RebusFest line-up revealed with Edinburgh Festival to partner

The line up for RebusFest, a weekend of literature, music, art and film in Edinburgh organised by Orion Publishing Group and curated by Ian Rankin, has been revealed, with Edinburgh International Book Festival partnering on the event and Waterstones ready to be the festival's official bookseller.

Tickets to the three-day festival went on sale at the end of last week (17th March). It takes place from 30th June to 2nd July 2017 in Edinburgh, detective John Rebus' hometown, in celebration of the character's 30th anniversary.

Also supporting the event are National Museums Scotland, the City of Literature Trust, Edinburgh International Film Festival and Highland Park.

On Friday 30th June, there will be a "whisky masterclass" with Highland Park at the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh, and an evening of spoken word and live music, exploring the relationship between Rebus and music at Queen’s Hall. 

On Saturday 1st July, there will be a crime-writing workshop, called Written in Blood, at the National Museum of Scotland, and a special screening of Rankin’s "Reichenbach Falls" (2007) at the Filmhouse in partnership with the Edinburgh International Film Festival, followed by a Q&A with the author. There will also be an evening delving into the world of Rebus - finding out what makes him tick, his background and origins and the inspiration for the character - alongside a discussion of Edinburgh crime past and present, with a panel of experts, in partnership with the Assembly. 

The weekend will be rounded off on Sunday 2nd July with a RebusFest Quiz at the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh, The Caledonian, co-hosted by Rankin himself.

Running across the weekend, in addition to events and panels, are Rebus walking tours, Highland Park whisky tastings at the Caley Bar, exhibitions and museum trails. The City of Literature Trust is running community events and taking to the streets with "special surprises" around the city; the Writers’ Museum is hosting a Rankin/Rebus exhibition, which opens at RebusFest and continues across the summer; the National Museum of Scotland will be holding a talk on the Arthur’s Seat Coffins – the exhibition that inspired The Falls, and curating a "Museum Noir" trail of mysterious and murderous objects from the museum’s collection.

Rankin said: "It's hard for me to believe that it's been 30 years since John Rebus first appeared between the pages of a book. For someone who was only supposed to exist in a single novel, his tenacity has surprised even me. But readers have grown to love him, irascible and bull-headed as he often is. It's a joy for me to be celebrating his life so far in the form of his very own festival. What John would make of it, only he knows!"

A spokesperson for Edinburgh International Book Festival said: “It is a great pleasure for the Edinburgh International Book Festival to be supporting RebusFest. Ian Rankin has been a great friend and stalwart champion of the Book Festival, with no August being complete without Ian entertaining audiences with the latest adventures of Rebus. Over 30 years, Ian has achieved extraordinary success, captivating readers and creating an iconic literary figure who lives beyond the pages of the novels to inhabit the literary imagination of Edinburgh, the first UNESCO City of Literature. It is only fitting that John Rebus now has his own festival.”