Comics at Edinburgh book fest

Helen Lederer, Mark Steel, Sandi Toksvig, Jenny Éclair, Nigel Planer and Clive James are some of the comedy names lined up for this Edinburgh international book festival.

The event coincides with the fringe, and is often overlooked by comedy fans who look no further than the bigger event.

But some of Britain's leading comic stars attend the literary festival to promote their latest books.

Lederer is taking part in the opening event on August 11, when she appears alongside sci-fi writer Brian Aldiss (whose short story inspired the forthcoming Stephen Spielberg/Stanley Kubrick film A.I.) in a short play about Hitler. She also reads extracts from her stories and performs some of her monologues later the same day.

Events with a comedy slant include:

Sunday August 11: Opening event with Brian Aldiss and Helen Lederer. 10am. £7 (£5 concs)

Sunday August 11: Helen Lederer. 12pm. £7 (£5 concs)

Sunday August 12: Teatime talk with Keith Waterhouse, the creator of Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell and Billy Liar and the new novel Soho. 6.30pm. £8 (£6 concs)

Friday August 17: Clive James. 6.30pm. £8 (£6 concs)

Sunday August 19: Left-wing comic Mark Steel reads from his book Reasons To Be Cheerful, subtitled From Punk to New Labour Through the Eyes Of A Dedicated Troublemaker. 6.45pm. £8 (£6 concs)

Monday August 20: Teatime talk with Perrier-winner Jenny Eclair, author of Camberwell Beauty. 6.30pm. £8 (£6 concs)

Sunday August 26: Teatime talk with Nigel Planer Neil in the Young Ones and author of Faking It. 6.30pm. £8 (£6 concs)

Monday August 27: Sandi Toksvig reads from her book Flying Under Bridges 3.30pm. £7 (£5 concs)

All events can be booked through the official web site.

Published: 12 Jul 2001