The Edinburgh International Book Festival has announced its 2024 programme, which will examine the theme ‘Future Tense’. Taking place from Saturday 10–Sunday 25 August, tickets for all events in the programme will go on sale on Thursday 20 June. 

The theme will coincide with a few big changes for the literary mainstay, as it marks the inaugural festival for new director Jenny Niven and moves into its new venue in the Edinburgh Futures Institute building.

Split into six sub-themes, the programme will explore ‘how we can, or should, change our individual and collective futures.’  The first theme, ‘A Toast To The Future', will aim to bring a sense of optimism from writers including Martin McInnes, Naomi Alderman, Joelle Taylor, Richard Holloway and Shannon Vallor, who will each be challenged to explore their vision of the future in only seven minutes. 

Next is ‘Generations’, which will let authors who share common ground explore their responsibilities for those who come after them. It will feature contributions from Roman Krznaric and Ella Saltmarshe, who'll exploring the idea of ‘good ancestors’, and conversations between poets Roger McGough and Hollie McNish on how to reach across the aisle in an age gap and impart wisdom. 

Wrestling with one of the most pertinent issues of the modern era is the third sub-theme ‘AI, Data And Complex Systems’, which will confront the industry challenges and opportunities of AI. The merits of AI will be put to the test live in the Spiegeltent with Page Against The Machine, a series of fun interactive challenges for both authors and audience members. 

Also in the sub-themes are ‘Future, Economics And Politics’, posing hard questions to Nobel Prize winner Joseph E Stiglitz, alongside Dharshini David, Ken Costa, Ingrid Robeyns and more; and ‘The Imaginative Realm’, with insight into the future from the world’s leading sci-fi and speculative fiction writers, including R F Kuang, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and Irenosen Okojie.

Complementing the festival's main strand will be events marking the 200th anniversary of James Hogg’s experimental masterpiece The Private Memoirs And Confessions Of A Justified Sinner; a series of events focusing on politics; ‘Table Talks’, a foodie haven featuring culinary demos, conversation and specially created menus; a strand on philosophy titled ‘How To Live A Meaningful Life’, reflecting on creativity, joy and paying attention; and the already announced ‘Front List’ strand, featuring talks from some of the most prominent authors of modern times, including Salman Rushdie, James O’Brien, Alice Osman and Dolly Alderton. 

Jenny Niven, Director at Edinburgh International Book Festival, said, ‘I am enormously proud of the programme we have created for this year, our first festival in our new home at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. 

‘Our programme “Future Tense” speaks to the complexity of the moment we're in, but hopefully also brings some optimism – the world is full of brilliant, insightful people working in so many imaginative ways. We're excited to showcase some of that incredible thinking and writing – and the ways people are working together to solve problems and keep learning. 

‘It’s been an honour to engage with authors, publicists, poets, performers, artists and audience members since I took on this role, and all of these conversations have informed what you will find on site this summer.’

The programme announcement comes in the same week that the festival announced the dissolution of its partnership with investment management firm Baillie Gifford, after pressure from climate change protesters and pressure group Fossil Free Books, which says the firm has ties with fossil fuel firms and Israel. More than 700 publishers and writers including writers George Monbiot, Max Porter and Michael Rosen signed an open letter calling on festivals to end their links with Baillie Gifford. 

Speaking on ending the partnership, Niven wrote, ‘It is with great regret that our board of trustees and Baillie Gifford have collectively agreed to end our partnership. We are hugely grateful to the firm for its considerable support over two decades, including through some challenging times for the festival, and we are proud of what we’ve achieved together during that time. 

‘The pressure on our team has simply become intolerable. We have a major global festival starting in ten weeks’ time and we need to focus all of our efforts and energy on delivering a safe and successful event for our audiences.

‘Undermining the long-term future of charitable organisations such as book festivals is not the right way to bring about change.

‘It diminishes the voices of those who feel strongly about these complex issues, and it will be infinitely harder to build and sustain well-funded cultural institutions in the future than it is to put them out of business today.

‘We speak to all our supporters about these complex issues and continue to believe that Baillie Gifford is part of the solution in transitioning towards a more sustainable world and that the firm operates in line with our Ethical Fundraising policy.’

Nick Thomas, a partner at Baillie Gifford said, ‘Our collaboration with the Edinburgh International Book Festival, spanning decades, was rooted in our shared interest in making Edinburgh a thriving and culturally vibrant place to live and work. In recent years we have been proud to support the Schools’ and Children’s programmes, providing free books and creating opportunities for young readers to meet authors.

‘The activists’ anonymous campaign of coercion and misinformation has put intolerable pressure on authors and the festival community. We step back with the hope that the festival will thrive this year and into the future. We hold the activists squarely responsible for the inhibiting effect their action will have on funding for the arts in this country.

‘Baillie Gifford is a long-term investor with high ethical standards and a complete focus on doing what is right by our clients. The assertion that we have significant amounts of money in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is offensively misleading. Baillie Gifford is a large investor in several multinational technology companies, including Amazon, NVIDIA, and Meta. Demanding divestment from these global companies, used by millions of people around the world, is unreasonable and serves no purpose. Much as it would be unreasonable to demand authors boycott Instagram or stop selling books on Amazon.

‘Nor is Baillie Gifford a significant fossil fuel investor. Only 2% of our clients’ money is invested in companies with some business related to fossil fuels. We invest far more in companies helping drive the transition to clean energy. 

‘We remain committed to contributing positively to our community through philanthropic support.’

A statement from Fossil Free Books, which counts high-profile figures like Nish Kumar and Charlotte Church amongst its supporters, said, ‘Our primary demand has always been for Baillie Gifford to divest, and for festivals to use their relationships with Baillie Gifford to call on the firm to divest.

‘As bombs continue to fall on Palestinians in Gaza, we hope this sends a clear message: we are united in our solidarity for Palestinians.

‘We condemn Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and the recent horrifying massacre of Palestinians sheltering in Rafah by Israeli precision bombs. We call on all financial institutions with holdings in Israeli occupation, apartheid and genocide to divest.

‘We love our literary festivals dearly, and it is a privilege to share work with readers, but this cannot come at the expense of the human rights of Palestinians and communities harmed by fossil fuel companies.’

Main picture: Ian Georgeson.