Edinburgh International Book Festival unveils OU 50th Anniversary Series

The OU 50th Anniversary Series has been unveiled by the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the largest public celebration of the written word in the world, as part of its 2019 programme launch.

The OU 50th Anniversary Series includes events with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, radical poet Benjamin Zephaniah and celebrated Scottish writer Val McDermid. 

Former Prime Minister and former OU tutor Gordon Brown will interview world-leading lawyer and academic John Sexton about his guidebook to connected higher education, Standing for Reason. 

Radical poet, political visionary, popular reggae artist, and OU honorary graduate Benjamin Zephaniah will share his new autobiography The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah. 

One of the festival's guest selectors, Val McDermid, author and OU honorary graduate, will explore the many forms of homelessness with sociologist Geetha Marcus, geographer Danny Dorling, and award-winning poet and playwright Joelle Taylor. 

Former BBC China editor Carrie Gracie will discuss her book Equal, and her campaign which resulted in British companies now being required to declare their gender pay gap. 

Prize-winning author, former OU Arts Faculty staff member and current Edinburgh Napier University lecturer Daniel Shand will deliver a masterclass on writing fiction.  

And author and OU creative writing alumnus Catherine Simpson will explore dealing with the difficult death of a loved one. 

Additionally, Susan Stewart, Director of the OU in Scotland, will chair an event at the festival with authors Sian Reynolds and Sara Sheridan, discussing their books about women in Scotland. 

The OU is delighted to support the Book Festival as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations. We support a wide variety of cultural engagement events across Scotland and have enjoyed a long-standing partnership with the Festival. Their approach to opening up access to books and literature complements our mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. 

Tickets will be on sale from Tuesday 25 June 2019 on the Edinburgh International Book Festival website.  

There is a wide range of free learning relating to the subjects covered in this events series, available on the OU’s site OpenLearn, including videos and articles by Benjamin Zephaniah and content from Creative Writing, Social Sciences, and Health & Social Care courses. 

Photo, from left to right, top to bottom: Gordon Brown, Carrie Gracie, Benjamin Zephaniah (photo by Adrian Pope), Val McDermid, Daniel Shand, Catherine Simpson.