MORE ABOUT: Vic ArmstrongThe Guinness Book of World Records hailed him 'the world's most prolific stunt double', but it is the quality of the films Vic Armstrong has performed in, coordinated and directed over the last 30 years that demonstrate his achievement. He's been the stunt double for Christopher Reeve, Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, Roger Moore and Harrison Ford; coordinated stunts for A Bridge Too Far, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Tomorrow Never Dies, Charlie's Angels and War of the Worlds. James Bond eat your heart out!16:30 Liz Lochhead An Hour with Scotland's Poet Laureate RBS Main Theatre, £10 [£8] She's been described by Carol Ann Duffy as 'an inspirational presence in British poetry' and her work over the past three decades was formally acknowledged last year when Liz Lochhead was appointed as the new Scottish Makar (Poet Laureate). In this event Lochhead reads poems from her recently published selection, A Choosing, discussing her work with BBC Scotland's political editor Brian Taylor.17:00 Shaun Tan Displacement and Belonging ScottishPower Studio Theatre, £10 [£8] Shaun Tan offers a fascinating journey through his work as author, artist and film-maker, explaining how his early career developed. In 2011 Shaun received the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in Sweden for his body of work and won an Oscar for his short film The Lost Thing. This is a rare opportunity to hear from an inspiring and uniquely talented master in his field.17:30- Amnesty International 18:15 Imprisoned Writers Series Journalists on the Frontline Peppers Theatre, Free: Tickets available from the box office on the day of the event All over the world, journalists are arrested, threatened and killed for working at the forefront of defending freedom of expression. Our series of events today focuses on the journalists who risk their lives to expose human rights violations in situations of war and conflict. Reading today: William Brodrick, Will Wiles, Donovan Hohn.18:30 THE SCOTT-MONCRIEFF EVENT Ian McEwan with Alex Salmond A Great British Writer Meets Scotland's First Minister RBS Main Theatre, £10 [£8] According to Alex Salmond, his eclectic cultural interests range from Miss Marple to Star Trek and in this evening's unmissable event the First Minister talks about life beyond politics with the most successful British literary novelist of the past 30 years. Ian McEwan also boasts a wide range of interests beyond fiction - not least among them film, music and science.18:45 Parker Bilal & Zoë Ferraris Crime Novels Set in Cairo and Jeddah Peppers Theatre, £10 [£8] The 2011 revolution in Egypt is placed in fascinating context by Parker Bilal's brilliant fictional detective story The Golden Scales, in which a reluctant cop is asked to explore an unusual kidnapping. Meanwhile Zoë Ferraris' novel Kingdom of Strangers is set in Saudi Arabia, where an inspector on the hunt for a serial killer gets embroiled in an abduction much closer to home.19:00 Vic Armstrong Meet the World's Most Prolific Stuntman ScottishPower Studio Theatre, £10 [£8] He's been a body double for James Bond, Indiana Jones and Superman, and he's in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most prolific stuntman. Scotsman Vic Armstrong has brought together a lifetime's experiences at the sharp end of the movie world in an entertaining autobiography. Join him to hear his amazing stories of working with Schwarzenegger, Connery, Harrison Ford and many more. DRAWING ON OUR RESOURCES19:00- Debate: Rethinking Food 20:15 Can We Feed the World Without Resorting to GM? The Guardian Spiegeltent, £10 [£8] The world's population will grow to 9.3 billion by 2050, and today's food production methods will not produce nearly enough to feed everyone. Does the only hope for global food security involve deforestation, hyper-fertilisation and the extensive use of GM crops? Or should we concentrate on harvesting locally-produced, seasonal produce and leave others to fend for themselves? Award-winning investigative journalist, Joanna Blythman, author of six landmark books on food issues, and social scientist Dr Neil Stephens, who is involved in the research of growing meat from stem cells, head up the debate.20:00 Iain Banks It's Grimly Funny Up North RBS Main Theatre, £10 [£8] Iain Banks is back on non sci-fi territory. And with Stonemouth, he is firmly on his finest and funniest comedy-drama behaviour as he explores one Stewart Gilmour's return to his north-east home town to attend a funeral after 5 years in exile. Not everyone is happy he's back though and he spends a long weekend trying to keep one step ahead of local gangsters.ODYSSEYS20:30 THE THOMAS MILLER INVESTMENT EVENT Joe Simpson Staring Death in the Face ScottishPower Studio Theatre, £10 [£8] The author of Touching the Void last joined us in 1997 to discuss his bestselling account of his extraordinary survival in the Andes. Now he brings us his gripping novel, The Sound of Gravity. Patrick and his wife are trapped on a stormbound mountain: he loses his grip on her hand and she falls... Patrick survives, but his life is shattered and he can't resist going back.20:30 Will Brooker Will the Real Caped Crusader Please Stand Up? Peppers Theatre, £10 [£8] With the next Batman movie stealing the summer blockbuster thunder, cultural commentator Will Brooker shines a light onto the cultivation of the Dark Knight's 21st century mythology. Offering a rigorous yet accessible account of the complex relationship between the Batman films and their audiences, Brooker explores themes of authorship and adaptation in an age of rampant media convergence.ANOBII FIRST BOOK AWARD NOMINEE20:30 Iosi Havilio & Will Wiles New Starts in Life RBS Corner Theatre, £7 [£5] In the midst of a marriage breakdown, composer Oskar entrusts an old friend with looking after his cats and apartment. Will Wiles' debut, Care of Wooden Floors, is about how a tiny oversight can trip off a disastrous chain of consequences. Iosi Havilio's Open Door features a young veterinary assistant drifting from the city towards a small town in the Argentinian Pampas named after its psychiatric hospital.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.Concerned for our planet? Love. Melanie Challenger & T C Smout (19 Aug, p33)See page 83 for booking detailsBook now: www.edbookfest.co.uk 0845 373 588843You will be dead by Monday.Adam Thorpe, Flight, 10:15

10:00- Paterson Arran 10:10 Ten at Ten Writers' Retreat, Free: Book in Advance A delicious morning reading from one of our Festival authors to set you up for the day. Check the screen in the Entrance Tent to see who's reading each day.ANOBII FIRST BOOK AWARD NOMINEE10:15 Jennie Erdal & Peter Stamm Sense and Sensibility The Guardian Spiegeltent, £10 [£8] The line between what we know intellectually, and what we feel, is what unites two sparkling novels. Jennie Erdal's assured debut The Missing Shade of Blue is a 'philosophical thriller' set in Edinburgh. Peter Stamm is widely regarded as one of the most talented living European authors, and his newly-translated novel Seven Years follows a Corbusier-obsessed architect torn between two very different women. Free coffee, courtesy of Heritage Portfolio. ODYSSEYS11:00 Martin Palmer & Jean Sprackland Revealing the Secrets of the Land Peppers Theatre, £10 [£8] Jean Sprackland's Strands is the lyrical account of a year on one beach turning up a mermaid's purse, lugworms, sea potatoes, messages in bottles and beached whales. Martin Palmer's Sacred Land is an informative and enlightening travelogue revealing clues to the spiritual significance of the sites and features he visits. At the end of this event you'll see your surroundings in a brand new light.11:00- Writing Workshop 12:30 Getting to the Heart of the Story Writers' Retreat, £15 [£12] How do you find the heart of a short story idea and develop it so that it can best say what it wants to say? In this workshop, led by short story writer and novelist Sophie Cooke, who is also the founder and course leader of Edinburgh's new Skriva Writing School, you'll learn how to create great short fiction.11:30 Kate Summerscale Unleashing Another Victorian Scandal RBS Main Theatre, £10 [£8] Kate Summerscale follows up the blockbusting success of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher with Mrs Robinson's Disgrace. On a mild Edinburgh evening in 1850, Isabella set out for a party at the home of rich widow Lady Drysdale. Little did she know that a story would ensue of romance, insanity, fantasy and the boundaries of privacy in a society clinging to rigid ideas about marriage and sexuality. 14:00 Norman Davies & Tom Pow What Was Lost ScottishPower Studio Theatre, £10 [£8] Kingdoms come and go: Sparta, Rome, Byzantium, the Soviet Eastern Bloc - all are vanished, and the eminent historian Norman Davies describes some of these lost empires in his epic new book. Meanwhile there is a different kind of shift taking place: Scottish poet and writer Tom Pow's elegiac book In Another World takes him to dying villages across Europe as he chronicles the effects of an era of rural depopulation. Chaired by Alistair Moffat.ANOBII FIRST BOOK AWARD NOMINEE14:00 Andrés Neuman & Youssef Ziedan Ancient Stories with Modern Twists RBS Corner Theatre, £7 [£5] Andrés Neuman's Traveller of the Century is an ambitious debut novel that invites the reader to look at the 19th century with 21st century eyes. Enigmatic traveller Hans stops between Saxony and Prussia, finding himself in a debate with an old organ-grinder. Youssef Ziedan's Azazeel, set in the 5th century, is an exquisitely crafted tale of a monk's journey from Upper Egypt to Syria during a time of social upheaval. DRAWING ON OUR RESOURCES14:30 Daniel Franklin Is This Progress? Peppers Theatre, £10 [£8] In 2050 there will be 9.3 billion people alive. The over 65s will have more than doubled and the number of cars on India's roads will have increased by 3880%. Economist executive editor Daniel Franklin's Megachange explores the trends that will shape the coming decades. Predicting the future may be risky, Franklin argues, but he firmly believes not all will be bleak. Join him today to find out why.15:00 Ian McEwan The Spy Who Loved Me RBS Main Theatre, £10 [£8] The most gifted British novelist of his generation unveils his new book at the Book Festival. Sweet Tooth tells the story of a woman drawn into intelligence activities, who then falls in love and faces a challenge to maintain the fiction of her undercover life. Ian McEwan's previous bestselling novels include Saturday, On Chesil Beach and the Man Booker Prize-winning Amsterdam. Supported by the Hawthornden Literary Retreat.A season of film adaptations of Ian McEwan's books complement this event, at Edinburgh Filmhouse www.filmhousecinema.comANOBII FIRST BOOK AWARD NOMINEE15:00 Greg Baxter & Suzanne Joinson The Mysterious Alchemy of Friendship Writers' Retreat, £7 [£5] One snowy morning in an old European capital, a young woman is helping a stranded man find a place to rent in Greg Baxter's debut The Apartment. Suzanne Joinson's excellently-titled A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar is a haunting tale about two English sisters trying to establish a Christian mission in 1920s China, with events leaving a stark legacy for a modern-day Londoner.Adam Thorpe recommends Greg Baxter: 'The Apartment is a wonderfully beguiling novel, evoking to perfection that sense of eerie possibility one has when in a strange city. Its account of a NEW friendship poised on the edge of love is superbly sure-footed.' Jeremy Vine, 18:3044Thur 23 August