News Story

This August we're very excited to be welcoming 20 festival directors from 17 countries to Edinburgh as part of Global Ink 2026.

In its third year, Global Ink is our flagship international forum, supported by the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland Festivals EXPO Fund. Taking place from 17–19 August, we're bringing together senior figures working across Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America for sustained dialogue, collaboration and shared learning.

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.

Confirmed participants include directors of the Sydney Writers’ Festival, Toronto International Festival of Authors, Gothenburg Book Fair, Ubud Writers & Readers Festival and San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Festival, alongside festivals and cultural organisations from India, Argentina, China and across Europe’s major cultural centres.

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!

We hope these shared experiences will create lasting partnerships, as well as opportunities to platform Scottish writers and creatives to an international network of festivals, stages and audiences.

Meet the Global Ink 2026 delegates.

Jenny Niven, Director of Edinburgh International Book Festival, said:

“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.”

Global Ink 2026 delegates

Oceania

Ann Mossop – Sydney Writers’ Festival (Australia)
Rosemarie Milsom – Adelaide Writers' Week (Australia)
Lyndsey Fineran – Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki (Aotearoa New Zealand)

North America

Roland Gulliver – Toronto International Festival of Authors (Canada)
Shelley Youngblut – Wordfest, Calgary (Canada)
Jodi Pincus – San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Literary Festival (Mexico)
Amanda Bullock – Literary Arts / Portland Book Festival (USA)
Marianne DeLeón – Texas Book Festival (USA)

South America

Daniela Ini — FILBA (Argentina)

Europe

Lucie Campos Mitchell – Villa Gillet / Littérature Live (France)
Perdita Maria Luise Krämer – Bremer Krimifestival CRIME TIME (Germany)
Aimée van Wylick – International Literature Festival Dublin (Ireland)
Judith Uyterlinde – Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival, The Hague (Netherlands)
Marit Borkenhagen – Norwegian Festival of Literature (Norway)
Carolina Pietyra – Kraków Festival Office / UNESCO City of Literature (Poland)
Oskar Ekström – Gothenburg Book Fair (Sweden)

Middle East

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

Asia

Govind Deecee – Kerala Literature Festival / DC Books (India)
Janet DeNeefe – Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (Indonesia)
Beijing International Book Fair (China)

Find out more about all the delegates on our Global Ink page.