Sell-out signs up in 'phenomenal' start for book festival

ORGANISERS of the Edinburgh International Book Festival have reported a "phenomenal" first day of sales for this year's event.

Events with writers as varied as fantasy novelist Neil Gaiman, broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood and scientist Richard Dawkins sold out within hours.

Organisers admitted phone lines were jammed and the festival's website struggled to cope.

Events featuring newsreader Jeremy Paxman, chef Tom Kitchin, poet Carol Ann Duffy, politician Vince Cable and historian Tom Devine were among the hottest opening-day tickets.

Organisers said ticket sales were "well ahead" of last year, with the final total being passed by mid-afternoon yesterday. More than 50 events are now completely sold out, with around 300 festival fans waiting in the queue outside the box office at the EICC when it opened at 8:30am.

Richard Holloway, guest director of the festival, said: "We know that due to the extraordinary demand a large number of potential customers were finding it difficult to get through on the phone or via the internet.

"However, they were patient and kept trying and ticket sales have reflected this."