Emmanuel Jal

Given his life to date, the Sudanese ‘child warrior’ was never going to knock out a romantic comedy for his debut book. Instead, his War Child memoir tells the tale of a boy born into a bloody civil conflict who learned to handle an AK-47 that was taller than him.
15 Aug, 8.30pm, £9 (£7).

David Aaronovitch

Being one of the few people to stand up for the MPs during all this expenses brouhaha, the broadcaster and journalist is certainly one to revel in a contrary opinion. While many of us love a good old conspiracy theory, Aaronovitch damns us all for our shallow incompetence.
20 Aug, noon, £9 (£7).

Henning Mankell

Now firmly famous for his mean and moody Inspector Wallander novel series, the Swedish writer is hopping our way to also discuss his writing for children. He has said of his charming The Cat Who Liked Rain that ‘this might even be my most important book’.
22 Aug, 11.30am, £9 (£7); 23 Aug, 12.30pm, £4.

Sharon Olds

One of the Book Festival’s genuine coups this, as the poet born into a ‘hellfire Calvinist’ environment in San Francisco brings us her work which has been simultaneously praised and condemned for its intimate and confessional nature. Check out The Wellspring and The Father for evidence.
23 Aug, 7pm, £9 (£7).

Susie Orbach

With the passing of the King of Pop, new debates may rage about the value we put on the shell we are born with. In her latest book, Bodies, the psychotherapist who treated Princess Diana’s bulimia ponders just why we in the West are hell-bent on striving for some flawed notion of physical perfection.
29 Aug, 4.30pm, £9 (£7).

Mark Millar

There seems to be no such thing as an unfilmable comic these days and the Coatbridge writer has been making his fair share of cinematic hay out of this trend. Wanted 2 and Kick-Ass are on the way, while his current comics project, the American Jesus trilogy, is proving to be as controversial as you like.
29 Aug, 8pm, £9 (£7).

Douglas Coupland

Five unconnected individuals across the world are stung by bees that are supposed to be extinct before they are interrogated and then released as 15-minute-celebrities into a world driven entirely by the internet. Welcome to Generation A, the Canadian scribe’s latest futuristic tale of the here and now.
30 Aug, 8pm, £9 (£7).

All events at Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888.