The Edinburgh International Book Festival today unveiled the first wave of writers who’ll take to the stage this August, in a new strand which the festival is calling The Front List, taking place at the McEwan Hall. Tickets for The Front List events will go on sale at 10am on Thursday 25 April. 

The programme will kick off on Saturday 10 August with the performers Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson, who’ll be in conversation with former poet laureate of Scotland Jackie Kay to share some tales about their classic comedy characters from forthcoming book Victor and Barry’s Kelvinside Compendium. 

On Monday 12 August, political pundit James O’Brien will ask Who Broke Britain?, which will take audiences down the increasingly extreme rabbit hole of British politics to examine the past 12 years of Conservative rule. That will be followed up on Tuesday 13 August by Alice Oseman in conversation with Wren James to discuss Heartstopper, Oseman’s cult LGBTQ+ young adult graphic novel and webcomic series. In a similar vein, the author, podcaster and journalist Dolly Alderton will visit Edinburgh on Wednesday 14 August on the promo trail for her latest comic novel, Good Material. 

In a live conversation broadcast from his home in New York, the Booker prize winner Salman Rushdie will appear on Saturday 17 August to discuss new memoir, Knife, which recounts the near-fatal attempt on his life from an attacker at a literary event in 2022. 

For a younger audience on Wednesday 21 August, YA favourite Sarah Crossan will talk about her novel Where The Heart Should Be, while Philippa Gregory will explore her sweeping take on feminist history in her new non-fiction title, Normal Women.

The programme will be capped off by two authors discussing their latest releases in public for the first time; Richard Osman will pay the city a visit to chat about We Solve Murders, the first in his brand-new mystery series, on Saturday 24 August, while novelist and mental health advocate Matt Haig will speak about his upcoming novel The Life Impossible.

Edinburgh International Book Festival Director, Jenny Niven, said, ‘We are absolutely thrilled to be presenting such a stellar line-up in a venue that will enable us to welcome more people than ever before, in partnership with our friends at Underbelly. These are just the first of our 2024 events, with a further incredible 500-plus still to be announced. 

‘Our Front List line up gives a taste of what's to come ranging from history to mystery, hope to romance, politics to comedy - and featuring some of the best interviewers in the business, including Mishal Husain and our very own Jackie Kay. This marks the first release of events as we open an exciting new chapter for the Book Festival - we can't wait to welcome audiences this August.’

Tickets for The Edinburgh International Book Festival’s Front List strand go on sale at 10am on Thursday 25 April.