-mindedness at its heart”.

She added: “As the world’s first Unesco City of Literature, Edinburgh has long demonstrated the importance the city places on ideas, creativity and international exchange.

“The Book Festival is one of the clearest expressions of that ambition.”

The event is funded in part by the Scottish Government, receiving money from the arts body Creative Scotland’s multiyear funding scheme, as well as government Expo Funding and the Expanded Festivals Fund

Ms Niven, speaking at the opening gala, said: “Changing your mind isn’t just this year’s theme, it’s an invitation. Every one of these writers has, in their own way, made a case for staying curious and willing to be moved by a story, an argument, or a piece of music.

“That’s what tonight was about, and it’s what the next two weeks hold for our audiences.”