Philip Larkin’s work doesn’t feature in Scotland’s Best Loved Poems, but the subtitle of this event, Be Kind While There is Still Time—a line from a Larkin poem—sums up Alexander McCall Smith’s approach. Kindness is a red thread running through his novels’ lively plots, and it’s no wonder they’ve achieved global sales. Today he talks about his latest novels, and the poetry anthology he has edited, with James Naughtie.

Tickets are available now on the Edinburgh International Book Festival website.