Undiscovered Scotland

 

With a number of longer established and larger festivals such as the Fringe and the International Festival competing for your attention, it is too easy to overlook the joys of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, held in the University of Edinburgh’s College of Art and in venues close by, in the second half of August each year.

The Book Festival started life as a biennial festival in 1983, becoming an annual event in 1997. Now the world's biggest book festival, the Edinburgh International Book Festival sees capacity audiences, not just for world-renowned writers and thinkers, but also for new and international authors little known in the UK.

In 2023 the core of the Book Festival was again located in the leafy courtyard setting of the College of Art at Lauriston Place. Over 550 authors and illustrators joined the festival from across the world to share their stories, ideas and perspectives and there were over 500 events for adults, children and teens. 100 events were live streamed on the Book Festival website, available to watch for free on a big outdoor screen in the Festival's courtyard area or from home with a Pay What You Can ticket price. (Continues below images...)

 

Audiences enjoyed sessions with authors from every genre, welcomed exclusive previews of upcoming new books, as well as enjoying first sightings of new writing. The 2023 programme, though still smaller than in pre-Covid years, brought together authors and participants from politicians to graphic novelists, from actors to celebrities and from sports stars to scientists including former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Jackie Kay, Fergal Keane, Val McDermid, Judy Murray, Sara Pascoe, Claudia Rankine, Ali Smith and Devi Sridhar to name just a few.

Celebrating 'The Joy of Words', the 2023 festival included author events, panel discussions, creative workshops and other activities. Embracing the convivial spirit of the 2023 programme, Think Tanks was a series of events offering audiences the chance to have robust conversations on topical issues, whilst also enjoying food and wine (or a soft drink). Leading scholar Kate Crawford introduced the ethics of AI, whilst The Good Law Project's Jolyon Maugham KC asked how the law can improve government.

Families and children had a choice of events across the Baillie Gifford Children's Programme including appearances from Julia Donaldson and Children's laureate Joseph Coelho. There were music sessions, craft workshops, the return of 'Are You Sitting Comfortably' in The Storytime Yurt every morning, an animated outdoor space and, on the final weekend, a Dragon Hunt, with 10 dragons illustrated by Cressida Cowell were hidden around ECA for families to find, in celebration of 20 years of How to Train Your Dragon.

The Book Festival is the largest public celebration of books and ideas in the world. Since the success and international prominence of the 2004 Book Festival, there has been rapid progress in developing Edinburgh's status as a major year-round literary centre. This resulted, in October 2004, in UNESCO's declaration of Edinburgh as the world's first ever City of Literature. Work has now begun on establishing an international network of such cities, based on the Edinburgh model.

The core of the festival are the events that bring together authors and their readers. These include a series of book signings throughout the festival, as well as talks, interviews, discussions and more, all held in a series of venues in the College of Art itself and in nearby Central Hall. Refreshments are available at several locations around the festival, including in the excellent College Cafe.

A bookshop also operates as part of the festival and a wide range of books are on offer. Coverage is good, including signed copies on sale from authors who have attended the festival. Books from and about Scotland are well represented, with a section comprising the latest publications from a number of Scottish publishers. You can browse to your heart's content. And because the bookshop is owned and operated by the festival, all profits made from the books you buy go straight back into making the festival better, for readers and writers alike.

Or you can simply sit back and relax, taking in the unique atmosphere generated by a gathering of like-minded people interested in understanding more about the world of books. Space is made available just to sit and talk or read, both under cover and outside on the grass, where you can also enjoy the (hopefully) blue skies of Edinburgh in August.