Alex Massie about the Edi Book Festival in the Times

[Igneococcus]

Starts about funding for the festival and ends about no GC authors being invited to it:
https://www.thetimes.com/article/086b2220-9be8-41a8-b2da-5acb232ba650?shareToken=eef7a45490cf7f06009557f0f833bc09

That’s from 2024. Is there more information about the 2025 funding?

It's an article/comment published today.

In my version it is 28 June 2024. But perhaps I am cut off from seeing something.

NB: I have attached a screenshot but it might not show for a while.

That's weird, that is my screenshot of it.

mine is also dated today

And mine

ohhhh are they being cheeky and recycling stuff? perhaps we should compare the texts?

I don't think so. The EBF did announce its 2025 program this week and NS is appearing on it this year.

This paragraph is a classic:

"I stress that the book festival is entirely at liberty to pick a side. It can invite whomever it wants. Yet others are also allowed to note that it has chosen the side that misrepresents the law, believes in literally impossible things, and is overly fond of wishing lurid acts of sexual violence upon those women who dare to point out legal and biological truths. The Karens were right, which is why they can never be forgiven."

this is the most interesting paragraph for me:

Here we encounter an interesting question: should a festival that willingly spurns entirely respectable sources of private-sector support be rewarded with increased public funding that helps to offset the consequences of the festival’s own choices? Since Edinburgh has received increased funding from Creative Scotland and the Scottish government this year the official answer to this seems to be “Yes” even though the better one is “Obviously not”. The Edinburgh book festival made its own bed and so forfeits the right to complain it’s an uncomfortable one.

I used to get quite excited about the book Festival and I always get the programme but the last few years when I look through it I haven't really wanted to go to anything much. It seems irrelevant. Out of touch. And a bit twee.

And they didn't even try to get "The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht"? Though it's a best-seller on a timely topic and very local. I went to one of the launch events, the editors are very good speakers and their stories of how it came about are entertaining and thought-provoking. The Book Festival really missed a trick there.

They could have had a discussion panel with the Weeshters and Nicola Sturgeon - I'd have paid real money to see that!

That Alice Tarbuck has a space there is awful, the Edinburgh literary scene is so consumed with its own reflection.
I’ve always wondered which bookshop she was noising up.

That could make for another interesting panel discussion, perhaps on "Creative Freedom and the Scottish Literary Scene"? Didn't her one-time publisher (Hachette) recently settle with Kathleen Stock's editor for discrimination against the GC beliefs manifested by editing "Material Girls"?

I have no problem with anyone having a space at the Festival. It's the people who aren't there and should be that irritates me. Alice Tarbuck doesn't have much space, just a quarter of a book's worth.

Alice Tarbuck has a page that says "You can get in touch here to talk about writing, to discuss manuscript assessment, or to talk about anything else, really!" that links to a handy webform. I thought how nice, but the webform says this at the bottom "By using this form, you consent to your email being forwarded to Police Scotland" and now I feel a bit odd about it. I mean on the one hand I'd expect anything threatening or abusive to be shared with the police, that goes without saying, but that generic statement is... well... chilling, in more than one way. Is anyone who fills in the form auditoning for a list of suspects for Stirring Up Hate (a criminal offence in Scotland)? Or is that just normal now?

Funny old world.

I think it’s disingenuous to separate Creative Scotland so much from the Scottish Government when creative Scotland is largely funded by the Scottish Government (£54 million for 2025/26) oh and the U.K. national Lottery (£6million for 2025/26) .

Wow bloody hell. That is quite chilling @AmaryllisNightAndDay

So basically the insinuation is that anything sent to her will be passed onto the police if she doesn't like what it says???

I've actually just received my book festival programme in the post. Have flicked through and other than some of the kid stuff, nothing interests me.

I was such an avid follower but I'm not going this year.

Yes, the disclaimer could be read as giving herself permission to report anyone for wrongthink with no comeback. I dunno though, maybe it's just that she's had some nasty messages and I sympathise with anyone who is clumsily trying to warn off trolls and nutters.

And that's the trouble with the Internet, it's all chummy friendly open dialogue until suddenly it isn't. Which could be because some nutters have decided to harrass and threaten you, or because some views are too hateful to be expressed. Impossible to tell which.

One lone voice of resistance is a front liner Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
who I will go see.
Yes there are lots of the usual suspects and it would be braver for EIF to have had a more diverse group on this issue, but nice to see her headlining.

Does she have two surrogate children ?

to answer my on question above , she has twins via a surrogate recently