Festival 2025

16 days 
673 events 
682 authors and illustrators 
273 chairpeople 
160,000 site visits (a 60% uplift from 2024) 
76,681 tickets issued 
17,943 tickets bought by first-timers (that’s 23.4% of all tickets sold) 
118 free or Pay What You Can events 
35,000 books sold
4,702 free books for school pupils

Online

700 people attended watch parties in libraries across 12 Scottish local authorities 
Over 140 livestreamed and on demand events  
Almost 20,000 online event views 
63 countries joining online 

Schools and communities 

178 Communities participants taking part in Festival events 
27 Schools events 
4,702 pupils and teachers attending from 77 schools (all receiving a free book to take home)

Accessibility 

78% of events had access productions, including 
24 BSL interpreted events 
50 live captioned events 
450 AI captioned events 
5-star rating on Euan’s Guide 

And also… 

1 Scottish Thistle Award for Outstanding Cultural Event or Festival 

 

Want to explore more interesting facts and figures? Why not check out our Annual Impact Reports.