Edinburgh International Book Festival 2026 asks audiences to change their minds
The Edinburgh International Book Festival ran from 15 to 30 August 2026 under the theme Changing Your Mind, with almost 600 writers from 41 countries.
The 2026 Edinburgh International Book Festival ran from 15 to 30 August. The festival said almost 600 writers from 41 countries would present 600 events across its 16 days, covering fiction, politics, science, history, music and performance.
This year's theme was Changing Your Mind, which the festival framed around polarisation, deep listening and the capacity to revise one's views. Writers announced included Maggie O'Farrell, Ann Patchett, Ali Smith, Colm Tóibín, Matt Haig, Candice Carty-Williams, Ben Lerner and the 2026 International Booker Prize winner Yáng Shuāng-zi, with speakers on misinformation, data and technology.
Greyfriars Kirk became a festival venue for the first time, and a collaboration with the BBC turned the Spiegeltent into a daytime broadcast hub for part of the festival.
A theme about changing one's mind is, in its way, a defence of the long-form argument that books make and short posts do not. For authors, the practical interest lies in the broadcast partnership, which carries festival conversations to listeners who will never be in Edinburgh, and extends the reach of a single event well beyond the tent.
Source: Edinburgh International Book Festival: Full 2026 programme and theme announced.