Stories are entwined in Scotland’s DNA – in this strand we champion home-grown talent. From the popular authors we’ve come to know and love alongside brand new writers coming to the Book Festival for the first time, Scotland’s stories are told by many diverse voices, bringing us new ways of understanding the world through fiction and fact.
A central focus of Scotland’s Stories Now is a special initiative, supported by EventScotland as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022, which spotlights, celebrates and promotes the wealth of stories inspired by, written or created in Scotland. The Book Festival invited people of any age or ability to submit a story responding to the prompt, ‘On this day’. The stories have painted a unique picture of Scotland today, and you can see the writers and hear their stories in events taking place every day of the Festival.
Join the conversation online using #YS2022 and #TalesOfScotland.
This is Memorial Device
Saturday 13 August 15:30 - 17:00
This is Memorial Device:
Saturday 13 August 15:30 - 17:00
Sunday 14 August 20:30 - 22:00
Monday 15 August 20:30 - 22:00
Tuesday 16 August 20:30 - 22:00
Thursday 18 August 20:30 - 22:00
Friday 19 August 20:30 - 22:00
Saturday 20 August 20:30 - 22:00
Sunday 21 August 20:30 - 22:00
Monday 22 August 20:30 - 22:00
Tuesday 23 August 20:30 - 22:00
Thursday 25 August 20:30 - 22:00
Friday 26 August 20:30 - 22:00
Saturday 27 August 20:30 - 22:00
Sunday 28 August 20:30 - 22:00
Monday 29 August 20:30 - 22:00
Scotland’s Stories Now: On This Day
Saturday 13 August 17:00 - 17:45
Sunday 14 August 17:00 - 17:45
Monday 15 August 17:00 - 17:45
Tuesday 16 August 17:00 - 17:45
Wednesday 17 August 17:00 - 17:45
Thursday 18 August 17:00 - 17:45
Friday 19 August 17:00 - 17:45
Saturday 20 August 13:00 - 14:00
Saturday 20 August 17:00 - 17:45
Sunday 21 August 17:00 - 17:45
Monday 22 August 17:00 - 17:45
Tuesday 23 August 17:00 - 17:45
Wednesday 24 August 17:00 - 17:45
Thursday 25 August 17:00 - 17:45
Friday 26 August 17:00 - 17:45
Saturday 27 August 17:00 - 17:45
Sunday 28 August 17:00 - 17:45
Monday 29 August 17:00 - 17:45
Ali Smith with Val McDermid: Hello!
Saturday 13 August 17:30 - 18:30
David Keenan: Nothing is Real in Airdrie
Saturday 13 August 20:30 - 21:30
Sarah Smith: Hear No Evil
Sunday 14 August 13:00 - 14:00
Janey Godley: Secrets in 70s Glasgow
Monday 15 August 11:30 - 12:30
Louise Welsh with Nicola Sturgeon: Writing Glasgow, 20 Years On
Monday 15 August 17:30 - 18:30
Alexander McCall Smith: A Writer for Good
Tuesday 16 August 11:30 - 12:30
Olga Wojtas: Murder, Martial Arts and Macbeth
Tuesday 16 August 15:30 - 16:30
One Day Ticket
Tuesday 16 August 16:30 - 17:30
Frankie Boyle: Post-Referendum Thrills
Wednesday 17 August 20:30 - 21:30
Jenni Fagan: 'Geillis Duncan Has a Broomstick'
Thursday 18 August 16:00 - 17:00
Chris Brookmyre: One Island, Seven Secrets
Thursday 18 August 19:30 - 20:30
Graeme Macrae Burnet: In GMB We Trust
Friday 19 August 13:00 - 14:00
C A Fletcher & Ewan Morrison: Great Pandemic Novels
Friday 19 August 17:30 - 18:30
Denise Mina: Meta-Crime for the Internet Age
Friday 19 August 17:30 - 18:30
Chitra Ramaswamy: Homelands
Sunday 21 August 13:00 - 14:00
Fiona Erskine, Alex Gray & Helen Sedgwick: Secrets and Lies
Sunday 21 August 16:15 - 17:15
Beyond the Swelkie: A Tribute to George Mackay Brown
Sunday 21 August 19:00 - 20:00
Alistair Moffat: A Tale of Zero Hour
Sunday 21 August 19:30 - 20:30
Fiona Paterson, Alan Riach & James Robertson: Hugh MacDiarmid Centenary
Monday 22 August 14:15 - 15:15
Ian Rankin: Here’s to Absent and Imaginary Friends
Monday 22 August 20:30 - 21:30
Karen Campbell & Charlie Roy: Things We Don’t Remember, Things We Can’t Forget
Tuesday 23 August 14:00 - 15:00
Gabriel Krauze & Ryan O'Connor: Penned in the Margins
Tuesday 23 August 15:30 - 16:30
Philip Miller & C S Robertson: Violent Ends
Tuesday 23 August 17:30 - 18:30
Scottish Spoken Word Showcase
Tuesday 23 August 20:30 - 22:00
Liz Lochhead: 50 Years of a Pioneering Poet
Thursday 25 August 11:30 - 12:30
Douglas Stuart with Val McDermid: Knives, Doves and Forbidden Love
Sunday 28 August 17:30 - 18:30
Irvine Welsh: Crime and Punishment
Monday 29 August 19:00 - 20:00
Where possible we will update our listings to notify of cancelled, postponed and rescheduled events, however we STRONGLY ADVISE that you check with the venue/organiser in the first instance for updates.
All information (whether in text or photographs) is supplied in good faith but should not be relied upon as being a statement of representation or fact.GOT AN EVENT TO SHARE? It's free to post your events on What's On Edinburgh, click here to find out more!
Want to be the first to hear about what's happening in Edinburgh? Just hit 'Like' on our Facebook page, join the What's On Scotland Facebook Group and 'Follow' on our Twitter account and you're all set!Explore spaces and objects which have shaped history and inspired fiction at the Abbey Strand book club!
READ MOREJoin us at Waterstones Edinburgh West End on Saturday 27th of April as Alison Murray, author of Sharky McShark, joins us in-store for story time.
READ MORECome along to the Scottish Poetry Library to browse and buy poetry pamphlets, periodicals and zines from some of Scotland’s incredible independent presses.
READ MOREJourney deep into Tolkien's imagination, from The Lord of the Ring's mythic roots to its enduring legacy. Followed by Q&A.
READ MOREMeet bestselling crime thriller author Helen Fields at the Bookface Sip & Swap in The Cold Town House, Grassmarket on 5th May!
READ MOREJoin Susi Briggs for stories in the cosy Storytelling Court to celebrate the launch of her new book Yum, illustrated by Charlotte Brayley and published by Foggie Toddle Books.
READ MOREJoin us at McDonald Road Library as we welcome the children's author Margaret Lillie on Saturday 11th May! Suitable for ages 4-7.
READ MOREJoin illustrator Angie Lewin and author Christopher Stocks in conversation with Dovecot Director, Celia Joicey, to discuss The Book of Wild Flowers plus a last chance to see Andy Warhol: The Textiles!
READ MOREToppings Booksellers Edinburgh is thrilled to be launching the paperback of Jean Findlay's The Queen's Lender on Monday 13th May!
READ MORE