Portobello Book Festival

Next weekend sees the third Portobello Book Festival, which takes place in Edinburgh's seaside (photo by Andrew Girdwood). The festival is organised by a group of local enthusiasts in conjunction with Portobello Library.

Last year I participated in a sell-out event at the Town Hall with Ian Rankin, Doug Johnstone and Caroline Dunford. It's great to see the festival going from strength to strength with another stellar and diverse line-up this year.

I'll be making a couple of appearances, one to interview the very talented Doug Johnstone (and watch him drink whisky), and the other as part of a panel on publishing. From the programme:

SATURDAY 8th OCTOBER
6.00-8.00pm
DALRIADA on the PROM
DOUG JOHNSTONE, writer, musician and journalist, talks to Allan Guthrie about his new novel Smokeheads. This event includes a whisky tasting in collaboration with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society

SUNDAY 9th OCTOBER
11.00-12.30pm
PORTOBELLO LIBRARY
FROM IDEAS TO PAGE
Join MARIANNE PAGET, new writer; FRANCIS BICKMORE, Senior Editor Canongate Books; and ALLAN GUTHRIE, Literary Agent, author and editor, in a workshop about getting published.

Click here for the full programme.