DEMOCRACY MATTERS12:00 THE AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL EVENT Ahdaf Soueif The Writer and the Egyptian Revolution ScottishPower Studio Theatre, £10 [£8] Can a people's revolution that's democratic, inclusive and peaceable succeed? That's the question asked by the eminent Egyptian writer Ahdaf Soueif in her profoundly affecting memoir, Cairo: My City, Our Revolution. In it, she charts the uprising as it unfolded in Cairo last year. 'This book is not a record of an event that's over', she explains. Here, she discusses a revolution that Egypt is still living through. Chaired by Kate Green.12:30 Hari Kunzru & Yiyun Li Stories That Span Time and Space Peppers Theatre, £10 [£8] Douglas Coupland's recent review of Hari Kunzru's novel Gods Without Men suggests Kunzru has spawned a new literary genre: Translit. It's certainly a sparkling, multi-layered gem that confidently slides across boundaries. But then so too does US-based Yiyun Li's superb book of short stories Gold Boy, Emerald Girl which is predominantly set in modern China. Whether or not they're creating a new genre, here are two authors whose writing is a joy to behold.SPORT: MIND GAMES14:30 Ian Robertson The Secret of Success Peppers Theatre, £10 [£8] What are the mental and physical changes that take place in the mind of a 'winner'? Some answers are given by neuroscientist and clinical psychologist Ian Robertson in his book The Winner Effect. In this engaging and highly interactive event, Robertson demonstrates - with the audience's help - that power has fascinating effects on the brains of those who wield it.EDINBURGH WORLD WRITERS' CONFERENCE15:00- Style vs Content 17:00 How Should Authors Approach the Task of Writing a Novel Today? RBS Main Theatre, £10 [£8] What is more important: the content of a novel or the style in which it is written? Ali Smith's novels successfully marry ambitious themes with a variety of confident linguistic styles - from the deliciously playful to the crashingly simple. Smith addresses today's Conference session about approaches to the construction of the novel today, in an event chaired by Nathan Englander - whose short pieces have been described by Michael Chabon as 'masterpieces of short-story art'. Presented in partnership with the British Council.This event will be filmed and broadcast live online at www.edinburghworldwritersconference.org15:30 Oliver Balch & Katherine Boo India on the Rise ScottishPower Studio Theatre, £10 [£8] Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers operates around a Mumbai slum in the shadow of luxury hotels. Its residents are garbage recyclers, construction workers and economic migrants, all hoping that a part of India's booming future will be theirs. Oliver Balch travels around the country to tell stories from the front line of an emerging economy for India Rising.16:00 Stephen Kelman & Nick Lake Kids in Peril Peppers Theatre, £10 [£8] The Man Booker-nominated Pigeon English from Stephen Kelman is still making waves with its sizzling tale of Harrison Opoku, in London from Ghana and unaware of the dangers growing around him. Nick Lake's In Darkness will hit the spot for adults and older teenage readers with its story of Shorty, a survivor of the Haiti earthquake who makes a dramatic vow while trapped under the rubble.SCIENCE MEETS FICTION17:00 THE WELLCOME TRUST EVENT Jennifer Rohn & Neal Stephenson Putting the Cult into Culture ScottishPower Studio Theatre, £10 [£8] Science fiction writing is readily dismissed as mindless escapism but in fact it is a hugely influential and creative genre, able to critique our society and inspire our scientists. New York Times bestseller, Neal Stephenson, discusses the importance of science fiction on science fact with Jennifer Rohn of University College London and author of lablit.com.17:30- Amnesty International 18:15 Imprisoned Writers Series Freedom of Expression Peppers Theatre, Free: Tickets available from the box office on the day of the event Each day we pay tribute to persecuted writers from around the world. Freedom of Expression is at the heart of any book festival but it is also necessary for citizens and communities to speak out against injustice, express their needs and hold their governments to account. Today's event is chaired by Scottish PEN and authors taking part include: Joanna Nadin, Oliver Balch, Holly Webb.ODYSSEYS18:30 Seamus Heaney, Karl Miller & Andrew O'Hagan Friends Reunited RBS Main Theatre, £10 [£8] Karl Miller was literary critic of the Spectator and the New Statesman before launching the London Review of Books in 1979. His passion for the countryside recently led to a series of journeys through Scotland, Wales and Ireland with his friends, the poet Seamus Heaney and the novelist Andrew O'Hagan.Today they reunite to remember their odyssey, and to discuss Miller's new book of essays, Tretower to Clyro.Supported by the Hawthornden Literary Retreat.18:45 Maziar Bahari & François Bizot Coming Face to Face with Your Captor Peppers Theatre, £10 [£8] In 1971, François Bizot was kept prisoner for three months in the Cambodian jungle, accused of being a CIA spy. Eventually freed, it took Bizot decades to realise he owed his life to one of Pol Pot's most infamous henchmen. Facing the Torturer tells this extraordinary tale. In Then They Came for Me, Maziar Bahari writes about the three months he spent in Iran's most notorious prison while trying to cover the 2009 presidential election. Chaired by Ruth Wishart.Sat 18 August (continued) 'Hello, buddy,' he said, with something approaching sadness in his voice, like I was a kitten coming out of anaesthetic, and he was a vet with a hammer in his pocket.Danny Wallace, Charlotte Street, 20:30MORE ABOUT: François BizotCaptured and held in the jungle by the Khmer Rouge in 1971, Bizot has spent his life trying to make sense of the horrors which occurred in Cambodia. When testifying against his captor, Kaing Guek Eav, a man who went on to become the Khmer Rouge's chief jailer and torturer, Bizot expressed his turmoil in trying to understand 'a double reality' - 'the reality of a man who was the force of a state institutional massive killing', with the memory of a 'young man who committed his life to a cause and to a purpose that was based on the idea that it was not only legitimate, it was deserved.'30

19:00 Edwin Morgan International Poetry Prize 2012 Prize-Winners Announced ScottishPower Studio Theatre, £10 [£8] Now in its fifth year, the Edwin Morgan Poetry Competition has become one of the best respected poetry prizes in Britain. With a first prize of £5,000, it attracts more than 1,000 entries each year, and for 2012 it is judged by two award-winning Scottish poets, Gillian Ferguson and Don Paterson. In today's event the judges reveal the names of 2012's winning poets, and invite them to present their work.Chaired by David Kinloch.In association with the University of Strathclyde.19:00- THE ESRC GENOMICS POLICY 20:15 AND RESEARCH FORUM EVENT The Epigenetic Evolution Rethinking Society Through Science The Guardian Spiegeltent, £10 [£8] The science of epigenetics analyses how our social and genetic heritage interact to shape an individual's genetic make-up and examines how social and geographical location are hugely influential. What does this mean for our society? How can this scientific knowledge be used to shape our social policy on issues like healthcare and education? Dr Nessa Carey, author of The Epigenetics Revolution, Dr Paul Shiels, from Glasgow University, and Professor Steve Yearley from Edinburgh's Genomics Forum, discuss the implications with Richard Holloway.19:00 Junot Díaz & Nathan Englander Feverishly Thumping Hearts RBS Corner Theatre, £7 [£5] Two extraordinary talents come together. Nathan Englander's critically adored What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank exhibits a rare combination of humour, complexity and edge which affects a reader's heart, head and soul. Junot Díaz won the Pulitzer Prize with The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and he returns with an unforgettable new collection of short stories, This is How You Lose Her. Chaired by Stuart Kelly. 20:00 Alain de Botton What Non-Believers Could Learn from Faith RBS Main Theatre, £10 [£8] The accessible philosophies of Alain de Botton are given fresh impetus with Religion for Atheists in which he argues that non-believers should quit mocking those with faith and start stealing some of their good ideas. That way, agnostics and atheists can build a stronger sense of community, make relationships last, get more out of art and overcome feelings of envy and inadequacy.ANOBII FIRST BOOK AWARD NOMINEE20:30 THE LIST EVENT Danny Wallace Tayside Jester with Movie-Friendly Debut ScottishPower Studio Theatre, £10 [£8] In his non-fiction work, he's tried to start a new country and helped a comedy friend find as many of his namesakes as possible. Now Dundee-born Danny Wallace brings us his debut fiction, Charlotte Street, in which a man becomes obsessed with the images inside a discarded disposable camera. Does that sound filmic? It should do, as Working Title has already optioned the movie rights.20:30 Ron Butlin Edinburgh Makar Gets Collected Peppers Theatre, £10 [£8] Irvine Welsh described Ron Butlin's The Sound of My Voice as one of the top novels to make its way onto the bookshelves in 80s Britain. As Edinburgh Makar, this fine gentleman has done readings, had poems printed in the papers about the trams, conducted interviews and made speeches. The Magicians of Edinburgh is his collection of poems written during that period as the capital's Laureate.20:30 John Jeremiah Sullivan & Craig Taylor Real Hysterical Realism RBS Corner Theatre, £7 [£5] Craig Taylor's Londoners explores the city's hidden corners as the author listens to its residents - rich, poor, native, immigrant. This acclaimed Canadian journalist and playwright has lived in London f or a decade and paints a vivid portrait of a 21st century city. John Jeremiah Sullivan's Pulphead is an exhilarating tour of some completely forgotten American cultures penned with shades of Hunter S Thompson and Joan Didion.21:00- Unbound 23:00 Stories, Music and Literary High Jinks The Guardian Spiegeltent, Free & Drop-In A literary experience like no other. Anything goes: storytelling, music, performance, poetry, stand-up - it's a raw, surprising, sometimes emotional ride. Come with an open mind! The line-up will be announced in July in The Skinny magazine and on our website at www.edbookfest.co.uk.21:30 THE TANGENT GRAPHIC EVENT Irvine Welsh Sunshine and Dark Days on Leith RBS Main Theatre, £10 [£8] Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting trilogy is completed by a prequel, Skagboys, which shows us how Renton, Spud, Sick Boy and Begbie all hopped aboard the slow train to disaster. In Thatcher's 1980s, there appears to be no room for our Leith boys. Poverty, AIDS, violence, political strife and hatred are never far from the surface in this salty doorstopper.'I can't be arsed with conspiracy theories. They become an end in themselves and a form of mental illness. I get too bored with them. Capitalism in itself is set up to benefit the rich. Why bother wasting energy conspiring when the economic system, government and apparatus of the state is all set up for you anyway?'Irvine Welsh talking to The Skinny's Keir Hind, in the run up to the release of Skagboys.Who coined the term 'Podcasting'? Meet Wired's tattooed tech guru Ben Hammersley. (13 Aug, p15)Hari Kunzru, 12:30See page 83 for booking detailsBook now: www.edbookfest.co.uk 0845 373 588831