One of the world’s most renowned fiction authors, Ian Rankin, was guest of honour at a Merchiston Castle School charity event last week.

Creator and writer of the famous Inspector Rebus crime novels, his work has been some of the most critically acclaimed and is comfortably one of the UK’s most successful and respected writers. The Guardian newspaper also claimed that his books account for 10% of all UK crime fiction sales.

The event at Merchiston was held as a fundraiser for Kindred, an Edinburgh charity, which provides support and advice for families and carers of children with special needs and which has played an important role with Ian’s own family.

The evening started with Ian with an open interview with Vanessa Robertson, who is involved with many literary projects in Edinburgh and has her own publishing company. Ian entertained his audience with interesting and insightful glimpses into his early writing career and the creation of his best known and loved character, John Rebus.

The audience, made up of pupils, staff, parents and friends of Merchiston as well as members of the local community, enjoyed a relaxing evening as Ian answered questions and shared his thoughts in an often humorous and always generous way. The evening concluded with an opportunity to buy some of Ian’s books and a chance for a one-to- one chat whilst having books signed by Ian.

Here are comments from Merchiston boys who enjoyed an audience with the scribe:

“Very interesting. I have read some of his books and enjoyed this exploration into how such a devious mind produces world renowned novels.”

“I enjoyed his humour and his answers to the questions. I enjoyed the structure of the talk, the interview really worked well.”

“It was a nice change to have someone interview the author. We got to learn a lot more about him and still got to ask our own questions – it was a very good talk.”

“The talk was entertaining and gave me an insight into a highly regarded writer's life, from his childhood to the present.”