Celebrating the 2024 Book Festival

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Over 100,000 visits were made to our new home at the Edinburgh Futures Institute between 10-25 August 2024, with thousands of curious passers-by exploring and enjoying the new site, as well as almost 70,000 in-person ticket holders. They were joined digitally by viewers in 55 countries who enjoyed livestreamed events – most of which are still available on demand.

Future Tense tackled topics of global importance ranging from AI to the climate crisis, capitalism to the war in the Middle East, migration to inheritance, and more besides. Legendary authors, writers, poets, thinkers and entertainers including Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie (who joined down the line), Richard Osman, Dolly Alderton, Alan Cumming & Forbes Masson, Phillipa Gregory, Jackie Kay, James O’Brien, Lemn Sissay, Elif Shafak, Louise Welsh, Raja Shehadeh, Marian Keyes, Roger McGough appeared on stage, alongside RF Kuang, Blindboy, Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, Evie Wyld, Julius Roberts, and Samantha Shannon. As well as greats from the literary sector, stars of music and film (Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai, Esther Swift, Evelynn Glennie, Stuart Murdoch, Steven Moffat, Anjoa Andoh), theatre makers (including Grid Iron’s Ben Harrison), producers, publishers (many appearing as part of the Business of Books strand aimed at those in the industry), and artists (Ruth Millington, Kate Leiper) and actors also featured, bringing the multi disciplinary magic of the Edinburgh Festivals to life. 

This year we presented a number of new format events, many celebrating cross-discipline collaboration, including the Perambulations of a Justified Sinner digital experience, and the intimate Have Lunch With… series at Elliott’s Studio, featuring chef-writers (Asma Khan, Sami Tamimi and Rachel Roddy). Clean Money: Can Fundraising Ever Be Ethical brought in audience members with a variety of views to discuss the detail and nuance of modern arts funding in a safe and supported space, and events including ThinkTanks offered audiences unparalleled access to world-class minds including Harold Hongju Koh, Ingrid Robeyns, Joseph Stiglitz and Ken Costa. Voices from across the political spectrum also joined the conversation, with appearances from John Swinney, Jess Phillips, Caroline Lucas, Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan. 

Over the course of the Festival, more than 4,500 school children from 89 schools, in year P1 to S6 attended free events and each received a free book, supported by the final instalment of Baillie Gifford’s funding. Also during the period, authors including Andrew O’Hagan, Amy Liptrot, Jenni Fagan and Joseph Coelho attended schools, prisons and local Reading Centres as part of the Book Festival’s year-round Communities programme. 

And our retail partners, Waterstones, showed that reading is still a top hobby, with almost 31,000 books sold - most popular of which was Alex Howard's Edinburgh-set The Ghost Cat.

Jenny Niven, Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said: “We are absolutely thrilled with the success of the Book Festival this year. Audiences have voted with their feet and we’ve seen full houses and brilliant, engaged crowds. Debate and discussion has been relished by audiences and authors alike proving the Festival is a truly important space for people to be inspired and come together. 

Edinburgh Futures Institute as a Book Festival venue has been terrific and we’re already looking at the ways we can build on what we’ve created for next year. We’re looking forward to beginning conversations in the Autumn with everyone who will be part of our story in our next glorious edition.”

Jamie Crawford, incoming Chair of the Edinburgh International Book Festival Board, said: “For the past two weeks, the excitement at this new chapter in the story of the book festival - from authors, staff and audiences - has been palpable. The new space at the Futures Institute has opened up a long-dormant part of the city, and it has clearly demonstrated its value and its huge potential for the future. As for right now, it is crucial to reflect on the great success of this year’s festival to underline the critical importance of literary culture to Edinburgh and Scotland. It is in everyone’s interests to support it and to see it thrive.”

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone again in 2025 – after we’ve all had a little lie down…