Latest news with #TheWomenWhoWouldn'tWheesht
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Why Edinburgh International Book Festival can't ignore working-class and gender-critical voices
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Do you remember the good old days? Back when the Edinburgh International Book Festival was situated in Charlotte Square and felt like the beating heart of everything good happening in the city in August. In those days, it punched way above its weight, attracting some of the finest authors of our age and tackling every subject under the sun. Then it got lost. Literally, that meant a journey to Edinburgh College of Art, then onto its new home at Edinburgh Futures Institute. But it also lost its spine. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Last year that involved caving in to the new puritans who decided sponsorship money supplied by Baillie Gifford wasn't scented enough for their delicate nostrils. The cultural vandals identifying as Fossil Free Books demanded sponsors should divest any investments linked to oil and gas or Israel. Citing concerns about 'safety', the book festival organisers compliantly pulled the plug on a 20-year-relationship. READ MORE: Why Edinburgh has picked exactly the wrong moment to launch to bike hire scheme Writer and musician Darren McGarvey, pictured at the launch of the Make Health Equal campaign last year, claims he has been excluded from Edinburgh International Book Festival (Picture: David Parry Media Assignments) | PA Left out in cold So how did that work out for everyone? For the investment firm, it was business as usual but the move emptied the festival's coffers. Unsurprisingly no replacement corporate sponsors have been keen to face the constant trial by scolds so it has been left to generous, kind-hearted individuals to prop things up for the sake of the institution. You might have thought last year's embarrassment would have made the organisers think more carefully about the decisions they make but no. This year they're being pilloried over programming, with gender-critical feminists and Orwell prize-winning author Darren McGarvey claiming they've been deliberately excluded. The theme of this year's book festival is repair so both would have fitted perfectly into the programme. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad McGarvey lives here, is an acclaimed writer and has a new book out about the impact of sharing trauma. Any psychologist will tell you that is central to repairing damage done but there was no invitation for the author. As one of the few genuine working-class voices in the literary world, he is right to feel left out in the cold. 'Extremely divisive' As are the authors of The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht, a gender-critical anthology that has been a Sunday Times bestseller on three occasions. Despite being called by one critic 'the most important political work to come out of Scotland this century', it proved too difficult territory for the book festival. 'At present, the tenor of the discussion in the media and online on this particular subject feels extremely divisive. We do not want to be in a position that we are creating events for spectacle or sport, or raising specific people's identity as a subject of debate,' said director Jenny Niven, in response to a question about why the book wasn't featured. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad What's happened here is all very sad. A once-great 'August in Edinburgh' institution has taken sides in the culture wars in a desperate bid to be seen as progressive by the sort of people who preach being kind while practising the opposite. The end result is an event that claims to be open, curious and inclusive but does so only on its terms. Working-class people shouldn't be too working class and gender critical feminists should, well, just wheest.
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Fighting talk as school bullies dominate exam curriculum
All other subjects in school seem to have to fight to find a market niche. Mr. Page has the challenge of finding a solution to our school subjects historical boundary status when the 21st century is calling out for young people who can think differently than their fathers and mothers. I doubt if Mr. Page will be persuaded to adopt criterion referenced assessment when our political masters seem so satisfied to competitively rank all our pupils against each other. If 75.9% of Higher grade candidates get an A,B or C pass this year, will our new exam authority give the ones who failed a second chance, perhaps with on-line exams and targeted tutorials? Considering that the Scottish Qualifications Authority have a monopoly, I would have thought a sense of heavy responsibility would outweigh any blame it might transfer to schools. Bill Brown, Milngavie. Read more Testing times I NOTE that once again we are at the 'school exam results' time of the year. As usual, the television reporters present the viewer with scenes of self-congratulation involving both students and their proud parents. Whilst wishing the successful students every success in the next academic stage of their lives, my thoughts turn to their less successful and, no doubt disappointed, peers. One wonders what they made of the congratulatory hysteria? At least they were spared the indignity of exam results being posted in a glass cabinet on the outside of the facility building for the world to see. David Edgar, Biggar. Nothing novel about book festival IT is all very well for Chris Murray MP to request an end to criticism of the Edinburgh Book Festival (''Stop giving Edinburgh Book Festival pelters – or face losing it'', The Herald, July 23) for its choice of authors and ending of its Baillie Gifford sponsorship. Certainly, it is better to have a Book Festival than not to have one. But bullying by a group consisting of the self-satisfied and entitled saw Baillie Gifford, a generous benefactor, withdraw. This was intolerable and needed to be called out. Furthermore, it is incomprehensible that the editors of The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht were not invited this year. Their subject is of great topical interest and does indeed involve ventilating 'ideas', as Mr Murray recommends. The book has been praised, and indeed fêted, but is not good enough for the Edinburgh Book Festival. I can only conclude that the organisers feared there would be a hostile reaction from trans activists if a book of gender realist essays were to feature. That is scarcely admirable. Instead, we have what will undoubtedly be a volume of self-justification, including on gender issues, by Nicola Sturgeon, who seems to have a regular slot at Edinburgh's Festivals. Will this reveal 'ideas' that we haven't already heard ad nauseam? Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh. Go West I DISAGREE with those who mourn the decline of Milngavie (Letters, August 6). One of the top things to do when visiting is to make your way to the start of the West Highland Way. I have no doubt that there are many who got to know of Milngavie because of this feature. I feel that much of the adverse commentary about the area is somewhat overstated. I am sure that there are many who would view it as a privilege to reside there. Ian W Thomson, Lenzie. Poor decision by SNP THE idea that Nicola Sturgeon deserves to be praised for scrapping prescription charges (Letters, August 6) needs to be challenged. In the first place, before this decision was made, most Scots were already eligible for free prescriptions. Only those earning above a certain level had to pay. In other words, despite the repeated claims of Sturgeon and the SNP that those with the broadest shoulders should pay more, they were given this benefit, as were the middle-classes and rich when they received the Winter Fuel Allowance. I find it rather obtuse to celebrate these Sturgeon middle-class freebies as an achievement when the money could have been better spent on the poor. Ian McNair, Cellardyke. Ducking responsibility IN days gone by people who acted in an objectionable way in small communities were thrown in the duck pond. Could this practice be restored in the modern age to deal with those actions which may not require the return of the death penalty, or lifetime imprisonment, but nevertheless irritate and disappoint in disproportionate degree? I have in mind such things as cutting down centuries old sycamore trees, throwing rubbish out car windows, spitting chewing gum on the pavement, leaving dog poo bags dangling from trees etc… Perhaps we could also have these miscreants placed in the stocks for a day of humiliation, attracting the derision of offended citizens. I accept that birching may be a step too far, but the principle still stands. Keith Swinley, Ayr. Spiderman (Tom Holland): Unmasked at last. Superhero swinger is welcome FOR all he's done for us, Spiderman can surely do no wrong, and I'm happy to extend my patience while he diverts the traffic around Glasgow on his visit ("Holland says hi" The Herald, August 6). With Antman arriving at Ibrox, it's like a Marvel team-up (or a conference of entomologists). Last week the film-crew planted the most mahoosive cherry picker I done seen on Wellington St, near to the most annoying defective street light in the city, which has been flickering neurotically for years, high on the side of an office block. Walking past on my way back from my Bath Street jazz club, I almost shouted to the set gaffer on the Spiderman movie, "See while you're up there, pal…?" As a gesture of goodwill, I'm sure it's something a wall-crawling friendly neighbourhood lightbulb replacement service would be happy to oblige. James Macleod, Cardonald.
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Culture row risks Edinburgh International Book Festival
The world leading Edinburgh International Book Festival is not new to criticism. It has been condemned in recent years over the sponsorship from Baillie Gifford, an investment firm in the city with links to major fossil fuel profits. Book festival organisers eventually succumbed to pressure and dropped the investment firm as a sponsor last year. But that would not be enough to stave off a new culture row. 2025 was going to be no different for the festival with a new controversy emerging and for the festival's director Jenny Niven, it is one that could be a disaster for the renowned event. Scotland's culture sector has been facing the "perfect storm" in terms of funding, increased costs and shrinking revenue. The book festival has not been immune to that. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the event initially struggled to bounce back with falling ticket sales and a sponsorship crisis. Ms Niven told The Herald's arts correspondent Brian Ferguson this week that she wanted to facilitate "productive" conversations instead of "polarised" debates. She has faced a significant level of criticism for her decision not to book the authors of the gender critical collection 'The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht' and Orwell Prize winner and social commentator Darren McGarvey. Read more: Ms Niven is right to say that it would be impossible to book every author who submitted literature - and it would be extremely difficult to represent all views. However, clearly her comments have inadvertently created a polarised debate on the future of culture in Scotland's capital. Ms Niven told The Herald: "With subjects that are particularly challenging or divisive, I think we need to make sure we're exploring them from the perspective of books that allow you to have a good robust conversation that is not about the personal, but is about the bigger picture issue. We don't always have those books in front of us." She also said her festival was absolutely not shying away from "difficult" conversations. But the authors who argue they have been "excluded" from the festival clearly feel their views, and their art, have been stifled in favour of less controversial opinions. At the same time, former first minister Nicola Sturgeon will debut her new memoir in a sold out show. There is no doubt that the debate around single-sex spaces and transgender rights has become polarised. But literature is intended to facilitate debate and differing opinions, not censor it. If the festival is not careful, it risks dimming what was once a vibrant and engaging cultural event in the city. It has become almost impossible to escape the self-ID debate, particularly with high profile employment tribunals and Supreme Court judgments. Given that it can be divisive, it seems like a mistake to prohibit these views from being debated in the open, and away from social media. But there's another glaring problem with it. After it dropped Baillie Gifford as its main sponsor, the festival, unsurprisingly, experienced the financial drawbacks. Since then, Edinburgh's International Book Festival has received a £300,000 lifeline fund from the Scottish Government to plug a shortfall created by cutting ties with the investment firm. That means that the event's public funding has doubled in a year to around £820,000 - a record sum. Should the recipients of significant levels of public funding be able to be so selective in the authors it books for the festival? Whether you like it or not, the organisers can, but it is a slippery slope that opens the event up to stringent criticism. In the process, the purpose of Edinburgh's International Book Festival risks being diminished at a crucial time for the country's culture sector.
Scotsman
27-06-2025
- General
- Scotsman
Dear Library, thanks for a lifetime of enjoyment with books
I can't wait to pop into the National Library to see their new exhibition, Dear Library, which marks the library's 100th birthday. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Books and libraries have been an important part of my life from when I was a toddler. Today, I am lucky enough to live within a very short walking distance of my local library. The National Library is just down the road and with my library card, I can even go online and read glossy magazines to my heart's content. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Borrowing my fortnightly fix of books was rather more of a challenge growing up in rural south west Scotland, which is why my mother and I were delighted when a mobile library started in our area. She died very recently, peacefully in her bed, surrounded by books and some of my fondest memories of her are the times we spent together choosing books to read. We shared many of the same taste in authors, though she was rather taken aback when, as a rebellious 14-year-old, I came home with a copy of Das Kapital by Karl Marx. 'I think you will find it heavy-going,' she predicted. She was right. I don't remember getting past the first chapter. Catcher in the Rye was more my style. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Little did I dream when I was poring over Jean Plaidy's historical novels or losing myself in F Scott Fitzgerald's magical prose that one day I too would be an author. At the ripe old age of 60, I embarked on a new, (very) part-time career as a writer of non-fiction. My first book, published at the peak of the pandemic, tells the story of Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries. My husband and I spent six months living there in 2019, interviewing scores of people from the then Vice-President to a traditional midwife. The Spirit of Malawi was not a best seller and the book's research cost me far, far more than the modest royalties I received, but it was the proudest day of my life when it was published. And last year, I was privileged to co-edit The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht with my good friend, Lucy Hunter Blackburn. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Working on my kitchen table, we pulled together essays from more than 30 women telling the story of the five-year campaign to protect women's rights. To our huge surprise and delight, the book made the Sunday Times best seller list, and last month Lucy and I were pleased to be able to use proceeds from the book to support a charity working with women who are silenced elsewhere in the world. The Dear Library exhibition features books recommended by the public, as well as by famous authors including Ian Rankin and Val McDermid. Of course, I don't expect to see one of my books on display, not even the bestseller, but I am still very excited at the prospect of seeing which books were chosen. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad If I had to pick the one book that changed my life, it would be The Secret Seven, the first in Enid Blyton's famous series about a group of kids who solve mysteries. And the worst book I have ever read? Das Kapital, of course.
Time of India
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
JK Rowling praises upcoming Harry Potter series, says she worked "closely" with writers
Author JK Rowling, who penned the best-selling 'Harry Potter' books, said she has read some of the scripts for the upcoming adaptation and has given them her stamp of approval, reported People. Author JK Rowling , who penned the best-selling 'Harry Potter' books, said she has read some of the scripts for the upcoming adaptation and has given them her stamp of approval, reported People. "I read the first two episodes of the forthcoming HBO Harry Potter series and they are SO, SO, SO GOOD!" Rowling, 59, said in an X post. When a fan asked whether she is "doing the writing" for the series -- which is set to film this year and air in 2026, -- she clarified the nature of her involvement in a reply, reported People. "No," Rowling wrote, "but I've worked closely with the extremely talented writers." Since the author's involvement was announced, the series has faced continued backlash over her anti-transgender comments. In April, the head of HBO weighed in, stating that the network's choice to work with Rowling "is not new," reported People. In 2024, JK Rowling, the renowned author of the beloved Harry Potter series, has lashed out at the double standards exhibited by colleagues who publicly criticized her views on transgender rights while privately seeking to maintain their friendship. The acclaimed writer shared her sentiments in an extract from the forthcoming book, 'The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht,' published by The Times of London. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cervecería Nacional CFD: Calcula cuánto podrías ganar invirtiendo solo $100 Empieza a invertir hoy Inscríbete ahora Undo While the author did not divulge specific names, her disagreements with some individuals involved in the Harry Potter film franchise have been well-documented in recent years. Notably, her remarks reignited a public exchange with former co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson following a significant UK review on gender identity services. Several stars in the original Harry Potter franchise -- including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson -- have spoken out in support of transgender rights, making it clear they had different views from Rowling, as per the outlet. HBO announced last month that the roles of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley had been cast in the forthcoming series, with Dominic McLaughlin playing Harry, Arabella Stanton portraying Hermione and Alastair Stout starring as Ron. (All three actors are newcomers, per the streamer.) Gardiner and Mylod said in a press release that they were "delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione, and Ron" following an "extraordinary search" for the iconic roles, reported People. "The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen," the duo continued of McLaughlin, Stanton and Stout. "We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It's been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there." An official release date for HBO's Harry Potter series has yet to be announced, reported People.
