Book worm

A YEAR ago, literary events in Edinburgh in August weren't just confined to Charlotte Square. For three full weeks we had mini-festivals run by Thirsty Lunch, and Word Power programmed events that were free or as near as made no difference, while at the City Arts Centre new writers had the chance to read in public at the so-called Book Festival Fringe.

This year, that's the only mini-fest still going, although it doesn't seem to be doing anything more than organising an arts breakfast session. The good folk at Word Power say they're concentrating their energies on publishing, while a spokesman for the bibulous bibliophiles on the Thirsty Lunch team says that while they'll be back next year, right now they're still recovering from last August ...

NO BAR TO MARR

ANDREW Marr's event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival might have been the first one to sell out, but there are still tickets to see him at the inaugural Festival of Politics (24-26 August) at the Scottish Parliament. Only 1,000 of the potential 3,400 seats have so far been sold, but organisers say that there's still plenty of time for the rest of the tickets to go.

It's an interesting programme (Vanessa Redgrave, Tom Devine, Shirley Williams, Neil Kinnock, etc), tickets are only 5, and the only minor hassle is having to get there at least half an hour ahead of time for security clearance.