Happy 30th birthday to DI John Rebus, who will be celebrated all over Edinburgh this weekend with his creator Ian Rankin and their publisher, Orion. RebusFest is taking place at venues around the city, dedicated to “the many facets of the irascible old rogue”, according to the publisher. Appropriately, the Highland Park Whisky masterclasses are all sold out.
Rankin conceived of Rebus in his bedsit in Arden Street, Edinburgh in March 1985; the books are bestsellers on several continents. Rebus himself is now technically retired, but nevertheless marked his birthday this week with a No 1 bestseller, Rather Be The Devil, which is also longlisted for the McIlvanney prize for crime books.
RebusFest will offer music, walking tours of the city, crime writing workshops, a Rebus quiz hosted by Rankin and Phill Jupitus, and special guests including Kirsty Wark. In Rebus's favourite pub, the Oxford Bar, “the back room has seldom looked so glam!” tweeted Rankin.
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