- 20% increase in footfall, with more than 28,000 people welcomed to the site on each of the Book Festival’s three weekends
- Fewer events delivered more ticket sales, with 62% of tickets sold to people in EH postcodes
- Changing Your Mind: Book Festival audiences gathered to explore the defining questions of our age, from AI and social media to democracy, culture and the future of society
- People in 52 countries tuned in online, extending the Book Festival’s international reach
- 62 schools from across Scotland were welcomed during the National Year of Reading, with every child receiving a free book
- 217 library watch parties across more than 80 libraries in 22 local authority areas brought Book Festival conversations to communities across Scotland
- International artists, writers and cultural leaders came together through Global Ink and Scotland to the World
- Val McDermid and Jo Sharp’s This Door of the Seas and Lyse Doucet’s The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan were among the Book Festival’s bestselling books
Edinburgh International Book Festival has concluded a record-breaking year that reaffirmed its position as one of the world’s leading spaces for public conversation.
With a smaller programme but a higher proportion of available tickets sold, the Book Festival brought together writers, thinkers, artists and audiences to explore the defining issues of our time under this year’s theme, Changing Your Mind.
In its third year at Edinburgh Futures Institute, footfall increased by 20% compared with last year, while ticket sales rose despite a smaller programme. Meanwhile, 62% of tickets were sold to people in EH postcodes, underlining the Book Festival’s strong local support.
Alongside major discussions on politics, technology and society, audiences flocked to hear acclaimed fiction writers including John Grisham, Maggie O’Farrell and 2026 International Booker Prize winners Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and Lin King.
The programme also brought together leading voices writing in English alongside internationally celebrated authors in translation, reinforcing the Book Festival’s reputation as a global home for literature and storytelling.
Together, these conversations demonstrated the Book Festival’s role as a space where complex issues can be explored openly, while helping connect people of all ages with books, writers and reading.
Jenny Niven, Director and CEO of Edinburgh International Book Festival, said: “Changing Your Mind was more than this year’s theme. It was an invitation to approach the world with curiosity rather than certainty, and to do that in real life, in the company of other people, has felt both joyful and necessary.
“In the National Year of Reading, it is heartening to see footfall increase, more tickets sold across a smaller programme and our Waterstones bookshop achieve its biggest-ever sales. At a time when literacy rates are declining, book festivals have an important role in helping people discover the pleasure, confidence and connection that reading can bring. Our schools programme, free books for every child attending and year-round work with communities are all part of that commitment.
“With 62% of tickets sold to people in EH postcodes, the Book Festival remains deeply rooted in Edinburgh. At the same time, people in 52 countries joined us online. That combination of strong local support and international reach shows a Book Festival that is both determinedly local and open-heartedly international.”
A PLACE TO DISCUSS THE DEFINING ISSUES OF OUR TIME
From artificial intelligence and social media to democracy, culture and creativity, the Book Festival provided a space for audiences to engage with some of the defining questions of our age.
Former technology executive and whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams highlighted the urgency of debates around social media and public discourse, arguing that “it’s really important that we start to build up that offline muscle of disagreement”, and warning that social media algorithms encourage people “to fix our identity in increasingly strident and narrow boxes.”
Professor Daisy Fancourt explored the growing importance of meaning, creativity and culture in an AI-driven world, arguing that “What we’re all inherently going to want more and more in an AI world is meaning.”
Politics and public life also remained central to the programme. Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown considered how citizens can help bring about positive change, while former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin reflected on the challenges and choices that shaped their leadership. Former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt also joined the programme, bringing audiences into conversations about the political and economic questions shaping public life.
The appetite for new perspectives extended beyond Book Festival events. The Book Festival’s Waterstones bookshop recorded its biggest-ever sales.
Among its bestselling titles were Val McDermid and Jo Sharp‘s This Door of the Seas and Lyse Doucet‘s The Finest Hotel in Kabul, reflecting audiences’ appetite for ideas and stories that help them see the world differently.
YEAR-ROUND IMPACT ACROSS SCOTLAND
The Book Festival’s commitment to access and participation extended far beyond Edinburgh through a programme of free digital activity hosted in communities across Scotland.
This year, more than 80 libraries across 22 local authority areas hosted 217 watch parties, enabling audiences to experience major Book Festival events together in their local communities. People from 52 countries also tuned in online, extending access to the programme around the world.
These free screenings ensured geography and cost were not barriers to participation and demonstrated how the Book Festival continues to use technology to connect audiences with writers, thinkers and ideas.
THE BBC
A new collaboration with the BBC brought Book Festival conversations to wider audiences through programmes including Front Row, Loose Ends and Take Four Books, extending the reach of writers, thinkers and cultural commentators appearing across the programme.
SUPPORTING THE NEXT GENERATION OF READERS
The Book Festival welcomed more than 62 schools from across Scotland and 21 from Edinburgh, with every child receiving a free book to take home.
Taking place during the National Year of Reading, the schools programme is central to the Book Festival’s commitment to encouraging reading and helping children build lasting relationships with books.
GLOBAL REACH THROUGH GLOBAL INK
2026 marked the third year of Global Ink, supported by Expo, bringing international festival directors from four continents to Edinburgh. The programme created opportunities to exchange ideas, develop partnerships and strengthen Edinburgh’s position as a global meeting place for literature, culture and ideas.
SCOTLAND TO THE WORLD
This year’s Book Festival also saw the continued development of Scotland to the World, showcasing ambitious collaborations between writers, musicians and theatre-makers.
Highlights included India Alba, Ali Smith’s collaboration with the New European Ensemble, Delusions by Len Pennie and Paul Leonard-Morgan, and a Japanese Noh Theatre adaptation of The Song of Rona Island, demonstrating how Scottish stories can inspire new artistic forms and reach audiences around the world.
