Edinburgh International Book Festival - Day Two

First up was James Gleick, discussing his book The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood. In Gleick's words, the book is "a history of the idea of information". Like all the best non-fiction books, The Information balances complex theories with stories of the real people involved in the ideas. Gleick spent much time on Ada Byron, whom he feels is one of science's unsung geniuses: "She had the advantage of some mathematical genius, but the disadvantage of being female – which was deadly. The only scientific group woman could join was the horticultural society. She was frustrated."

 

Gleick also encouraged the audience to imagine the meeting between Claude Shannon, known as the 'father of information theory', and Alan Turing, a British mathematician and computer scientist. Shannon and Turing met over tea in the early 1940s, when they were each working on secret cryptography projects. Gleick acknowledged that "information overload is a very real problem", but assured us that people have always been complaining about there being too much information: "Plato thought that writing would ruin us, and in the 1600s Leibniz complained about the horrible mass of books being published."

 

First-time novelists Kerry Hudson and Lisa O'Donnell [pictured] were up next, discussing their books Tony Hogan Bought Me an Ice-Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma and The Death of Bees.

 

Hudson explained that her book had several potential titles, including The Council Estate Cookbook (complete with recipes at the beginning of each chapter), The Dole Cheque Kid and Echoes of Small Fires. Hudson then launched straight into a raucous reading from the book, after a warning from host Peggy Hughes: "Gird your loins, Edinburgh!"

 

Sometimes with joint events it's difficult to see why authors have been paired, but not so for O'Donnell and Hudson. Both their novels are set predominantly in Scotland; both take place on council estates; and both are narrated by fierce teenage girls in difficult situations. O'Donnell currently lives in L.A. and works as a screenwriter, and there was some discussion over writing novels vs. screenplays. O'Donnell immediately knew that her story was meant to be a novel rather than a screenplay, as "writing a screenplay can feel like a shortcut to a bigger story". Hudson concluded that she prefers writing novels: "I like to control the whole universe of the story, down to the shape of the salt-shakers."

 

Both writers discussed their process – Hudson wrote 1,000 words a day while living in Vietnam – and O'Donnell's advice to young writers was to stay true to their own emotional experiences, however difficult: "When writing, honesty is your best friend."

 

"Scotland was always going to be at the heart of my first book," Hudson added. "I have unfinished business with it!"

 

Jon Gray and Jamie Keenan have designed covers for the books of John Steinbeck, Jonathan Safran Foer, Nick Hornby, Irvine Welsh, and hundreds more. In a fast-paced visual presentation, they shared their 'Twenty Immutable Theories of Cover Design'. Gray and Keenan also discussed how great design sells books and how our connection to a book goes beyond the words inside. But what if you've tried all nineteen rules, and the design is still not working?

Fear not, for there's still Rule #20: "If all else fails, stick a cat on the cover."