The Edinburgh International Book Festival kicks off in Scotland

The Edinburgh International Book Festival is off to an energetic start, and in the course of two weeks the festival will feature no fewer than eight hundred international writers in around 750 unique events. The festival, which has grown into an event attracting over 200,000 attendees since its humble beginning in 1983, is unique in featuring writers from all over the world who gather to become part of a unique forum in which audience and writer unite to exchange thoughts and opinions on some of the world's most pressing issues. Stay tuned on the World Literature Today blog as we engage with authors, translators, illustrators, and Scotland's literary elite to provide reading lists and insights into writing, international literature, translation, and today's issues in cultures across the world.

Coming later this week: a word with translator David Bellos on intermediary languages, a look at the relationship between writer (Neil Gaiman) and illustrator (Chris Riddell), and reflections on the new necessity for writers to not only author great books, but perform with a blog and regular tweets.

Read more about the Edinburgh International Book Festival at www.edbookfest.co.uk, and don't miss out on WLT's subscription offer that will continue running through the month of August.