Explore the Festival programme

The Edinburgh International Book Festival takes place from 15-30 August 2026. The programme will be available in June 2026. Sign up for our ebulletins or follow us on social media to hear announcements and updates.

In the meantime, you can enjoy watching nearly 150 events from the 2025 Festival on our website. 

2024 Book Festival Highlights

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Look, Listen & read

From Aotearoa to Alba: A Literary Exchange

From Aotearoa to Alba: A Literary Exchange

Scotland and New Zealand are separated by 11,113.48 miles. Yet in a cultural and literary sense, the distance isn't quite so great. Join us for a vibrant celebration of the poetic connections between the two nations, based on a shared love of performance and music…

Val McDermid: Portrait of a Criminal (2020 Event)
Val McDermid: Portrait of a Criminal (2020 Event)

Inspired in part by the wildly popular Portrait Artist of the Year competition, the ever-inventive Val McDermid teases the mysterious connection between Still Life and the Sky Arts…

Anne Enright with Vicky Featherstone: Mothers and Daughters (2020 Event)
Anne Enright with Vicky Featherstone: Mothers and Daughters (2020 Event)

‘You were always sitting in character, you were just never sure which one.’ So says Norah to the memory of her mother in Actress, the new novel by Anne Enright. The mother in…

The Ballad of Jemmy Button
The Ballad of Jemmy Button by Julia Donaldson

Around Cape Horn the wind howls cold; the glaciers meet the sea. A captain came with button box to bid for natives three…