All Events

There are events for just about every age and interest at the Book Festival, bringing readers and writers together for inspiration, entertainment and discussion. Over 900 authors appear in around 800 events, including novelists, poets, scientists, sportsmen, illustrators, comics creators, historians, musicians, biographers, Nobel and Booker prize-winners and many more besides.

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    Browse this year's themes

    Songs from the Land: Sometimes I Speak English

    A Performance of Words and Music

    Thursday 15 August 20:00 - 21:30

    Songs from the Land: Sometimes I Speak English Buy Tickets
    In partnership with Montreal-based producer Émilie Monnet, we present a performance of words and music born out of indigenous experiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Inuit poet and throat singer Taqralik Partridge performs alongside celebrated Cree...

    Ian Rankin

    So good, it’s criminal

    Thursday 15 August 20:30 - 21:30

    BSL Event Ian Rankin Buy Tickets
    Since Ian Rankin’s appearance at last year’s Book Festival, his iconic detective Rebus has made his stage debut in Long Shadows and is set to star in a television series by Black Watch playwright Gregory Burke. Rankin’s latest, In a House of Lies,...

    Candice Carty-Williams & Annaleese Jochems

    Life for the reality TV generation

    Thursday 15 August 20:30 - 21:30

    Candice Carty-Williams & Annaleese Jochems Buy Tickets
    Meet two authors chronicling the off-kilter experiences of upbeat millennials. Candice Carty-Williams’s Queenie sees a Jamaican British woman search for identity. Jojo Moyes called the novel ‘brilliant, timely, funny, heartbreaking’. Annaleese...

    Kate Devlin

    Cometh the Sex Robots

    Thursday 15 August 20:45 - 21:45

    Kate Devlin Buy Tickets
    Sex robots may once have been the domain of science fiction but in Turned On, computer scientist and senior lecturer in Social and Cultural Artificial Intelligence, Kate Devlin asks how emerging technologies are making them a reality. From the automata...

    Unbound with Edinburgh Gin

    Live Literary Cabaret

    Thursday 15 August 21:00 - 23:00

    Unbound with Edinburgh Gin
    Grab a drink from the bar and settle in for some serious literary revelry. An enticing line-up of talent (revealed in The Skinny and on our website in July) plays with words, music and a lot more every night of the Festival.

    Are You Sitting Comfortably?

    All Ages

    Friday 16 August 10:00 - 10:30

    Are You Sitting Comfortably? Free Tickets
    Join one of our Festival authors each morning for a magical half hour of storytelling, poetry, song or rhyme. This daily changing event is suitable for children of all ages. Appearing today: Mylo Freeman.

    Ten at Ten

    Friday 16 August 10:00 - 10:10

    Ten at Ten Free Tickets
    A small yet perfectly formed reading from one of our Festival authors to start your day. Check the screen in the Entrance Tent to see who's reading today.

    Lesley Riddoch

    Still in Bloom

    Friday 16 August 10:00 - 11:00

    Lesley Riddoch Buy Tickets
    Lesley Riddoch’s Blossom was a joyful intervention into Scottish independence discussions before the 2014 referendum. The award-winning journalist shone a light on community action and the everyday heroes who showed Scotland has the potential to grow...

    Creative Crocodiles with Lucy Volpin

    Age 3-6

    Friday 16 August 10:00 - 11:00

    Creative Crocodiles with Lucy Volpin Buy Tickets
    Meet Crocodali, the most talented painter in the whole wide world, as you're invited to enter his studio. Lucy Volpin shares the story of her artistic croc and gets you involved with some fun, creative arts and crafts activities. Come along for giggles,...

    Tessa Hadley & Georgina Harding

    Living Memories

    Friday 16 August 10:15 - 11:15

    Tessa Hadley & Georgina Harding Buy Tickets
    Join two of the UK’s great contemporary novelists as they discuss their latest books on the inescapable workings of the past. Late in the Day by Tessa Hadley is a forensic study of relationships and remembrance. Orange Prize-shortlisted Georgina...

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