What's on | Edinburgh International Book Festival

Welcome to the Book Festival

Set in a specially created tented village in the heart of Edinburgh, the Edinburgh International Book Festival offers something for just about every age and interest, bringing readers and writers together for inspiration, entertainment and discussion.

The Book Festival welcomes around 900 authors from over 60 countries in more than 800 events for adults and children each year including novelists, poets, scientists, philosophers, sportsmen, illustrators, comic creators, historians, musicians, biographers, environmentalists, economists, Nobel and Booker prize-winners and many more besides.

The 2019 Book Festival takes place from 10-26 August.

Full details of the programme, including authors, themes and events with BSL interpretation and captioning will be available here from 18.30 on Thursday 6 June.

Request a brochure for the 2019 Festival

In the meantime, you can enjoy Festival photographs, listen to or download free podcasts of event recordings and watch exclusive interviews and Festival highlights from past Book Festivals here on our website, on our YouTube channel and on itunes.

Tom Fletcher event, December 2019

Book Festival staff at Assembly Rooms for Tom Fletcher: © Robin Mair

Tom Fletcher fan poses with book: © Robin Mair

Young book fan reads while waiting to meet Tom Fletcher: © Robin Mair

Assembly Rooms for Tom Fletcher: © Robin Mair

Leah Boleto and Tom Fletcher: © Robin Mair

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Look, Listen & read

Mary Robinson at the Edinburgh International Book Festival

While the realities of climate change are not always visible, the realisation that our grandchildren will live in troubled times can catalyse action. After becoming a grandmother, former Irish president and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson travelled the world to learn about the fight back. In Climate Justice, she describes the people working to overcome the threat. In this event filmed live at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival she shares her hopeful account in conversation w…