Venues at the Book Festival

Covid-19 safety

The Book Festival will follow Scottish Government and City of Edinburgh Council health and safety recommendations at all times to ensure the safety of our audiences, artists and team. Please continue to check the website for the latest Covid-19 safety measures at Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Seating

All seats in our venues are unreserved (seats don't have numbers). Our front of house staff will guide you into the venue and direct you where to sit to ensure everyone is seated quickly and safely. Please be kind and helpful to our front of house staff and others in the venue by following their instructions.

Authors appearing remotely

Nearly all our Festival authors and artists are appearing on stage, in-person this year. For the few who are taking part remotely, you’ll watch them on a large screen in the venue. When an author is appearing remotely it is indicated with a tag under the event listing in the brochure, and in bold text at the bottom of the event description on the website. If you buy a ticket to watch an event in-person, you’ll watch remote participants live on a large screen in the venue.

Venues

The Book Festival Village is located at Edinburgh College of Art at 74 Lauriston Place in central Edinburgh EH3 9DF. All our event venues are dotted around the Village. If using a SatNav or Google Maps, please make sure to search for our full address as the postcode covers a large area.

Baillie Gifford Sculpture Court

Our largest theatre is also a broadcast studio. Most events here will be livestreamed to people watching online from home. This means that fixed and roving cameras will capture and broadcast live footage of the stage and may also capture footage of the audiences in the venue watching. Please arrive in good time – once the doors are closed, we will not be able to admit latecomers to preserve the quality of the live broadcast and prevent disruption to others in the venue. Latecomers are not entitled to a refund.

West Court, Spark Theatre & Wee Red Bar

Medium sized theatre-style venues located in various buildings off the Courtyard.

Albertina’s & Castle View Studio

Informal, intimate spaces for smaller-sized audiences. Castle View Studio is our main adult workshop space with magnificent views to the castle. Albertina’s is a comfortable area off the Café with views over the Courtyard.

Baillie Gifford Storytime Yurt & Baillie Gifford Creation Station

Two informal spaces for children’s events, workshops and creative activities. The Storytime Yurt sits in the heart of the Baillie Gifford Children’s Area near the café, and the Creation Station is located inside the main building off the Courtyard.

Latecomers

Please allow yourself plenty of time to collect tickets and make your way to your venue. We don’t admit latecomers after the start of events in most of our venues due to the nature of the spaces and events. If you are late, we won’t be able to seat you. Latecomers are not entitled to a refund.

Watching events on-demand

Most livestreamed events are available to watch on-demand after the livestream has finished for a period of time. Check the event pages to see how long your event is available.