Jenny Niven, CEO and director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, has extensive experience in the literary field, having founded and directed Push the Boat Out and served as head of literature at Creative Scotland. She has also been involved with the Stella Prize for Australian Women’s Writing and co-founded Beijing's first book festival.
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Niven explained that the Edinburgh International Book Festival, which began in 1983, is part of a series of festivals celebrating their 80th anniversary next year. These festivals originated in 1947, after World War II, and are viewed as a means of bringing people together to celebrate the arts. This year, the festival will feature writers from 53 countries, aiming to share diverse ideas and foster unexpected conversations among participants.
As the festival approaches its start on August 15, Niven emphasizes the scale of the event, which involves constructing substantial infrastructure, including a bookshop and a spiegeltent. She noted the surprise of how the festival transforms the city, creating a vibrant hub of literary activity before returning to normalcy after the event concludes.
When curating the festival, Niven draws from current publishing trends and societal questions. She asserts that the book festival's role is to facilitate essential discussions among diverse audiences. The selection of themes aims to be expansive, allowing for a variety of genres, while tying into what resonates most with attendees. This year's theme, "changing your mind," addresses issues of polarization in opinions and explores the intersection of societal dialogue and neuroscience, particularly regarding mental health.
Niven believes literary festivals play a crucial role in promoting a culture of reading, making it a social experience rather than just a solitary one. She emphasizes the positive impact on children and young people, as the festival connects them with authors from diverse backgrounds, encouraging them to see reading as an attainable and enjoyable activity.