How to Win an Information War - with Muriel Spark

Author Peter Pomerantsev's new book, How to Win an Information War, investigates the life of Sefton Delmer, with whom Spark worked during the war as documented in Curriculum Vitae. Mr Pomerantsev will appear at the Edinburgh International Book Festival this year on Thursday 15 August at 17.45. His book is published by Faber at £20. More details below: From one of our leading experts on disinformation, the incredible true story of the complex and largely forgotten WWII propagandist Sefton Delmer - and what we can learn from him today. In the summer of 1941, Hitler ruled Europe from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. Britain was struggling to combat the powerful Nazi propaganda machine, which crowed victory and smeared its enemies. But inside Germany, there was one notable voice of dissent from the very heart of the military machine, Der Chef, a German whose radio broadcasts skilfully questioned Nazi doctrine. He had access to high-ranking German military secrets and spoke of internal rebellion. His listeners included German soldiers and citizens. American officials and even the President tried to to decipher what it meant for the future of the war. But what these audiences didn't know was that Der Chef was a fiction, a character created by the British propagandist Sefton Delmer, just one player in Delmer's vast counter-propaganda cabaret, a unique weapon in the war. As author Peter Pomerantsev uncovers Delmer's story, he is called into a wartime propaganda effort of his own: the global response to Putin's invasion of Ukraine. This book is the story of Delmer and his modern-day investigator, as they each embark on their own quest to seduce and inspire the passions of supporters and enemies, and to turn the tide of information wars.

Bookmark Festival 2024

Our distinguished former Chair, Gail Wylie, will launch the 2024 Bookmark Festival on 3 August with Olga Wojtas: Date: Saturday 3 August 2024 Time: 2:00 pm Location: St Catharine's Community Centre, PH10 6EY Price: £10 for non-members £9 for members Author: Olga Wojtas With: Ewan Morrison BOOKMARK 2024 Launch with the welcome return of one of our patrons, Olga Wojtas and the latest instalment of her heroine Shona McMonagle's adventures, in Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Gondola of Doom. Anyone who has been to one of Olga's previous events knows that an entertaining afternoon is guaranteed! After refreshments and raffle, Gail Wylie, BOOKMARK Chair, will reveal the BOOKMARK 2024 Programme and the 'Box Office' will be open for the sale of Festival tickets including our very popular 'Weekend and Daily Passes'. For tickets please contact: Rhona Christie at rhona.maclean@yahoo.co.uk or 01250 875613 Adventure into Books - 01250 872852

Olga Wojtas and Miss Blaine's Prefect

Our eminent Committee member Olga Wojtas will appear at the Edinburgh International Book Festival this year, details below: Olga Wojtas: Miss Blaine's Prefect is Back Wed 14 Aug 12:45 - 13:45 EFI Venue NW Attend in person EFI Venue NW £15.50 [concessions £13.50/£10.50] In-person tickets go on sale at 10:00 on Thursday 20 June. Olga Wojtas: Miss Blaine's Prefect is Back Olga Wojtas talks about how you should never underestimate a librarian. The author has delighted readers with her Miss Blaine’s Prefect series which see Shona, a 50-something librarian, embroiled in a series of adventures, each one more hilarious than the last. She’s conjured up another treat in Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Gondola of Doom. Will time-travelling Shona unravel the Venetian mystery in time? Wojtas will be joined in conversation by Lee Randall.

A Memorial to Dame Muriel Spark

Philanthropists Morag and James Anderson have generously agreed to fund the establishment of a memorial to Dame Muriel in Edinburgh, where she was born in 1918. Designs will be commissioned from sculptors and a Committee will decide on the winner. A possible site for the statue is Princes Street Gardens which is central and non-residential. It also houses some world famous literary monumnets already to Scott and Stevenson, the latter inaugurated by Spark herself. The project is supported by Muriel's companion, and the Society's patron, Penelope Jardine. There is a long road ahead, but we may know more definite details around the time of the Edinburgh International Festival. Watch this space ...