MORE details have been released about this year’s Borders Book Festival which returns to Harmony Garden in Melrose between June 16-19.

The McInroy & Wood Lecture will this year be delivered by BBC correspondent Allan Little, focusing on the post-Cold War era, as Europe enters a new, more dangerous phase, following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

In addition, the Financial Times, as the book festival’s national media partner, hosts a series of events covering the big issues of the day.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who served in cabinets under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, debates the future of naval base Faslane and the UK's nuclear deterrent with CND campaigner Isobel Lindsay and military historian Trevor Royle.

FT foreign affairs columnist Gideon Rachman explains why authoritarian leaders are again a fixture of global politics and just how big a role energy plays in geopolitics.

And FT columnist Merryn Somerset Webb offers a survival guide for the cost of living crisis, in conversation with Claer Barrett, the newspaper's Consumer Editor.

Peeblesshire News:

The winner of this year’s prestigious £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction is to be announced at a special event at the book festival, chosen from a short list of four books: Colm Tóibín’s The Magician, Andrew Greig’s Rose Nicolson, Amanda Smyth’s Fortune and James Robertson’s News of the Dead.

In addition, throughout the four days, there will be live music, the Orchard tented food village and plenty of free, fun activities, making the book festival a great day out for all the family to enjoy.

Tickets now available at www.bordersbookfestival.org or by calling 0131 290 2112.