There's a Dickens theme running through today's book festival programme. This afternoon, the writer's great-great-great-granddaughter – Lucinda Dickens Hawksley – will appear in a sold-out event to talk about her new illustrated guide to her ancestor and his works. And later on, Claire Tomalin discusses her biography, Charles Dickens: A Life.
It's a busy day for crime and thriller fans too, with appearances from crime legend Ruth Rendell, Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurdardottir, and Scotland's own Christopher Brookmyre. Guardian journalist Jonathan Freedland – who writes as Sam Bourne – will chat to Alan Little about his new thriller, and the newspaper's former man in Russia, Luke Harding, discusses the real life crime and corruption in his book, Mafia State.
Other highlights include Michael Frayn, whose latest novel, Skios, has been longlisted for this year's Man Booker Prize, Chaos Walking-author Patrick Ness and historian Tom Holland, as well as absurdist Israeli writer Etgar Keret.
Lots of sold out events today, but as of this morning, there are still tickets available for:
14.00: Alexandra Harris & John Mullan
14.30: Stephen McGinty & Daniel Pick
15.30: Joanna Bourke & Roger Osbourne
15.30: Philip Ardagh & Axel Scheffler
16.00: Fiona McLAren
16.30: Lindsey Davis & Conn Iggulden
17.00: Gus Casely-Hayford & Alastair Hazell
20.00: Ruth Rendell
20.30: SJ Watson
21.30: Christopher Brookmyre
There's also availability for today's Guardian debate between former Liberal Democrats leader Menzies Campbell and Defending Politics author Matthew Flinders, which asks if we have lost our faith in government.
In the signing tent, you'll find:
Tonight's Unbound is Last Orders, featuring Irish authors Maeve Higgins, Julie Feeney and Kevin Barry. And tomorrow, the book festival will be abuzz as this year's Edinburgh World Writers' Conference gets underway.
Don't forget you can still take part in the Guardian Book Swap, both in Charlotte Square and all over Edinburgh – tweet us with your pictures of books you've swapped, and why you've swapped them.
