How to book

Booking is now closed for 2024. Thank you for joining us.

Some tips to make it easy to book:

1. Make sure to register for an account at edbookfest.co.uk

2. Log in to your account at edbookfest.co.uk

3. There will be a queuing system on the website on opening day – this is usually our busiest day.

4. You don’t have to wait in front of your screen – you will get a notification to let you know you have joined the queue.

5. Watch our How to Book video on our YouTube channel for full details.

Book tickets on our website

Use the search filters to explore the programme line-up on the events page. You can browse events by child’s age, category, theme or author. You can enter any word(s) into the keyword search to find events that suit your interests. Children's themes can also be explored at edbookfest.co.uk/families. Once you’ve found an event, click into the event page. Use booking buttons to add tickets to your shopping basket.

All livestreamed events are Pay What You Can
Events for children and young adults range from £0 - £6
Events for adults range from £0 - £15.50, and some are Pay What You Can
Creative workshops and special events are priced from £16+

Box Office telephone

Our Box Office phone lines are now closed.

Please note: we have a small friendly team dealing with phone bookings and enquiries; please only use the phoneline if you cannot book on the website. It will help to reduce wait times for customers who cannot book in any other way or need assistance. We will do our best to deal with calls quickly, however you may not get through immediately.

Calls are charged at the same rate as a local call to a landline. Please check your mobile contract as network charges may differ.

Box Office opening hours

Before the Festival: 10:00–17:00 Monday to Friday
During the Festival: 09:30–20:45 daily
After the Festival: Please email boxoffice@edbookfest.co.uk with any enquiries.

Booking tickets in person

Our Box Office counter is located in The Courtyard at Edinburgh Futures Institute and open daily from Saturday 10 August: 09:30–20:45. Tickets cannot be bought in person before this date.

Concession ticket prices

We believe everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy the wonders of storytelling, creativity, and inspiring conversation at the Book Festival. That’s why we offer reduced ticket prices for anyone over 60, students, anyone under 26, registered unemployed, and visitors with disabilities (companions go free – see below for details). Concession prices for each event are listed in brackets. Tickets for those over 60 are £13.50 unless otherwise stated. The £6 child ticket is for under 18s (£7.50 for Alice Oseman).

Pay What You Can tickets

We offer a Pay What You Can (PWYC) pricing option for some of our in-person events and all our livestreamed events. PWYC makes the Festival more accessible to all book lovers, and you can select how much you can pay at point of booking.

By purchasing at our standard ticket price, you help us continue offering reduced ticket prices to those who need it most, as well as supporting the Book Festival. As a charity, we rely on ticket sales and donations to carry out our work throughout the year.

Companion tickets

If you need a support person or aide to attend events at the Book Festival, they are entitled to a free companion ticket. Contact the Box Office by email boxoffice@edbookfest.co.uk as soon as possible after booking your ticket. Please do this even if you book a disabled concession ticket - this does not automatically provide a free companion ticket or specific seating. Free companion tickets cannot be booked online. For popular events or on the first day of bookings, we recommend purchasing an extra ticket for your companion, then contacting the Box Office for reimbursement.

Baby tickets

If you are bringing a baby under two years to an event for older children, please request a free baby ticket from the Box Office on the day of the event. If the event is created for children under two, you will need to buy an event ticket as usual. Please keep babies on an accompanying adult's lap throughout the event.

Payment and fees

We accept Visa / Maestro / Mastercard. We do not charge any booking fees. If you’ve chosen to Pay What You Can to watch an event, your payment will be treated as a donation to the Book Festival Charity, and you will be asked if you’d like to Gift Aid it (UK taxpayers only).

Refund policy

Tickets can be exchanged or refunded when an event is cancelled or substantially changed. Where demand is high for sold-out events, we may accept returns at our discretion. If you’ve booked a ticket to watch an event in-person you’ll be able to watch the event online for free if you find you can’t attend (if the event is being livestreamed). Refunds are not available to latecomers.

Venue seating

All venues have unreserved seating.

Latecomers

Please allow yourself plenty of time to get to the event venue. We don’t admit latecomers after the start of events in most of our venues due to layout and nature of the events (some of which are filmed). If you are late, we won’t be able to seat you. Latecomers are not entitled to a refund. Please see our website for more information about seating and venues: edbookfest.co.uk/visiting-the-festival/venues

In-person and livestreamed events

Our largest capacity venue at Edinburgh Futures Institute, Venue T and McEwan Hall are set up to serve both in-person and online audiences. The theatre will have a range of fixed and roving cameras to capture and broadcast live footage of the authors on stage and may also capture shots of the audiences watching or asking questions.

On-demand

Lots of our online events are available to watch on demand on the website’s video player pages immediately after the live broadcast. Please visit the individual event page to see how long a specific event may be available on demand as this can vary. Not all livestreamed events are available on-demand.

Box office contact details
Email: boxoffice@edbookfest.co.uk