Guest SelectorsVIVAIN FENRCHJAMES NAUGHTIEESU MACGERGORchris riddellVivian French: The Power of Words Through PlayHugely successful children's author Vivian French leads a series of events in the RBS Children's Programme: 'It's a HUGE honour to be a Guest Selector...but how to choose? Children who read widely learn the power of words and language; I want to reach out to those who, for many reasons, find reading hard or alien. If these children can only see themselves as authors, alongside authors they know and love, I believe they will feel empowered and go on to read with real passion. My children are going to create stories through songs, pictures, plays and improvisation - and I've got the most wonderful team to help this happen!'James Naughtie: Britain TodayLeading journalist and BBC Radio 4's Today programme presenter James Naughtie selects and chairs a series of events: 'There is something palpable in the voices of many people I speak to at the moment: a sense that many of the political and social assumptions of the past thirty years are evaporating. We can try to get a sense of the new mood, and of the changes that are on the way, in a series of conversations with leading public figures at the Book Festival. Take one example: the consensus, perhaps broken by recession, that market mechanisms were a magic formula for everything from our health service to our newspapers. How is that argument changing? And another: how do we settle our confusion about the relationship between the individual and the state? I'm looking forward to some fascinating and enlightening discussions.'Sue MacGregor: A Survival Kit for the Information AgeVeteran BBC broadcaster Sue MacGregor selects and chairs a series of events: 'As a radio broadcaster I've been lucky enough to talk about books with their authors over many years. So I'm delighted by a new bookish challenge in Edinburgh - first, being a Guest Selector for the Book Festival; and then exploring how we deal with the Information Age, when ideas good and bad, current events and of course whole books can be flashed across the universe in a nano-second. Our subjects will range from the spread of terrorism to the causes of the financial crisis to the appeal of good food. I think we are bound to have an interesting time.'Chris Riddell: Illustrator in ResidenceJoin one of our best book illustrators for events and masterclasses for adults and children: 'For me, illustrating is about responding to a text and attempting to enhance the reading experience in a sympathetic but compelling way. My great heroes are Sir John Tenniel and William Heath Robinson who have both been major influences on my work. I'm fascinated by the book as an object, particularly in this age of the ereader, and am interested in how visual aspects such as the cover, endpapers, font design and illustration, can add to the pleasure of reading. I'll be working with my long time collaborator Paul Stewart and with Neil Gaiman; both have an extraordinary talent for creating alternative worlds. I'll also be hosting a workshop, drawing live and doing a talk about my political cartoons for the Observer. I hope you enjoy my series of events.'Get Really Stuck In.Debates in the Guardian Spiegeltent This year's popular debates series takes a fresh look at important subjects which affect our everyday lives. We will be rethinking the way we view food, the role of Europe, how democracy works and whether the markets are the best means to regulate society, amongst other hot topics. We will also thrash out the issues around Scotland's Independence. Come along and have your say.One-Day Creative Writing ClassesOur all-day classes take place at the weekends in the intimate Writers' Retreat and focus on specific areas of writing and creating books. Pick up some tricks of the trade with the experts including publisher Alison Baverstock, bookmaking artist Rachel Hazell and the acclaimed authors Rodge Glass and Laura Marney. A sandwich lunch, tea and coffee are included.MasterclassesOur popular masterclass series offers unique access to the ideas of leading writers and illustrators, each focussing on an aspect of a particular writer's work. Among other things you can learn about the intricacies of translation, meet a veteran of the animation industry for an insider's view and find out how one writer turned 20 hours of TV into a novel.UnboundUnbound has proved to be a thoroughly entertaining addition to the programme offering a literary experience like no other. Anything goes: storytelling, music, performance, poetry, stand-up - it's a raw, surprising, sometimes emotional ride. From 9pm every night (12-27 Aug) in the intimate and atmospheric Guardian Spiegeltent; it's free, just drop in. The line-up is announced in July in The Skinny magazine and on our website at www.edbookfest.co.uk.Story Shop - City of Literature EventsCelebrating the short story and its compact beauty, the City of Literature Trust returns to hold a daily Story Shop. It's the perfect chance to hear up-and-coming writers who are living and working in Edinburgh today. Daily at 4pm in the Guardian Spiegeltent; it's free, just drop-in. Read all the stories and find out more about our local writers: www.cityofliterature.com @EdinCityofLitANOBII FIRST BOOK AWARDVote for the book you loved. (See page 4)©John BattenRBS CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMEEvents for children, teens and familiesSee pages 59-80See page 83 for booking detailsBook now: www.edbookfest.co.uk 0845 373 58883

Book Festival audiences have a great track record of supporting new and lesser-known writers in the knowledge that many will go on to forge international careers. Our First Book Award, for which we are delighted to welcome Anobii as a new title sponsor, offers you the chance to select the winner and choose your favourite. Debut novels, novellas or short-story collections in our adult programme are eligible for the award including overseas writers whose words are published in English for the first time and a selection of writers for young adults. A list of the books and authors can be found on our website or you can pick up a leaflet from the Book Festival Entrance Tent. Play your part in identifying a future literary legend by placing your vote. Previous winners of the First Book Award include Sarah Winman with her debut novel When God Was a Rabbit, now an international bestseller.The book which receives the most votes will be the winner and everyone who casts a vote will be entered into a draw to win all 46 books on the list.VOTE FOR THE BOOK YOU LOVED.Pick up a voting card at the Book Festival and post it into the big ballot box in the Entrance Tent.Visit the website to vote online (and tell us why you loved the book) at www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/anobii-first-book-awardSee the events and meet the writers: look out for this tag in the event listings Photography Exhibition of Book Festival Authors'I don't set out to be flattering, authors are not models and they understand character better than anyone. I want my images to expose the humanity in the subjects, be that frailty, strength, even humour.'Chris Close, photographerDrop in anytime and take a stroll round the Gardens to see portraits of our Festival authors. Remarkable Scottish photographer Chris Close joins us for a fourth year, developing an exhibition of starkly unique author portraits, taken over the course of the Festival, and exhibited around the Gardens for everyone to enjoy. Every day, as our Festival authors arrive, new portraits are taken and added to the exhibition. Who knows who you might encounter.ANOBII FIRST BOOK AWARD NOMINEEJoin Us OnlineYou can link directly through to all online activity from our website home page at www.edbookfest.co.uk Browse the website while on the move at m.edbookfest.co.ukAnobii First Book Award 2012 FacebookHear about the latest news and programme updates and share your views and experiences with other Book Festival fans.TwitterFollow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news, exclusive competitions and offers, programme updates and to share your views about events. Notes from the FestivalRead behind-the-scenes chat on our Festival blog.YouTubeWatch great videos of author events and interviews.FlickrView a whole range of images taken by our Festival photographers and share your Book Festival photos by joining our Flickr group. 4