Book a festival ticket now

The Edinburgh International Book Festival is a beautiful thing. Amid the usual hubbub of Scotland’s capital in August, it has been an oasis of gentleness, civility and calm.

It is a festival that really does shed light on the human condition in myriad ways, be they serious and profound, emotionally affecting or fun. These are just some of the reasons it is so well-loved, particularly by writers.

So we should not be surprised that this year’s event – although restricted in audience numbers because of social distancing – is shaping up to be one of the best in its long history.

There will be Booker Prize winners like Shuggie Bain author Douglas Stuart – to be interviewed by Nicola Sturgeon – and Salman Rushdie; Pulitzer Prize winners like Marilynne Robinson, of Gilead fame; and Nobel Prize winners Amartya Sen, an economist, and Kazuo Ishiguro, author of The Remains of the Day. And if that’s not enough there will such leading Scottish figures as Val Mcdermid, Ian Rankin, Maggie O’farrell, AL Kennedy and Alexander Mccall Smith.

Just like the audience, some will take part in person, while others do so online. But however they appear, that truly is one heck of a line-up.

There have been fears for the survival of some major festivals and events because of the devastating impact of the Covid pandemic. But with talent like that taking part, the future of the book festival is surely in good hands.