The Edinburgh Futures Institute is delighted to be a Major Sponsor of the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2023.
Our support bookends the festival with author events in the opening and closing weekends of the programme and an amazing installation of imaginative work by local schools.
In “No Offence, But… – How to Have Difficult Conversations for Meaningful Change”, author and gender equality activist Gina Martin empowers us to respond to difficult conversations about social justice issues, from race and gender to climate change.
Three international authors, Kübra Gümüşy, R F Kuang & Irene Vallejo, come together in “A Short History of Language”, to explore the past, present, and future of language and how it can shape our thinking.
On the last weekend of the festival, we are supporting a set of events that aligns with our mission to challenge, create, and make change happen. Writer in residence Ryan Van Winkle challenged local pupils from Tynecastle and St Thomas of Aquin’s High Schools with the question: “What would the planet look like if you designed it?” In “Return to Planet Citizen”, you can visit a multi-media installation and see what the pupils created in response.
Edinburgh Futures Institute Culture & Community Director Patricia Erskine said:
“We are brimming with anticipation about the Book Festival’s move to the Edinburgh Futures Institute next year. To celebrate, we are partnering with the Festival this year in a way that will help to build closer ties with our staff, students and partners. The events we’re supporting speak to different aspects of our work – connecting with local and global communities, tackling issues of social justice and bringing different perspectives together. We are delighted to support the Festival”
The Edinburgh Futures Institute is proud to support the Book Festival. For 40 years, the Book Festival has brought the world’s leading writers and thinkers to Edinburgh and has demonstrated a commitment to innovation, both through its support for writers and by helping festival audiences and local communities find creative and accessible ways to participate.
The Book Festival has pioneered approaches to hybrid events and partnered with the University to bring over 60,000 people to our “How to Read a Novel” MOOC (Massive Online Open Course). Our partnership with the Book Festival is just one example of how we strive to build lasting relationships with cultural organisations who share our futures-oriented vision around teaching, research, and innovation.
Book tickets to events
Gina Martin: No Offence, But… – How to Have Difficult Conversations for Meaningful Change
Kübra Gümüşy, R F Kuang & Irene Vallejo: A Short History of Language
Return to Planet Citizen
Further information
University announced as Festival’s long-term home
