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. Around 1000 authors appear in over 800 events, including novelists, poets, scientists, sportsmen, illustrators, comics creators, historians, musicians, biographers, Nobel and Booker prize-winners and many more besides.

Use one or more of the search filters below to find events.

    Browse this year's themes

    Gbontwi Anyetei & Ryan Gattis

    Treading the Mean Streets

    Thursday 17 August 7:00pm - 8:00pm

    Gbontwi Anyetei & Ryan Gattis
    Urban crime dramas with maverick central characters connect these two novels. Gbontwi Anyetei’s Mensah drops us into a deprived part of London where an African community is served well by the eponymous problem-solver until one job threatens...

    Denise Mina

    Taking the Leap from Fiction to Faction

    Thursday 17 August 7:15pm - 8:15pm

    Denise Mina
    Acclaimed crime fiction writer Denise Mina has recently dipped her toe into the often controversial world of the true crime novel. The Long Drop recalls the 1957 pub encounter when Peter Manuel convinced William Watt that he could find the weapon used...

    Imagined Theatres

    Visions of the World on Stage

    Thursday 17 August 7:30pm - 9:00pm

    Imagined Theatres
    Imagined Theatres is a unique flight of fancy, a daring project of the imagination. Inspired by Italo Calvino and Jorge Luis Borges, American theatre maker Daniel Sack asked 121 writers and artists to respond with new visions of the world, no more than...

    Luke Allnutt, Nikita Gill & Katherine May

    Read Next Year’s Bestsellers Now

    Thursday 17 August 8:15pm - 9:15pm

    Luke Allnutt, Nikita Gill & Katherine May
    Discover three of the hottest debut authors before everyone else. Luke Allnutt’s heartbreaking novel We Own The Sky is inspired by his battle with cancer and was fought over by publishers; Nikita Gill is one of our most exciting ‘Instapoets’,...
    Sold Out

    Chris Patten

    Confessions of a Grand Poobah

    Thursday 17 August 8:15pm - 9:15pm

    Chris Patten Sold Out
    Why not try? Farida Khalaf & Andrea C Hoffman Farida Khalaf & Andrea C Hoffman Great Bravery, Great Escape Sat 12 Aug 4:00pm - 5:00pm

    Yiyun Li

    A Remarkable Memoir

    Thursday 17 August 8:30pm - 9:30pm

    Yiyun Li
    In 2012, Yiyun Li, the award-winning Chinese-American fiction writer, twice tried to kill herself. When she left hospital, everyone was full of advice: ‘You should do this or that; you must isolate yourself less.’ But instead she wrote her memoir,...

    Peter Høeg & Michelle Paver

    Thrilling Fiction

    Thursday 17 August 8:45pm - 9:45pm

    Peter Høeg & Michelle Paver
    Twenty-five years after his acclaimed novel Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow, Peter Høeg shares his topical Danish techno-thriller The Susan Effect, set at a time of political unrest. Michelle Paver, well-known for her award-winning children's books,...

    Unbound

    The Donaldsons Strike Back!

    Thursday 17 August 9:00pm - 11:00pm

    Unbound
    After storming the Spiegeltent in 2015, legend of children’s literature Julia Donaldson, and her husband Malcolm, return to the Unbound stage for more rambunctious stories and songs. The creator of the world-famous Gruffalo has escaped for one night...
    Sold Out

    Kate McLelland: Pony Pals

    Age 3-6

    Friday 18 August 10:00am - 11:00am

    Kate McLelland: Pony Pals Sold Out
    Why not try? Yuval Zommer: Valuable Friendships Yuval Zommer: Valuable Friendships Age 3-6 Mon 21 Aug 1:45pm - 2:45pm

    Nairn's Are You Sitting Comfortably?

    All Ages

    Friday 18 August 10:00am - 10:30am

    Nairn's Are You Sitting Comfortably?
    Start your day with a magical trip into the world of words with one of our Festival authors. Stories, poems, songs or rhymes may feature in this free event suitable for children of all ages. Appearing today: Edinburgh for Under Fives.

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