Edinburgh International Book Festival aims to change your mind with 2026 programme
Welcoming 600 writers from 41 countries, this year’s theme will focus on how to change minds and conduct debate in an era of polarisation and misinformation
More than 600 writers from 41 countries have been announced for this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival, which will run from Saturday 15–Sunday 30 August with the theme ‘Changing Your Mind’. As the global landscape grows increasingly fractured, the festival aims to bring together professionals, experts and a diverse array of voices for an alternative to debate driven by reaction and polarisation.
Across the 16-day programme, major names contributing directly to the debate include Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin, former UK prime minister Gordon Brown, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, technology writer Cory Doctorow, best-selling author Michael Pollan, award-winning poet Claudia Polla, and more.
The notion of trust, information and misinformation will be addressed by talks from notable figures such as The New Yorker’s Fergus McIntosh, The News Agents podcast co-host and political pundit Lewis Goodall, and the journalist Yi Ling Liu. Mining a similar vein will be discussions of AI and its regulation, which will include contributions from Steve Crossan, who is part of the original Deepmind team; Sarah Whynn-Williams, former director of public policy at Facebook; and Tim Wu, who invented the term ‘net neutrality’.
In fiction, there will be a headline appearance from best-selling genre titan John Grisham, who’ll discuss his career with best-selling crime writer Ian Rankin. Also announced are Maggie O’Farrell, Ann Patchett, Ali Smith, Jenni Fagan, Matt Haig, Louise Welsh, Nao-Cola Yamazaki, Candice McCarty–Williams, and the 2026 International Booker Prize winner Yáng Shuāng-zǐ.
A new strand for EIBF is Scotland To The World, which will take place at Greyfriars Kirk and will connect a host of leading Scottish writers (Ali Smith, Len Pennie, Kathleen Jamei and William Dalrymple) with international musicians, artists and performers. Other Scottish voices on the programme include Fern Brady, Jenni Fagan and Graeme Armstrong.
For younger audiences is a troupe of leading YA authors such as Juno Dawson, Samantha Shannon and Holly Bourne, with performances tailored for audiences under the age of 30. Reflecting the official Year Of Reading, there will be 150 events for children and families, including a schools programme supporting around 5,000 pupils.
Already announced is the Front List series which includes talks with Outlander author Diana Gabaldon, Nickel Boys author Colson Whitehead and John Of John author Douglas Stuart.
Jenny Niven (main picture), director of Edinburgh International Book Festival, said: 'Our theme “Changing Your Mind” speaks to the moment we're in. At a time when opinions seem increasingly polarised and online debate is so divisive, we're creating space for thoughtful, nuanced conversations – exploring the reasons for our increasing social and political divides, and how we might change each others' minds, or at least agree to disagree, more agreeably. We're also looking at the potential of the human brain to adapt and relearn, and at the unparalleled power of stories to change our thinking.
‘Changing your mind is a lifelong process of staying open to new ideas. By bringing amazing speakers and curious audiences together, around knowledge and perspectives that help us challenge our assumptions and see the world differently, we hope the Festival programme this year will help us gain a deeper understanding of both ourselves and each other.’
Tickets for this year’s EIBF go on sale on Thursday 25 June.
Edinburgh International Book Festival, various venues, Edinburgh, Saturday 15–Sunday 30 August; main picture: Aly Wight.