Festival's new boss throws the book at critics

Published on Tuesday 3 November 2009 08:51

THE new director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival has hit back at critics who have branded him "incompetent".

Nick Barley replaced Catherine Lockerbie in the role earlier this month after she resigned in August from the position following a nine-year tenure.

But within hours of being appointed, the former executive director of the Glasgow Lighthouse centre for architecture and design faced furious opposition and was the subject of a Facebook campaign demanding that his appointment be rescinded.

The 43-year-old's critics are outraged that he was appointed less than two months after the Lighthouse went into administration with the loss of 57 jobs.

However, Mr Barley, a father-of-two, was reported as saying: "I'm aware I wasn't the most straightforward choice, and as regards the Lighthouse, the Book Festival were fully aware of it and went through due process.

"Obviously some of the Facebook criticisms are very hurtful because they are of a highly personal nature, but I would say that the project was very bold and had a funding model that worked in the good times but couldn't survive difficult times."

A Book Festival spokesperson added: "We are aware that there are some strong feelings regarding the situation with the Lighthouse. However, this is in the past and does not have any bearing on the Book Festival."

Yorkshire-born Mr Barley moved to Edinburgh from London six years ago. His wife, Fiona Bradley, is director of the city's Fruitmarket gallery, and the family live in the New Town.

Mr Barley ran his own publishing company in London before becoming editor of The List in 2003. He moved to the Lighthouse three years later, but was made redundant when the centre went into liquidation in the summer.

He added that his changes at Charlotte Square "won't be revolutionary" but he did "want to inject a bit of spice".

"The analogy I use is that the festival will be like a newspaper, which deals with news in a fairly straightforward manner but also teases out deeper stuff in features and analysis," he said.

"I am keen we attract people not just to established authors but also to discover new writers. One thing I was very struck by was that JK Rowling's first Book Festival appearance was in front of an audience of 30 people."

Mr Barley admitted he was "slightly terrified" at the thought of matching his predecessor's record.

The process of drawing up next year's programme has already begun and Mr Barley said he was determined to make the event accessible to all. He hoped to showcase the "huge amount of emerging talent" in the Capital.

Susan Rice, chairwoman of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said: "Nick Barley is just the person to move us to the next level – with his literary connections, experience running arts organisations, design background, and above all, his vision for the Book Festival in the future."