Authors' favourite words – a video alphabet

The Edinburgh international book festival welcomes writers from all over the world. We've been asking writers such as Alasdair Gray, Neil Gaiman and Ruby Wax to come up with their favourite words and filming the results. Here you can watch the words they have chosen from 'a-whoring' to 'Zulu'.

a-whoring – Ruby Wax

ambivalent – Rick Gekoski

Budongo – Gill Lewis

confusion – Peter Hook

discombobulate – Sally Gardner

elbow – Melvin Burgess

ephemeral – Rawi Hage

fud – Ian Rankin

fantoosh – Alexander McCall Smith

glechit – Damian Barr

grey – John Taylor

hand – Fabulous Baker Brothers

implement - Stephen Collins

ineffable – Neil Gaiman

joy – Patrick Ness

labyrinth – Michelle Paver

mnemonic – Tim Lott

ordinariness – Amit Chaudhuri

plop – Tony Ross

quixotic – Sarah Churchwell

plakkopytrixophylisperambulantiobatrix – Alasdair Gray

rodomontade – Ann Widdecombe

stramash – Frank Cottrell Boyce

scunnered – Kirsty Gunn

Thermos – Kay Ryan

unnaturalness – Samantha Shannon

verve – Charles Fernyhough

victoria – Patricio Pron

welp – Rupert Thomson

xenobiotic – Steve Jones

yes – Gavin Esler

Zulu – Shadow Titan

• Edinburgh International Book Festival
• Neil Gaiman
• Steve Jones
• Ruby Wax
• Alexander McCall Smith
• Melvin Burgess
• Ian Rankin
• Patrick Ness
• Michelle Paver
• Alasdair Gray
• Ann Widdecombe