Edinburgh Women's Fiction Festival 2026

The Edinburgh Women's Fiction Festival returns to Christ Church Morningside on Saturday 24 October, running from 10:00 to 18:00. It's a full day of conversation and storytelling, run by a committee of eight book-loving women as a registered charity. They champion writing for, by and about women across a dozen genres — from commercial and romance to historical, literary and book club — and describe the festival as intersectional, warm and welcoming. It's become a firm favourite on the city's literary scene.

The day is built around five author panels. 'Debut Showcase' features Eleanor Tucker and Rachel Wood; 'Fractured Families, Resilient Women' brings together Kanza Javid and Pam Williams; 'Wild Landscapes and New Beginnings' pairs Sally Page and Karen Swan; 'What-Ifs and Maybes' has Claire Daverley and Niamh Hargan; and 'Cursed Love' features Oyinkan Braithwaite and Leodora Darlington. Agent Speed Dating also returns for 2026, so if you're writing yourself, that's a good reason to be there.

Beyond the panels, there's a festival bookshop run by The Edinburgh Bookshop, book merch stalls and a pop-up cafe by Coffee Inc Bruntsfield. The festival aims to shine a light on women's fiction, encourage emerging writers and introduce their work to new readers — and it draws on the fact that 40% more women's fiction novels were bought by readers in 2022, making the genre the biggest seller overall in the UK. They also pay their authors, chairs and workshop leaders the fee recommended by the Scottish Book Trust.

Christ Church Morningside is at 6a Morningside Road, EH10 4DD, just across the road from where the festival was held in 2023 and 2024. A Festival Pass is £55 (£44 for concession); a Patron Pass is £65, with 30 available, and includes a goody bag of books and an invitation to the festival wrap party at The Edinburgh Bookshop. Individual event panel tickets are £14 (£11 for concession). The whole thing runs from 10:00 to 18:00.