From Sunday, 17th August, Radio National’s Books and Writing
program will feature some of the world’s best-known authors.

All are being recorded at this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival,
where presenter Ramona Koval is hosting several key events.

Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Edinburgh International
Book Festival is considered “the largest and most vibrant festival of
its kind in the world with over 600 events attracting the cream
of the literary world.”

This is Ramona Koval’s fifth Edinburgh Festival, and this year
she has been given pick of the Festival guests to interview
including John Irving, John Mortimer, PD James, Susan Sontag,
Mario Vargas Llosa, Pat Barker and Irma Kurtz.

Koval has established a reputation for quality interviewing of authors. This has resulted in invitations for her to host events at overseas book and
writers’ festivals including Edinburgh and Montreal, as well as
the key festivals in Australia.

Her interviews have been
transcribed for The Guardian in the UK, La Republica in Spain,
VRIJ in Holland and other overseas publications.

Radio National’s Books and Writing will broadcast these interviews
in six programs during August and September:

Sunday, 17th Aug, 7.25pm (repeat Wed, 20th Aug, 1pm): Irma Kurtz

Sunday, 24th Aug, 7.25pm (repeat Wed, 27th Aug, 1pm): Mario Vargas Llosa

Sunday, 31st Aug, 7.25pm (repeat Wed, 3rd Sept, 1pm): John Irving

Sunday, 7th Sept, 7.25pm (repeat Wed, 10th Sept, 1pm): John Mortimer

Sunday, 14th Sept, 7.25pm (repeat Wed, 17th Sept, 1pm): Pat Barker

Sunday, 21st Sept, 7.25pm (repeat Wed, 24th Sept, 1pm): PD James