Edinburgh International Book Festival 2026 Round Up!

I was very happy to attend the Edinburgh International Book Festival as press again this year. I went to five fabulous events and saw authors both familiar and new. I’m excited to share with you some of the wonderful insights these events offered and the new books I’ve acquired.

Alycia Pirmohamed & Ece Temelkuran: Hope when Home is Lost

I’ve seen Alycia speak a few times and was lucky enough to be on the team of the Portobello Book Festival the year she appeared there, so I’m very familiar with her wonderful work. I had not come across Ece Temelkuran before but she absolutely blew me away (in a good way!). The way she is able to bring the most complex, challenging issues down to the simple human level while still retaining all the nuance is astounding. One thing both women mentioned was that a big issue in left wing politics and political spaces is overly complicating things, and a widespread practice of virtue signaling and supposed moral superiority making the space inaccessible and unwelcoming. That feeling of not being able to get involved if you don’t already know everything. Of being afraid to be wrong or make a mistake and be seen as a bad person. I really enjoyed the way they spoke about that and the emphasis on focusing on practical steps you can take to make a positive difference in your community and the wider world. Ece’s ideas about the need to humble ourselves to see that love is really what we should be pushing for and admitting as being the thing we need most really inspired me. I can’t wait to read her book; Nation of Strangers: Rebuilding Home in the 21st Century.

Len Pennie: Delusions

Held in the atmospheric Greyfriars Kirk, Len Pennie and Paul Leonard-Morgan, performed pieces from their collaborative album Delusions. A blend of poetry and classical music Len performs her work to compositions Paul has written especially for them. The result is incredibly moving and powerful. Len’s work is so raw and honest it feels like a very genuine expression of her experiences. The musical accompaniment feels less like an accompaniment and more like it has always been a part of the poetry and that Paul drew it out. It was a really special performance and if you get the chance to see them perform together I would highly recommend it. Their friendship and banter also brings a lightness to otherwise dark themes.

Mieko Kawakami: Sisters in Yellow

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Mieko speak about her work, but what made it even more special was that she completed the event entirely in Japanese. I’ve never been to a non-English book event before, but it was absolutely wonderful. Although, of course, I had to wait to hear the translation of what Mieko was saying, I felt her excitement and authentic personality come through so much more strongly from her mother tongue. One thing Mieko touched on which was fascinating, was how she feels countries have this external persona in the way they are perceived. She explained how she feels that for Japan this has shifted from everyone viewing it as a lightning fast hyper modern utopia to a vision of slow living, cat owning, mindful bliss. She doesn’t think either of these are accurate or represent the full scope of life in Japan. In her novels she seeks to disrupt these narratives and in particular challenge perceptions about the way Japanese women are, or should be, both from inside and outside Japan. Her novel Sisters in Yellow tracks the life of women living outside of these rigid expectations and the challenges they face. I’m so looking forward to reading it!

Ali Smith: Glyph

If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts you probably know that Ali Smith is my favourite author (a bold statement from me). I think she is the most exciting and important writer at work today and her novels never fail to inspire and enthral me. She is such a quick and clever person, incredibly astute and profound often without realising it! One lovely thing is that she requested for the house lights to be up throughout the event in order to better connect with and converse with the audience. I think that really sums up the most urgent point pulsing through all her writing; the need to connect, to look at each other and to see each other. This event was just as invigorating and left me with a sense of urgency to read Glyph as soon as possible! One of the ideas Ali explored in her discussion was that of the flattening of people. The ways in which we are being made smaller all the time from all angles and the way our experiences are being flattened too - most often to the tiny flatness of a screen. I’ve already been feeling that way for quite some time. It probably sounds daft since I am writing this blog very much on the internet, but I don’t really use social media very much at all outside of writing and sharing these posts. It shouldn’t surprise me how much more time and energy I have as a result of that and yet it does! Bit of a tangent there but it’s all been winding together in my mind over the last few days. I was very happy to get my hands on a beautiful copy of Glyph and Companion Piece to complete my Seasonal Quartet set!

Fatima Bhutto: Gaza - The Story of a Genocide

I feel truly thankful to have been able to attend this event. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to speak at events like these and share such horrific stories. In saying that I am so grateful to be able to learn from the vital work both Fatima Bhutto and Tareq Buconi are doing. I came away with a much deeper understanding of how to dissect and challenge certain narratives and how to critically analyse the coverage of this appalling genocide. I especially appreciated Tareq’s care and patience as he explained the linguistic importance of the way we discuss it. I look forward to further deepening my understanding of the situation in Palestine through these authors’ works: Gaza - The Story of a Genocide & Fire in Every Direction: A Memoir.

Thank you again to the Edinburgh International Book Festival team for having me as press this year, I look forward to next time!

Love, Grace xx