Over five afternoons from 17-21 August, in front of a public audience in our RBS Main Theatre, an historic gathering of fifty world renowned writers will discuss how writing and the imagination are an essential component of society. Starting at the Book Festival, the Edinburgh World Writers' Conference will then travel to events across the world over the following 12 months. From the Caribbean to Cairo, the ensuing global discussion will represent the greatest gathering of writers' voices ever staged.Edinburgh World Writers' Conference 2012-2013Supported by the Scottish Government's Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund, Creative Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Council and EventScotland.Why a Writers' Conference?The democratic world is living through a crisis of the imagination. Today, the existence of a global market has risked giving the simplistic pursuit of profit a higher status than attempts to improve human relationships and build respect for other people. The Edinburgh World Writers' Conference seeks to assert that the imagination, critical thinking and creativity are a vital part of the toolkit for surviving the 21st century. We believe that writers have a role to play in stimulating our imaginative health - and thereby helping create citizens who respect other people. This Conference represents an opportunity to rethink how writers, and their writing, can play a part in understanding and improving the world.The 1962 Writers' ConferenceThe format of the Conference mirrors the infamous event that took place 50 years ago in 1962. That year, the radical publisher John Calder worked with the impresario Jim Haynes to bring some 70 authors to Edinburgh. The guests included US authors Norman Mailer and Henry Miller alongside Scottish writers Hugh MacDiarmid and Muriel Spark, and several lesser-known authors, including William S. Burroughs, who would become famous as a result of the Conference. John Calder argued at the time that 'the novel enriches mankind by its ability to rouse the senses, to stimulate the intellect and to excite the imagination'. We firmly believe nothing has changed. The 2012 Writers' Conference takes as its starting point the same five topics that were discussed in 1962. A Public Conference and a Worldwide ConferenceThe Conference will involve discussion between leading writers, but your input is crucial. You are encouraged to have your say in each of our daily debates and to continue the conversation after each session on a specially-created online broadcast and discussion platform, where you can watch live broadcasts of each event at the Book Festival and join the debate as it happens. The Book Festival and the British Council together will make the Conference a genuinely worldwide discussion. As the debate rolls around the globe over the coming year, we invite you to watch the events and join the conversation online.Presented by:- Watch Conference events at the Book Festival live as they happen and take part in the live Q&A.- Follow the Conference events around the world from Aug 2012 to Sept 2013.- Get the latest news about upcoming Edinburgh World Writers' Conference events. - Share your views and join the discussions on social networks. Events and Keynote SpeakersSee event listings for more details17 Aug 15.00Should Literature be Political? Keynote: Ahdaf Soueif Chaired by Elif Shafak Page 2718 Aug 15.00Style vs ContentKeynote: Ali Smith Chaired by Nathan Englander Page 3019 Aug 15.00Is There a 'National Literature'? Keynote: Irvine Welsh Chaired by Ian Rankin Page 3320 Aug 15.00Censorship Today Keynote: Patrick Ness Chaired by Chika Unigwe Page 3521 Aug 15.00The Future of the Novel Keynote: Aharon AppelfeldChaired by Janne Teller Page 39Join the conversation onlinewww.edinburghworldwritersconference.org#worldwritersconfLatecomers will not be admitted after the start of events and no refunds will be given.Events are 1 hour long unless otherwise stated and take place in Charlotte Square Gardens.5

Book Signing Café BarIn the London Review of Books Signing Tent Open daily from 9.30 - lateMeet your favourite author and have your book signed whilst enjoying a great selection of local, seasonal and Scottish produce: sandwiches, tasty salads and freshly baked cakes, treats and snacks. Treat yourself to a glass of wine or relax with an organic coffee or tea and enjoy with your book on the decking. Café Brontë in the BookshopIn The BookshopOpen daily from 9.30 - 21.15Surrounded by thousands of books, Café Brontë is the ideal location to eat, drink and read. Freshly roasted, organic and fair trade coffee, speciality teas, chilled soft drinks and superb wines available by the glass, deli-filled rolls and sandwiches, freshly made salads, sweet and savoury sharing platters and mouth-watering cakes and home baking.Di Rollo Of Musselburgh Ice Cream TrikeOpen daily from 11.00 - 18.00Locally made ice cream - delicious whatever the weather. Spiegeltent Café BarIn The Guardian Spiegeltent Open daily from 9.30 - lateA fully licensed café in our atmospheric travelling ballroom - the perfect place to eat, drink or chat with friends. Freshly made deli-filled sandwiches, homemade soups, salads and an array of baking and snacks, using local, seasonal produce and suppliers wherever possible. Freshly roasted, organic and fair trade coffee, speciality teas, chilled soft drinks and superb wines available by the glass. The Guardian Spiegeltent is where we stage events, daily debates and Unbound evenings. Enjoy a drink or snack while catching up with the latest Festival news, reviews and podcasts at guardian.co.uk/books, take part in the five Guardian debates or the Guardian Live Event. More details can be found on the daily event listings and at www.edbookfest.co.uk.All events take place in Charlotte Square GardensThe Gardens are open from 9.30 until late. Admission is free1 Entrance Tent and Box Office2 The Guardian Spiegeltent (with bar & café)3 Toilets and baby change area4 The Bookshop (with café)5 RBS Children's Bookshop6 RBS Story Box7 RBS Imagination Lab8 Buggy Park9 RBS Corner Theatre10 Peppers Theatre11 Party Pavilion12 Writers' Retreat13 RBS Main Theatre14 London Review of Books Signing Tent (with bar & café)15 ScottishPower Studio Theatre16 First aid and administration area Drinking water tapsBook Festival BookshopsAll proceeds from our bookshops are put directly back into the Book Festival.The BookshopOpen daily from 9.30 - 21.30Browse and explore the thousands of titles from Book Festival and other authors including Scottish interest books, British and international fiction and non-fiction. RBS Children's Bookshop:Open daily from 9.30 - 20.30Thousands of titles for youngsters, from babies to teenagers. Our free Activity Corner (which used to be at the back of the bookshop) is now located in the RBS Story Box - open daily from 11.00 -16.30 - just drop in.Book SigningsAuthors sign copies of their books after their events. Book signings take place in the London Review of Books Signing Tent, The Bookshop and the RBS Children's Bookshop. Please check the venue boards outside each venue for when signings are scheduled.Join Us in the GardensBook Festival VenuesEating and Drinking Official gin partner£5 BOOK VOUCHER! When you spend £40 in one of our bookshops Entrance1Cycle Rack23456789101112131415166