Global Ink 2026

We can’t wait to welcome 20 festival directors from 17 countries to Edinburgh this August as part of Global Ink 2026.

Global Ink is our flagship international forum, supported by the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland Festivals EXPO Fund, taking place from 17–19 August, within the wider Book Festival programme. Global Ink brings together senior figures working across Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America for sustained dialogue, collaboration and shared learning. 

A delegation spanning global cultural ecosystems 

Delegates range from those delivery long‑established international events and regionally rooted programmes; to organisations working at scale alongside those focused on more intimate audiences; to UNESCO Cities of Literature and cities building new cultural identities. 

Established to create the conditions for long‑term relationship‑building between people doing similar work in very different contexts, the Global Ink programme combines industry discussions with public‑facing events. Delegates not only meet in formal sessions, but are embedded in the wider life of the Festival - attending events with Scottish writers, experiencing the city and its cultural institutions, and sharing informal social moments – including a traditional ceilidh!

“When Global Ink began three years ago, our ambition was to build something more durable than a conference - a network of trust between people doing similar work in very different contexts. What’s emerged is broader than a festival network alone. Global Ink is also about recognising the many partners, organisations and individuals involved in making literature international, and the collective effort behind international exchange. Seeing this year’s group come together - from Kraków to Kerala to Calgary – it feels like that shared momentum is really taking hold.”

Jenny Niven, Director of Edinburgh International Book Festival

Meet our 2026 Global Ink delegates

Lyndsey Fineran
Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki (Aotearoa New Zealand) 

Lyndsey Fineran is the Artistic Director of Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki, Aotearoa New Zealand - one of the largest, and best-attended of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Prior to moving to Aotearoa New Zealand, she was Deputy Head of Programming at Cheltenham Literature Festival, where she worked for a decade, as well as serving as a board member of the British Arts Festivals Association, a judge on The Desmond Elliot Prize and is an alumnus of The Bookseller’s Rising Stars programme, which identifies and champions the publishing world’s future leaders.

Rosemarie Milsom
Adelaide Writers' Week (Australia)

Rosemarie Milsom is the founding director of Newcastle Writers Festival in the Hunter region of NSW, Australia. The festival celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2027. Rosemarie is a passionate advocate for literature and regional arts. In 2024, with federal government support, she organised the inaugural conference for regional Australia literary festivals. This has led to increased communication and collaboration in the sector. She is a member of the NSW government's literature board and is the founding chair of Hunter Creative Alliance.  

Ann Mossop
Sydney Writers’ Festival (Australia)

Ann Mossop is Sydney Writers’ Festival Artistic Director. Throughout her career she has been involved with important initiatives to bring the work of writers and thinkers to broader audiences. Previous roles include Director of the Centre for Ideas at UNSW Sydney and Head of Talks and Ideas at Sydney Opera House, where she established the Opera House’s extensive talks and ideas program and led key projects such as the Festival of Dangerous Ideas and founded the All About Women Festival. 

Amanda Bullock
Literary Arts / Portland Book Festival (USA)

As Senior Artistic Director at Literary Arts in Portland, Oregon, USA, Amanda Bullock curates and directs Portland Book Festival, the Portland Arts & Lectures series and special events, and co-hosts The Archive Project weekly radio show and podcast. Prior to joining Literary Arts in 2015, she was director of public programming at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in New York City, where she curated, publicized, and produced 200+ events annually. She is the co-founder of Moby-Dick Marathon NYC and has worked as a bookseller and in book production. 

Marianne DeLeón
Texas Book Festival (USA)

Marianne DeLeón is the CEO of the Texas Book Festival. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s from Southern Methodist University, where she documented her family’s immigration story from Cuba. Early in her career, she served in the Peace Corps in Moldova and AmeriCorps VISTA in Dallas, sparking a lifelong commitment to mission-driven fundraising. With more than two decades of nonprofit leadership experience, she most recently helped complete the $15M capital campaign for Pease Park Conservancy. She also serves on the boards of No Comply Foundation and Laboratorio Arts. 

Roland Gulliver
Toronto International Festival of Authors (Canada)

Roland Gulliver joined TIFA in 2020, following 12-years at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Gulliver has built upon TIFA’s legacy as one of the world’s oldest book festivals and, in 2025, TIFA embarked on a new partnership with Victoria University at University of Toronto and redesigning its portfolio of festivals and programmes to present MOTIVE Crime & Mystery Festival; Toronto International Festival of Authors; and Ever After TIFA’s Romance Festival. Plus TIFA Presents, a year-round programme of national and international headline events. He serves on the Board of Toronto Arts Council, chairing the Literary Advisory Committee. 

Jodi Pincus
San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Literary Festival (Mexico)

Jodi Pincus is a social impact leader whose work bridges storytelling, leadership, and systems change. With over three decades in the nonprofit sector, she focuses on equity, sustainability, and organizational transformation. She is Executive Director of the San Miguel Global Literary Institute, which produces the San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Literary Festival, advancing global literary exchange and access. She is also founder of Nomada Coaching & Consulting, supporting mission-driven organizations. Her work is grounded in a commitment to justice, collaboration, and possibility. She lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, with her husband and two sons.   

Shelley Youngblut
Wordfest, Calgary (Canada)

Shelley Youngblut is the CEO & Creative Ringleader of Wordfest, which connects the world’s best authors with Canada’s liveliest readers in Calgary, Alberta. Wordfest produces more than 100 shows throughout the year, including the fall Imaginairium festival. Its vibrant Wordfest Youth program is unique in Canada in focusing on teen literacy. Youngblut was the recipient of the 2020 Calgary Award for Community Achievement in the Arts and the 2018 Rozsa Award for Arts Leadership. She also won the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Western Magazine Awards. Youngblut was the founding editor of Calgary’s award-winning Swerve magazine and has created magazines for  ESPN,  Seventeen,  Cosmopolitan,  Nickelodeon,  Western Living, and The Globe and Mail. A former pop-culture correspondent for ABC World News Now and Canada AM, she was also a frequent contributor to CBC Calgary’s The Eyeopener, The Homestretch, and Daybreak Alberta. 

Daniela Ini: FILBA (Argentina)

Daniela Ini is a cultural manager and educator based in Buenos Aires. She works across literature, education, and cultural policy, with a focus on creating spaces for reading, conversation, and artistic exchange. She is Head of Institutional Relations at FILBA, one of Latin America’s leading literary festival organizations. Her work centers on connecting writers, readers, and institutions through innovative literary projects and events.

Marit Borkenhagen
Norwegian Festival of Literature (Norway)

Marit Borkenhagen has served as Festival Director of the Norwegian Festival of Literature for 15 years and also holds other key positions in the literary sector, including board member of the World Expression Forum (WEXFO), Norwegian Literature Abroad (NORLA), and Lillehammer UNESCO City of Literature. 

Lucie Campos Mitchell
Villa Gillet / Littérature Live (France)

Lucie Campos is the director of the Villa Gillet, France's centre for international writing and the home of Littérature Live, Lyon’s international literary festival and Mode d’Emploi, its festival of ideas. As a lecturer in comparative literature she has written about Sebald, Kertész and Coetzee and edited several collective volumes on fiction and history in the 20th century. Since 2012, she has been developing projects to promote literature in translation and to bring more writers in translation into festivals, schools, and public debate, working with the Institut français network, the Collège de France, the French Centre National du Livre and now the City of Lyon. From 2014 to 2019, she ran the French Book Office in London and was a judge for the International Booker Prize in 2019-2020.  

Oskar Ekström
Gothenburg Book Fair (Sweden)

Oskar Ekström is Director of the Gothenburg Book Fair, the largest cultural event in the Nordic region, attracting nearly 100,000 visits each year. As Director, he leads its strategic and artistic development, strengthening its international profile and role as a platform for literature and public dialogue. Under his leadership, the fair continues to reach new audiences and amplify diverse voices. Previously Head of Programme (2018–2025), he broadened the fair programme and led major thematic and audience initiatives. Before joining the fair, he was Executive Producer at the Culture Centre and City Theatre in Stockholm. 

Perdita Maria Luise Krämer
Bremer Krimifestival CRIME TIME (Germany)

Perdita Krämer was born in 1975 in Stolberg and studied Islamic Studies, Modern German Literature and Education in Kiel. She spent 7 years in student theatre as an actress, director and various assistant directing roles. In 2011, she and her partner opened the bremer kriminal theater in Bremen – a small theatre dedicated exclusively to the crime fiction genre. 

Carolina Pietyra
Kraków Festival Office / UNESCO City of Literature (Poland)

Carolina Pietyra, Krakow Festival Office, Poland Director of the Krakow Festival Office, which has been organizing flagship Krakow festivals for over 20 years, including the Film Music Festival, Sacrum Profanum, Misteria Paschalia, the Conrad Festival, and the Miłosz Festival. Additionally, the Krakow Festival Office organizes emblematic city events such as Wianki w Krakowie (Wreaths in Krakow), coordinates the Krakow UNESCO City of Literature programs, and is the Krakow Film Commission's publisher of cultural media: "Karnet" (monthly and portal), "Kraków Culture" (yearbook), and "Czas Literatury" (literary quarterly).

Judith Uyterlinde
Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival, The Hague (Netherlands)

Judith Uyterlinde (The Netherlands, 1962) is the artistic director of the international literature festival Writers Unlimited in The Hague. She wrote some books and worked as an acquiring editor and publisher for literary houses, such as De Bezige Bij, J.M. Meulenhoff and World Editions, specialised in translated literature into English. For the Amsterdam Public Library, she ran the Literary Salon, and for Women Inc., the series Read My Lips. She also coordinated the Guest of Honour literary program presenting Dutch and Flemish literature at the 2016 Frankfurt Book Fair. 

Aimée van Wylick
International Literature Festival Dublin (Ireland)

Aimée van Wylick is one of Ireland’s most experienced creative producers and programmers, with over 20 years working across the arts and cultural events sector. Founder of Boxroom Productions, she specialises in event concept design, programming and large-scale festival delivery. Her work spans major initiatives including the International Literature Festival Dublin, Brigit: Dublin City Celebrating Women, and Storylines Europe. Aimée has also produced Culture Night, the Dublin Lunar New Year and the Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival. She holds advanced degrees in cultural policy, arts management and visual studies.

Ahlam Bolooki 
Emirates Literature Foundation / Emirates Airline Festival of Literature (UAE)

Ahlam Bolooki is the Chief Executive Officer of the Emirates Literature Foundation, where she leads a dynamic literary organisation whose vision is to build a society rooted in reading and storytelling – positioning the UAE as a global cultural and literary hub – and whose mission is to cultivate a thriving literary ecosystem that fosters curiosity, builds human connection, inspires future generations, and unites the world through stories. She also serves as the Festival Director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the Middle East’s largest celebration of the written and spoken word. The Festival provides a dynamic platform for open dialogue, creativity, and forward-thinking conversations that help cultivate a more empathetic and connected society. 

Govind Deecee
Kerala Literature Festival / DC Books (India)

Govind Deecee is a publisher, editor, and curator with DC Books, one of India’s leading publishing houses. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University, where he studied economics alongside cinematic arts and photography. He began his career in visual storytelling and advertising before moving into publishing. 

At DC Books, he works as a commissioning editor, focusing on building contemporary lists, expanding translation and rights. He is also part of the curatorial team of the Kerala Literature Festival, which DC Books and the DC Kizhakemuri Foundation organize. Held annually on the beaches of Kozhikode, KLF is one of Asia’s largest literary gatherings, bringing together writers, thinkers, and artists from across the world, and serving as a vibrant space for cross-cultural dialogue. The recent edition of the festival hosted over 500 speakers and had an attendance of over 700,000. 

Janet DeNeefe
Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (Indonesia)

Melbourne-born Janet DeNeefe, Founder & Director of Ubud Food Festival and Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, has lived in Bali for more than three decades. She is the author of two books; Bali, Food of My Island Home and Fragrant Rice. She is also the owner of Casa Luna, Indus Restaurant, and Honey moon Guesthouse and Bakery in Ubud. 

Beijing International Book Fair (China)

The Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) attracts over 1,700 exhibitors from 80 countries and regions, drawing approximately 300,000 visitors annually, and facilitating over 2,000 copyright transactions each year.