About Us

The Edinburgh International Book Festival is a charity which exists to celebrate and share the power of writers, their ideas, and the words they craft to illuminate, challenge, and inspire.  

Since 1983, we have welcomed millions of visitors into conversations with the world’s greatest and most exciting emerging writers, thinkers, artists, and performers. Iconic figures such as Margaret Atwood, Alain de Botton, Oliver Burkeman, Noam Chomsky, Seamus Heaney, Kazuo Ishiguro, Toni Morrison, Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie, and Benjamin Zephaniah have appeared on our stages over the years, alongside a wide range of debut and early career authors. 

Across the hundreds of events in our Adults, Young Adults, Schools, and Children’s programmes, the Book Festival offers audiences aged from 0 to 100 an active opportunity to engage with new and different perspectives on the world, create lasting memories through storytelling, fill their minds with fascinating knowledge, and discover the creative secrets of writers and artists.

We strive to be a safe and supported environment for people to have difficult discussions and lively debates in an atmosphere of curiosity and consideration, where different opinions can be respectfully shared. We are proud to platform voices and stories which are often overlooked, and are committed to breaking down barriers to access for those who may not initially consider themselves as a Book Festival audience.

Beyond August, the Book Festival is a year-round force for literary engagement. Working with partners in the local community – including schools, libraries, prisons, hospitals, and other community hubs – we foster a lifelong love of reading, embrace the life-changing potential of creativity, and develop engaged, informed audiences of all backgrounds and ages.

The Book Festival receives core funding through Creative Scotland. We are a registered charity and not-for-profit organisation, and rely greatly on the support of individuals, foundations and sponsors to continue to deliver world-class events and work towards our ambitions to improve literacy in Scotland. We are a founding member of Festivals Edinburgh. 

Find out more about the key aspects of our work:

Schools Programme – https://learning.edbookfest.co.uk/schools/schools-programme/
Schools Outreach – https://learning.edbookfest.co.uk/schools/outreach/
Communities – https://ontheroad.edbookfest.co.uk
Edinburgh International Book Festival - https://www.edbookfest.co.uk