Title Director
Name of organisation Edinburgh International Book Festival
How long in present post? 20 months
Phone 0131 228 5444
Email admin@edbookfest.co.uk
What does your organisation do?
We run the world?s biggest book festival, a celebration of words and ideas lasting 18 days each August, in a tented village in the historic centre of Edinburgh
What does your current job involve?
? Inviting the world?s leading authors to our festival
? Programming a stimulating, thought-provoking and dynamic festival for adults and children
? Being responsible, as director, for overseeing the many different aspects of the festival: fundraising, book sales, marketing, programme administration for 650 events.
? Developing the festival into the premier event of its kind on the international calendar, with special emphasis on debate, discussion and democratic audience involvement
Who did you used to work for and what did you do?
? The Scotsman newspaper, where I was literary editor, arts editor and chief leader writer at different times
? Freelance writer, broadcaster and roaming teacher
What do you enjoy most about your present post?
The sheer joy of seeing a year?s work pay off when the festival itself opens and authors and audience react with delight
What do you find most difficult in your present post?
The administration and tedious details which get in the way of soaring vision and reading books!
What is your career ambition?
To make this festival a beacon of enlightened discussion, and to prove conclusively that there is an avid and growing audience for words and ideas
Who has most influenced your career to date?
The writers I have read, who fill me with passion for what words can do to the mind and a determination to share this passion
If you could have done any job in the world, what would you like to have done? This job
If you had three wishes for the future of the arts, what would they be?
? A recognition that the arts are vital to the health and self-esteem of a nation
? A recognition that the arts can transform lives and perceptions in individuals and societies
? Proper public funding structures and priorities to reflect that recognition