Scotland's Culture Secretary has opened this year's Edinburgh International Book Festival, hailing it as an event with "curiosity and open-mindedness at its heart". Mairi McAllan joined festival director Jenny Niven for the opening gala on Saturday.
Festival programme and speakers
The festival marks the start of a programme that will run until the end of August, featuring some 600 events with writers from 41 countries. Former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon is due to speak, as is former UK prime minister Gordon Brown and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.
Bestselling author John Grisham will also take part, alongside Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin and novelists Ali Smith, Matt Haig and Maggie O'Farrell.
Theme and funding
This year's theme is "changing your mind". McAllan said she was "delighted to open a programme that puts curiosity and open-mindedness at its heart". She added: "As the world's first Unesco City of Literature, Edinburgh has long demonstrated the importance the city places on ideas, creativity and international exchange. The Book Festival is one of the clearest expressions of that ambition."
The event is part-funded by the Scottish Government, receiving money from arts body Creative Scotland's multiyear funding scheme, as well as government Expo Funding and the Expanded Festivals Fund.
Director's invitation
Niven said at the gala: "Changing your mind isn't just this year's theme, it's an invitation. Every one of these writers has, in their own way, made a case for staying curious and willing to be moved by a story, an argument, or a piece of music. That's what tonight was about, and it's what the next two weeks hold for our audiences."
