Collection of specially commissioned work from authors including Roddy Doyle and Amy Bloom will be produced in collaboration with McSweeney's
The Edinburgh International Book Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland. UK Photograph: Murdo Macleod
New work by around 50 leading authors curated by the Edinburgh international book festival is to be released in a new collection under an innovative publishing deal involving an award-winning publisher.
Nick Barley marked the end of this year's festival, sponsored by the Guardian, by announcing that the new work, which has been commissioned over the last year with Scottish government funding, will be published in a box set produced by a new Glasgow-based publishing firm, Cargo.
The four-volume collection, on the theme of "elsewhere", will be designed by McSweeney's, the critically-acclaimed San Francisco-based imprint founded by Dave Eggers, famed for the eponymous quarterly literary journal which uses iconoclastic designs and typography.
In the past, these have included an issue with two spines, another with a magnetic binding, one in the form of a newspaper, "an issue that looked like a bundle of junk mail, and an issue that looked like a sweaty human head".
Authors contributing work to the new collection, which will be on sale at next year's festival, include Roddy Doyle, Amy Bloom, Michael Morpurgo, Jackie Kay, Yiyun Li, and David Almond.
Barley unveiled the new deal after this year's festival ended with the most ambitious event staged at Charlotte Square in its long history: an ensemble reading of Alasdair Gray's comic play Fleck by 18 leading writers, poets and actors, including Ian Rankin, Liz Lochhead and Cora Bissett.
"This year's festival has seen a wonderful array of writers from around the world," Barley said. "Our authors and audiences have discussed and debated the Arab Spring, the London riots, China, India, the influence of social media and the futures of Europe, cities and even faith."
Among the nearly 800 authors and poets at this year's event were Professor Tom Devine, Scotland's pre-eminent historian, the freedom of information campaigner Heather Brooke, Tam Dalyell, the veteran former MP, along with novelists Michael Ondaatje and AL Kennedy, who also took part in Gray's production of Fleck.
More here.
In common with some of the larger Fringe venues, ticket sales and audience figures this year were hit by some of the worst August weather experienced in the city in living memory, and by the continuing economic downturn, festival officials said.
Nick Barley marked the end of this year's festival, sponsored by the Guardian, by announcing that the new work, which has been commissioned over the last year with Scottish government funding, will be published in a box set produced by a new Glasgow-based publishing firm, Cargo.
The four-volume collection, on the theme of "elsewhere", will be designed by McSweeney's, the critically-acclaimed San Francisco-based imprint founded by Dave Eggers, famed for the eponymous quarterly literary journal which uses iconoclastic designs and typography.
In the past, these have included an issue with two spines, another with a magnetic binding, one in the form of a newspaper, "an issue that looked like a bundle of junk mail, and an issue that looked like a sweaty human head".
Authors contributing work to the new collection, which will be on sale at next year's festival, include Roddy Doyle, Amy Bloom, Michael Morpurgo, Jackie Kay, Yiyun Li, and David Almond.
Barley unveiled the new deal after this year's festival ended with the most ambitious event staged at Charlotte Square in its long history: an ensemble reading of Alasdair Gray's comic play Fleck by 18 leading writers, poets and actors, including Ian Rankin, Liz Lochhead and Cora Bissett.
"This year's festival has seen a wonderful array of writers from around the world," Barley said. "Our authors and audiences have discussed and debated the Arab Spring, the London riots, China, India, the influence of social media and the futures of Europe, cities and even faith."
Among the nearly 800 authors and poets at this year's event were Professor Tom Devine, Scotland's pre-eminent historian, the freedom of information campaigner Heather Brooke, Tam Dalyell, the veteran former MP, along with novelists Michael Ondaatje and AL Kennedy, who also took part in Gray's production of Fleck.
More here.
In common with some of the larger Fringe venues, ticket sales and audience figures this year were hit by some of the worst August weather experienced in the city in living memory, and by the continuing economic downturn, festival officials said.
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