Book Fest in Performance
BookFest: Booking opens today, Thurs 28 June.
The Edinburgh International Book Festival, now firmly established at the Edinburgh Futures Institute in Lauriston Place, has its usual quota of performance and theatre-related events in 2026.
As well as the Spiegeltent (which will also be the home of the BBC’s Edinburgh output from 17-21 August), and the high-profile Front List events at the McEwan Hall, the Festival will be making use of Greyfriars Kirk as a venue for the first time.
Noh Reimagined, who will be performing in Greyfriars Kirk. Pic: Supplied.
Greyfriars will be the main home of the Scotland To The World strand, with events seeking to combine Scottish writing with international music and performance.
Most intriguing of these is Nonoyima/Song of Rona Island, which has two performances (Mon 24 and Tue 25 August). This features experimental Japanese Noh theatre troupe Noh Reimagined, who will first present the second act of a 15th century Noh masterpiece based on the 11th century Tale of Genji.
The second half, Song of Rona Island, is inspired by Kathleen Jamie’s essay On Rona. It blends dialogue, chant, dance, music, Noh performers and Scots musicians Aidan O’Rourke (of Lau fame) and Brighde Chaimbeul to trace the past of an abandoned Hebridean island.
unexpected collaboration
This is exactly the sort of unexpected collaboration Edinburgh in August used to be famous for, and simply demands to be seen.
Other performances at Greyfriars, both part of the strand, are Delusions, a collaboration between poet Len Pennie and composer Paul Leonard-Morgan that was first seen at this year’s Celtic Connections; and an event featuring New European Ensemble of the Netherlands and novelist Ali Smith based on Smith’s Seasonal Quartet.
Poet Len Pennie and composer Paul Leonard Morgan will perform Delusions in Greyfriars Kirk. Pics: Supplied
Two further Scotland to the World events take place back in the Futures Institute. The Golden Road, with writer William Dalrymple and India Alba, musicians who blend Scottish traditions with Indian classical music is in Venue T and a round-up event, On Adaptation will be in Venue B, when Kate Molleson will interview the artists behind Delusions and Seasonal Quartet.
Other performance-based events include Dave Hook, Rob Drummond and Orla O’Loughlin talking about the CATS-nominated Scottish hip-hop musical Wallace before an autumn tour in its new expanded form, and an appearance by Grant McPhee talking to Nicola Meighan about his history of Scottish punk Caledonia Screaming, which promises a set by a supergroup of Fay Fife, Alex Fergusson, Ken McCluskey and James King.
one-off encore
Hamish Hawk returns to the Spiegeltent with a one-off encore of last year’s hit production Life in a Scotch Sitting Room, Vol. 0, in which he blends his own take on some of Scottish poet eccentric Ivor Cutler’s iconic works with his own original passages and compositions.
And Nicola Meighan (again) will be hosting 10 Years After David Bowie: Sound & Visions, an evening celebrating Bowie’s music, writing, iconography and theatrical worlds. Lung Leg will be providing the Bowie covers, while Justin Currie and Val McDermid will be discussing the impact of Bowie’s many personas.
The New European Ensemble Group who will collaborate with novelist Ali Smith for Seasonal Quartet at Greyfriars Kirk. Pic: Supplied.
The rest of the festival has over 600 events featuring nearly 600 writers from 41 countries. Its main theme of Changing Your Mind asks audiences to stay open and curious, and is further split up into Can You Change Your Mind?, Consciousness Now and Stories That Change Us.
There is also the expected diversity of events. Headings for 2026 include Brilliant Fiction, Good Information, New World Orders, Fascinating Non-Fiction, Poetry and Table Talk. Fiction writers attending include Maggie O’Farrell, Matt Haig, Mieko Kawamaki, Colm Tóibín and the just-announced John Grisham. Non-fiction authors include Gordon Brown, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, Cory Doctorow, Sarah Wynn-Williams, and Philippa Perry.
The Schools Programme will be its usual vibrant self, and the Festival will be working with the National Year of Reading; something particularly important after the recent revelation that fewer than 1 in 5 children now read daily.
The Festival’s work with the community throughout Edinburgh also continues, and many events will once again be livestreamed for those who cannot get to Edinburgh.
The Edinburgh International Book Festival 2026
Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Place, EH3 9EF
Saturday 15 – Sunday 30 August 2026
The programme is here: www.edbookfest.co.uk
Booking opens Thursday 25 June at 10m.
Selected Listing
Venue B and Venue T are in the Futures Institute building. The Spiegeltent is in its main outside space, accessed from Middle Meadow Walk.
India Alba & William Dalrymple: The Golden Road
Venue T
Sun 16 Aug 2026: 20:30 – 21:30
Details and booking link here.
Rob Drummond, Dave Hook & Orla O’Loughlin: Hip-Hop Wallace
Spiegeltent
Sun 16 Aug 2026: 20:30 – 22:00
Details and booking link here.
10 Years After David Bowie: Sound & Visions
Spiegeltent
Sun 23 Aug 2026: 20:30 – 22:00
Details and booking link here.
Nonomiya/Song of Rona Island
Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place, EH1 2QQ
Mon 24 & Tue 25 Aug 2026: 19:00 – 21:00
Details and booking link here.
Hamish Hawk: Life in a Scotch Sitting Room, Vol. 0 – The Encore
Spiegeltent
Wed 26 Aug 2026: 21:00 – 22:30
Details and booking link here.
Len Pennie & Paul-Leonard Morgan: Delusions
Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place, EH1 2QQ
Thu 27 Aug 2026: 19:00 – 21:00
Details and booking link here.
Scotland to the World: On Adaptation
Edinburgh Futures Institute (Venue B), 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF,
Fri 28 Aug 2026: 12:00 – 13:00
Details and booking link here.
Seasonal Quartet: New European Ensemble & Ali Smith
Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place, EH1 2QQ
Fri 28 Aug 2026: 19:00 – 21:00
Details and booking link here.
Caledonia Screaming: 50 Years of Punk
Spiegeltent
Fri 28 Aug 2026: 20:30 – 22:30
Details and booking link here.
ENDS
