Edinburgh Book Festival adds 90 livestreams

The Edinburgh International Book Festival said on August 6 that it had expanded its 2026 worldwide livestream offer to nearly 90 online events, widening access to a programme that already spans hundreds of in-person sessions in Edinburgh. Organisers said the online schedule will allow readers outside Scotland to watch events live as they happen and, for most sessions, use on-demand viewing afterward. Diana Gabaldon, the author of the *Outlander* novels, is among the headline names in the global programme. The festival is scheduled to run from August 15 to August 30 at the Edinburgh Futures Institute and other venues in the Scottish capital. ### How many events are being streamed, and what changed this year? Nearly 90 events will be livestreamed worldwide in 2026, according to the festival and reporting by *The Herald*. Organisers described the move as an expansion of the remote-access offer for this year’s edition, with online viewers able to follow a larger share of the programme without attending in person. (heraldscotland.com) The 2026 programme as a whole includes about 600 events and brings together almost 600 writers from 41 countries, the festival said when it announced this year’s full line-up. The livestreamed portion covers only part of that schedule, but it gives remote audiences access to a broad cross-section of headline conversations, author talks and public discussions. (heraldscotland.com) ### Which writers are part of the online line-up? Diana Gabaldon is one of the best-known names confirmed for the livestream programme. Her event page on the festival website says she will appear in “The Front List” with Alisha Fernandez Miranda, and that viewers can book a livestream ticket for the same date and time as the in-person session. Earlier festival announcements also named Jimmy Wales, John Grisham, Ian Rankin, Gordon Brown, Sanna Marin, Michael Pollan, Cory Doctorow and Claudia Rankine among major participants in the wider 2026 programme. (edbookfest.co.uk) The festival has not said that every headline participant will be included online, but the broader line-up shows the scale of the roster feeding into this year’s events. (edbookfest.co.uk) ### How does the livestream access work? The festival’s event pages say livestreams begin at the same time as the in-person event and require a booked ticket. The site also says livestream events are offered on a pay-what-you-can basis, with ticket payments or donations helping cover the cost of streaming. Most events will also be available on demand after the live broadcast, according to coverage of the programme expansion. (edbookfest.co.uk) That gives online viewers more flexibility across time zones, a practical issue for a festival that is selling access beyond its home audience in Scotland. ### Where is the festival based now? (edbookfest.co.uk) The Edinburgh Futures Institute has been the main home of the Edinburgh International Book Festival in recent years, *The Herald* reported. The festival’s own site says the organisation is a charity that has brought writers and thinkers together with audiences for more than 40 years. The 2026 programme announcement said events would take place across a 16-day run in Edinburgh, with the festival using its city base while extending reach through digital access. (eventsbase.co.uk) Organisers framed this year’s theme as “Changing Your Mind.” ### What happens next for readers who want to watch? August 15 is the opening date for the 2026 festival, and online viewers can already book livestream access through individual event pages on the festival website. (heraldscotland.com) Gabaldon’s session is listed there as part of “The Front List,” and the festival says the full programme runs through August 30. (edbookfest.co.uk 1) (edbookfest.co.uk 2)