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The Herald Scotland
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Don't forget your pronouns if you are coming to our book festival
All invited authors should be issued with a set of guidelines to ensure no-one in their audience feels left out or traumatised by any unintended literary delinquency. Thus, writers should furnish festival moderators with the extracts from their works that they've chosen to read. This means that we can sift through them for any problematic themes or tawdry locutions which might increase anxiety levels. There would be highly-trained teams of facilitators who have gained certificates from our top universities on how to use redaction in a sensitive, empathetic and empathetically sensitive manner. They found that role-playing and group sharing in their experience of redacting problem texts had enriched the cultural experience of both author and reader. Read more This arose chiefly from an unfortunate incident at last year's book festival when an author (who must remain nameless) referenced Macbeth, a notoriously violent play about deforestation by William Shakespeare. 'I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked the nipple from his boneless gums, and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this.' We would suggest something like 'I would, while it was smiling in my face, have ------- the ------ from his -------- gums, and ------ the ------ out, had I so sworn as you have done to this.' On this occasion, an ambulance was called to deal with three fainting cases and the Book Festival had to update our strategies on safeguarding. Authors are also instructed to deploy their pronouns on all social media platforms publicising their Book Festival appearances. Those who do not possess pronouns or are unsure about which ones to use will be invited to attend our 'pronoun awareness' session during which they will be assigned the figures of speech with which they feel most comfortable. And remember, as the great songwriter Sting once sang: 'Everything Little Thing They/Them/She Did Is Magic". Here at the Edinburgh International Book Festival we pride ourselves on being a very nimble, diverse and diversely nimble organisation. And so if, in the course of the festival, an author is making more than one appearance and decides to change their pronouns between events, then a special encrypted online portal will be available to register your new ones. The organisers also understand that things can get a bit lively during the question and answer sessions and that, in the heat of the moment, you might reference persons or books on the festival banned index. With that in mind we would kindly ask you to avoid any mention of She Who Must Not Be Named, JK (redacted) or Harry (redacted), Helen J**ce, Maya F***tater and J*nny L***say. The International Book Festival in Edinburgh (Image: PA)Of course we are all grown up here at the Book Festival and have a very laissez-faire attitude to sexual behaviour, believing that it should be taken in small doses at least once a month. We would counsel our authors though, to deploy caution when describing any concupiscence or houghmagandie as this has been known to lead to outbreaks of beastliness and other public displays of emotion on the streets of the capital. We also encourage our authors to participate in literary workshops based around the chosen themes of the festival. This year we have a very diverse and inclusive number of events. In the You'll Have Had Your Tea tent, one of our Festival Directors, Ms Elizabeth Lloyd will host a workshop on how to redact stories in a sustainable way and in a manner which doesn't undermine the reader's understanding of the plot. This will be followed by an in-conversation event with her old boss, Nicola Sturgeon (now an acclaimed pre-author) on the theme of Forgiveness, Truth and Reconciliation in politics. There will also be a late night session entitled Terf, Wind and Fire: Cashing in on Cancel Culture. Here, a diverse group of previously unknown authors will share intimate testimonies about how they targeted rivals known to hold problematic views and ensured they were de-platformed from all theatres, venues and literary events. They'll then describe their moving and uplifting journeys from anonymity to acclaim by taking the places of these terfs and bigots. Ms Sturgeon herself will also host a series of panel events around the influence of George Orwell on modern political thinking. Special guests will include friends from politics like John Swinney, Humza Yousaf and Mhairi Black. Her first one: Why Big Brother is the Unsung Hero of 1984 is already close to being a sell-out. Read more In recent years, we are justly proud of how our children's book events have grown in popularity. This though, comes with an added burden in our duty of care to the wee ones and their families. A highlight of this year's event will be the appearance of a celebrated Czechoslovakian children's author who will read from her award-winning novel, Giorgio Piorgio, about a young lad's journey from disaster to triumph when his Body Mass Index tips into the red. She will also host a children's literary workshop based around her critically-acclaimed collection of old, problematic nursery rhymes re-imagined and updated. In The Truth About Humpty Dumpty, she claims that Humpty didn't have a great fall, but that he had a fear of heights and was coaxed down by local trauma counsellors who put him on a government-sponsored course of counselling. Her re-imagined Hansel and Gretel sees the rascally brother and sister acting kindly to a sad old crone in the forest and inviting her to come and stay with them at their home. The crone turns out to be a Cabinet Minister for Justice who makes them both her Special Advisers for Kindness. The Edinburgh International Book Festival has scoured the globe seeking out authors who know which side their bread is buttered on so that you'll know too. Kevin McKenna is a Herald writer and columnist. He is Features Writer of the Year and writes regularly about the working-class people and communities of Scotland
Barnama
27-05-2025
- Science
- Barnama
Nuklear Malaysia Launches Book On Technology In Plant Breeding At International Book Festival
GENERAL KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuklear Malaysia) today unveiled a scientific publication titled Teknologi Nuklear dalam Biak Baka Tanaman Hiasan (Nuclear Technology in Ornamental Plant Breeding) during the International Book Festival organised by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) here. In a statement, the agency said the book forms part of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation's (MOSTI) efforts to raise public awareness of peaceful nuclear technology applications and to strengthen the nation's research and development ecosystem. 'The book focuses on the application of nuclear technology in agriculture, particularly mutation breeding techniques using radiation to develop new varieties of ornamental plants. 'This technology has been utilised in Malaysia for over three decades, successfully producing a variety of new plants that have contributed to the growth of the local floriculture industry,' the statement said. The launch ceremony was officiated by MOSTI Deputy Minister Datuk Mohammad Yusof Apdal and was attended by Nuklear Malaysia director-general Dr Rosli Darmawan. In his speech, Mohammad Yusof underscored MOSTI's commitment to broadening the use of strategic technologies, including nuclear technology, across key economic sectors such as agriculture, industry, medicine and the environment. 'This initiative aligns with MOSTI's vision to position science and technology as the foundation of national progress, while promoting the peaceful and responsible application of nuclear technology in strategic sectors like agriculture,' he said. He added that the effort is consistent with the National Nuclear Technology Policy (DTNN) 2030, which emphasises the safe and responsible development and utilisation of nuclear technology for the benefit of the nation and its people. The agency highlighted that since the early 1990s, it has developed more than 30 mutant plant varieties, with about 60 per cent comprising flowering and landscaping ornamental plants.
