Edinburgh Book Festival: what to see from 15 August

demoduck.co.uk editorial team 2026-08-14 19:24 3 min read

People sit at picnic tables and on beanbags in a grassy courtyard by historic buildings.

The Edinburgh International Book Festival returns from Saturday 15 to Sunday 30 August, bringing more than 600 events to its main site at the University of Edinburgh’s Edinburgh Futures Institute. Its Front List series will add 15 events at McEwan Hall.

The University announcement, published on 14 August, does not provide ticket prices, booking arrangements or start times. The programme is likely to appeal particularly to readers interested in books, artificial intelligence, language, Scottish history and the relationship between literature and wellbeing.

A 16-day programme built around changing minds

This year’s theme, “Changing Your Mind”, encourages audiences to remain curious and consider unfamiliar perspectives. That idea runs through conversations about the internet, employment, disappearing languages, translation and healthcare.

The festival is returning to Edinburgh Futures Institute for a third year, while the University is also supporting discussions connected to digital skills, data and AI literacy. Readers planning a wider visit can also consult this guide to festival events at University venues.

Edinburgh Book Festival: what to see from 15 August

AI, online power and the future of work

One of the programme’s clearest technology-focused dates is Monday 17 August. Journalist Gabriel Gatehouse will chair a Front List conversation with Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and technology activist Cory Doctorow about the online forces shaping everyday life.

On Friday 21 August, Financial Times journalist Sarah O’Connor and social innovator Hilary Cottam will turn to employment. Their discussion will consider how artificial intelligence and new working practices could affect the way people work.

Publishing’s longer horizon comes into focus on Saturday 29 August through Future Library, the Oslo public-art project collecting one original manuscript annually from 2014 until 2114. Writers Elif Shafak and Valeria Luiselli will join Anne Beate Hovind and project creator Katie Paterson for a conversation that will reveal the next selected contributor.

Language and translation take centre stage

Scots poet Len Pennie and journalist Sophia Smith Galer meet on Saturday 15 August to discuss bilingual identity and what can disappear when a language is lost. The session connects personal experience with the wider erosion of culture.

A second language-centred event follows on Wednesday 19 August. Writers and translators Polly Barton, Daniel Hahn and Anton Hur will examine what happens when a book travels between languages and how literary work survives that journey.

Scottish history also enters the programme through crime writer Val McDermid and Geographer Royal for Scotland Jo Sharp. Joined by journalist Allan Little, they will discuss This Door of the Seas, their fictional retelling of an unexpected episode from Scotland’s past. The University source does not specify a date for this conversation.

The Compassion Salon links literature and wellbeing

On Sunday 23 August, the festival will host a special edition of The Compassion Salon, presented through Edinburgh Medical 300, which marks three centuries since the establishment of the University’s Faculty of Medicine.

Healthcare academic Marti Balaam, GP Gavin Francis, poet Hollie McNish and Edinburgh Makar Michael Pedersen will explore literature, empathy and wellbeing. It is the highlighted session that most directly brings creative writing into conversation with medicine and care.

The final source-confirmed programme highlight falls on Saturday 29 August, while the festival itself continues at Edinburgh Futures Institute and McEwan Hall through Sunday 30 August.

Source: University of Edinburgh News

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Dates, venues and named programme highlights were checked against the University of Edinburgh announcement published on 14 August 2026.

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Confirmed the festival dates as 15–30 August 2026.
Distinguished the main Edinburgh Futures Institute site from the 15 Front List events at M...
Used only named speakers and session dates stated in the source.
Flagged that prices, booking arrangements and start times were not supplied.

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