Weinstein accuser Rose Mcgowan among stars set for Book Festival
● Rose Mcgowan, Mandela family and Iranian artist among guests
American actress Rose Mcgowan, one of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein’s first accusers, is to speak at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in a programme which will also feature jeremy Corbyn, Chelsea Clinton and Nelson Mandela’s daughter and grandchildren.
Oscar-winning actor Jim Broadbent, rock icons Brian May and Bruce Dickinson, comics David Walliams and Harry Hill will also all be speaking at the event as it undergoes a major expansion.
Actor Douglas Henshall, cycling stars Sir Chris Hoy and Graeme Obree, veteran Scottish football commentator Archie Mcpherson and former prime minister Gordon Brown are also expected to be among its biggest draws.
The presidencies of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, along with Brexit, have prompted the major theme of this year’s programme: an exploration of what freedom means around the world.
More than 50 writers, including 13 from Scotland, will be writing essays exploring what freedom means to them under a £120,000 project funded by the Scottish Government.
Many events in this year’s programme will also be exploring issues surrounding freedom of movement, freedom of speech and freedom of expressions of identity.
Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and Iranian artist Ehsan Abdollahi – who won a visa battle with the Home Office to attend last year’s event – among the festival’s guest curators.
Mcgowan, who set out alle- gations against Weinstein in her memoir, Brave, will discuss the industry’s misogyny and sexism with writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch, who was born in Norway to a British father and Ghanian mother. Hirsch is another guest curator, whose new book Brit(ish) tackles race, identity and belonging.
Two grandchildren of Nelson Mandela – Zazi, eight, and Ziwele, six – will be talking to the former South African president’s daughter, Zindzi, about his time behind bars in events in both Charlotte Square Garden and Shotts Prison, where they will speak to prisoners and their families.
Clinton will be discussing her She Persisted books she has written to celebrate women who have shaped history around the world, as well as her work to champion the rights of girls and women.
Director Nick Barley said: “I believe that book festivals are not simply about reading and literary. They’re about public discourse. What we create is a space for grassroots democracy, for us to think through why the world is the way it is, what is going on and how we are going to deal with it.
“We’ve had an unusual challenge this year of having to think about a programme in the context of big decisions that have already happened, with things like Brexit, where the conversations tend to be happening down in London, or with Donald Trump, where what is going on is largely outside our control.
“We want to look at how ordinary citizens make sense of and try to take back control of the political agenda in this context. We also want to ask our writers and our audiences to look at the things that caused Brexit to happen in the first place, the election of Donald Trump and the sustained success of Vladimir Putin.”
Broadbent, whose bestknown films include Little Voice, Iris, Moulin Rouge and Topsy-turvy, will be unveiling his first graphic novel. Iron Maiden frontman Dickinson will be reading from his memoir, and Queen guitarist May will trace the career of Scottish photographic pioneer George Washington Wilson in the festival’s first ever “3D event”.
Big-name authors appearing include Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard, creator of the His Dark Materials trilogy Philip Pullman, former Children’s Laureate Julia Donaldson and crime writer Ann Cleeves, who will be appearing with Henshall, who plays detective Jimmy Perez in the BBC’S adaptation of her Shetland-set novels.
Fellow crime writer Val Mcdermid will be launching her new novel at the festival, with other Scottish novelists in the line-up including Chris Brookmyre, Graeme Macrae Burnett, AL Kennedy, Ali Smith and Ian Rankin, who will offer a sneak preview of the new Rebus thriller.