This years EIBF theme is "Changing your Mind" It’s a profound and wide ranging question – how do we find common ground – commonality? If one side uses banal slogans that will not move any conversation forward.
A positive are festivals, which can bring diverse people together in have, explorative conversations and informed. Reading books is one of the best ways to understand different experiences, to learn empathy and expand horizons.
Some excellent talks this year - Elif Shafak, AC Grayling, Colson Whitehead, Diana Galbaldon,
Scotland of the World – with leading Scottish writers Ali Smith, Len Pennia, Kathleen Jamie, William Dalrymple with international musicians, artists and performers. At Greyfriars kirkyard.
Expanding horizons matters greatly to changing your mind. Some of us have long held and entrenched views of the world. It can be very challenging to change our views. Some of us older folks view the world through our out-dated lens – stuck in the 80s or 50s. We must listen to younger people, or the wise academic, or pay attention to the arts. Creative people often hold deep insights.
Try to look at the world through a wider lens. Ignorance can hold us back - we must be open-minded to new ideas, to new conversations and to new perspectives, to different cultures.
On the subject of Scotland’s Self determination – this is about how we can improve democracy and better media for Scotland - and not about being nationality or being British or Scottish.
As the sun goes down on the festivals for 2026, I’m always filled with a sense of loss and nostalgia – over the many unforgettable and fun times I’ve enjoyed here Edina over the past twenty years. The performers, press and organisers are all packing up, a little exhauster now but also inspired.
HOPE!!
According to a new poll – festivals offer people hope.
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| Elif Shafak |
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| AC Grayling |
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| Alexander McColl Smith |
Almost 600 writers from 41 countries gathered in Edinburgh 15–30 August to present 600 events spanning fiction, politics, science, history, music, and live performance in a 16-day curated programme.
At a time of intense polarisation and entrenched positions, our 2026 theme Changing Your Mind invited audiences to stay open and curious, championing deep listening and celebrating our capacity to evolve our thinking, informed by a range of reliable experts and diverse perspectives. The Book festival curated a programme of voices, experts, and ideas, to create space for informed, nuanced public conversation, and encouraged new and alternative thinking - a much-needed alternative to debate driven by reaction and polarisation.
Major public figures included former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, technology writer Cory Doctorow, best-selling author Michael Pollan, and award-winning poet Claudia Rankine, alongside leading writers from across the world. A landmark event of the bestselling writers of all time, John Grisham, and iconic Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin together on stage, crowning The Front List line-up at the McEwan Hall.
Other renowned fiction writers include Maggie O’Farrell, Ann Patchett, Ali Smith, Jenni Fagan, Colm Toíbín, Matt Haig, Louise Welsh, Nao-Cola Yamazaki, Candice Carty-Williams,Ben Lerner, and 2026 International Booker Prize winner Yáng Shuāng-zi
GrGREYFRIARS Kirk became a Book Festival venue, hosting Scotland to the World - a new series connecting leading Scottish writers Ali Smith, Len Pennie, Kathleen Jamie, and William Dalrymple with international musicians, artists and performers.·
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| Diana Gabaldon |
**EIBF TALKS 2026
Jimmy Wales 18th august - The Seven Rules of Trust
As trust in billionaire-owned social media platforms continues to plummet, it’s astonishing to see how crowd-sourced knowledge bank, Wikipedia – once a byword for dubious accuracy – has built up its readers’ faith to become one of the internet’s most clear-sighted information sources. Maintaining confidence in a landscape of untruths is important to Wikipedia’s legendary founder Jimmy Wales. We’re thrilled to welcome this key figure of the online age to discuss his book The Seven Rules of Trust. Chaired by Heather Parry.
Colson Whitehead – Forntlist – 21 August - Cool Machine
is one of America’s most skilled and essential storytellers, holding the horrors of history in one hand and big-hearted humanity in the other. After consecutive Pulitzer Prize-winners, The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, he concludes his acclaimed Harlem trilogy with Cool Machine: a portrait of hustle in 1980s New York. Join Whitehead, who is uniquely qualified to parse America’s past and present, for an energising conversation on why we can’t move forward without looking back. Chaired by Samira Ahmed.
Oliver Bullough, Everybody Loves our Dollars
24th August 2026 Venue T 5pm
Following his oligarch-busting Butler to the World, Oliver Bullough returns to hang the world’s dirty money out to dry. In Everybody Loves Our Dollars, Bullough suggests there’s never been a better time to be a criminal in the UK. Moving and hiding money couldn’t be easier, and despite efforts to legislate, it’s estimated as much as 5% of world GDP is on the grubbier side. This revelatory conversation brings a murky underworld into razor-sharp focus. Chaired by Paul French.
25th August 2026, Kirsty Gunn, Alan Riach, and James Robertson: Scotland 1926
100 years ago, Scottish literature was crackling with new energy. In this lively panel chat, Kirsty Gunn, Alan Riach, and James Robertson revisit the Scottish Renaissance through landmark works including Hugh MacDiarmid’s A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle, the early work of Neil M Gunn (newly reissued this year), and other under-sung voices including Willa Muir and Helen Cruickshank. Deep dive into a remarkable literary moment and the writers who helped reshape Scotland’s imaginative life. Chaired by Linden Bicket.
AC Grayling: For the People - 25th August
The great British philosopher and academic A C Grayling’s appearances are always an intellectual highlight of the Book Festival, as he turns his forensic, yet empathetic, gaze upon defining issues of our time. This year, Grayling addresses the urgent theme of his new book, For the People, exploring how the forces of authoritarianism, election interference, and loss of faith in our institutions threaten the collapse of democracy, while offering bold suggestions for its survival.
Jeremy Hunt: Can we be great again
A major figure in the previous Conservative UK Government, Jeremy Hunt has served as Chancellor and Foreign Secretary, and led the Culture and (controversial) Health briefs. His Can We Be Great Again? is a timely read in a world of shifting geopolitical faultlines. Rebutting the idea that the UK is in inevitable decline on the international stage, join Hunt as he sets out a new take on how our influence can be used to positively affect global democracy, migration, trade, and climate. Chaired by Peter MacMahon.
28th August 2026 – 3.15
Colm Tóibín – author of 12 books including the multi-award-winning Brooklyn – is one of modern Ireland’s greatest writers. He talks with Chris Power about his breathtaking new story collection, The News from Dublin, exploring the lives of those living far from home: from Galway to Barcelona, Enniscorthy to San Francisco, and beyond. This promises to be an illuminating conversation with a true master of the craft.
“Our theme 'Changing Your Mind' speaks to the moment we're in. At a time when opinions seem increasingly polarised and online debate is so divisive, we're creating space for thoughtful, nuanced conversations - exploring the reasons for our increasing social and political divides, and how we might change each others' minds, or at least agree to disagree, more agreeably. We're also looking at the potential of the human brain to adapt and relearn, and at the unparalleled power of stories to change our thinking. Changing your mind is a lifelong process of staying open to new ideas. By bringing amazing speakers and curious audiences together, around knowledge and perspectives that help us challenge our assumptions and see the world differently, we hope the Festival programme this year will help us gain a deeper understanding of both ourselves and each other.” Director, Jenny Niven
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| Nile Rodgers |
