Behind the scenes at the Edinburgh international book festival

Comedian Shappi Khorsandi, whose memoir A Beginner's Guide to Acting English is a bestseller Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

Jeanette Winterson, whose novel Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit was published 25 years ago this year Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

Louis De Bernières, whose latest book is Notwithstanding: English Village Stories Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

Fay Weldon, whose most recent novel is Kehua! Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

Christos Tsiolkas, author of one of this year’s most talked about books, The Slap Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

The poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

Novelist and critic Margaret Drabble, who was awarded the DBE in 2008 Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

Actor, presenter and radio personality Nicholas Parsons Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

Ruth Thomas, whose most recent collection of short stories, Super Girl, was published in 2009 Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

Jacqueline Wilson, whose books have sold more than 20m copies, served as the children's laureate between 2005 and 2007 Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

Kamila Shamsie, whose fifth novel, Burnt Shadows, was shortlisted for the 2009 Orange Prize Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

Howard Jacobson, who in 2000 won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize, the UK's only prize for comic writing, for his book The Mighty Walzer Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

Emma Donoghue, whose novel Room was longlisted for this year's Man Booker Prize Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

British actor and author Emily Woof Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

Poet and writer Fatima Bhutto Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

Dutch writer Michel Faber, who has been living in Scotland since the 1990s Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

Journalist Zaiba Malik, who has worked for the BBC, Channel 4 and the Los Angeles Times Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian