New Books in German - Literature Festivals

WDPX-Frank Wollweber, 38855 Wernigerode, Germany

The Edinburgh Book Festival is an incredibly vibrant affair. The city is alive with the buzz of the festival so that just walking through the parks and squares is an experience. Whether you’re an old-hand at the festival, or coming to it for the first time (perhaps drawn to the city by the novels of Ian Rankin, Muriel Spark, or the Isabel Dalhousie books by Alexander McCall Smith), there’s a staggering choice of events to sample, voices known and new. Last year the Book Festival hosted 700 events at Charlotte Square Gardens featuring 650 authors from 40 countries.

New Books in German Goes to Cheltenham

Hay-on-Wye. What images does this name conjure up? The meandering River Wye, the few streets of pretty houses, the ruined castle, the inviting pubs and inns. A Mecca for antiquarian and second-hand booksellers. A Mecca, too, for nature-lovers with the wildness of the Brecon Beacons beckoning and the night-time noise of owls and lambs. And once a year it becomes the bustling home to writers from all over the world, buzzing with conversation and debate, readings and performances. But beware, once a visitor has tasted of the Guardian Hay Festival, like the fairy food of Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market, he or she is under its spell and will have to go back for more.