His friend Owen Dudley Edwards, an Irish-born Edinburgh historian, remembers his press briefings as unique: "Hostile journalists were staggered to hear him explain that their objections to this or that in the party were not really rewarding subjects but that a more useful question to raise would be this other."
The first festival included some well known Scottish writers, as well as up and coming authors from around the world, including Ali Smith, Ian Rankin, Douglas Dunn, A. L. Kennedy, Kapka Kassabova, Ronan Sheehan, Rajorshi Chakraborti, Dilys Rose, Dean Parkin, Robert Alan Jamieson, Owen Dudley Edwards, and many others.
John Edwards | Edwards Air Force Base | Dudley | Dudley Moore | Owen Wilson | Owen | Michael Owen | Wilfred Owen | Richard Owen | David Owen | Carl Edwards | Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester | Owen Sound | Mark Owen | Clive Owen | Blake Edwards | Owen Pallett | Duncan Edwards | Bernard Edwards | Alistair Edwards | Owen Wister | Owen Tudor | Owen (band) | Kathleen Edwards | W. Edwards Deming | Thomas Dudley | Russ Owen | Robert Owen | Robert Edwards | Paul Edwards |