A world-renowned storytelling festival with guest storytellers from across the globe, featuring the 'Bird and Beast' theme, folkloric exhibitions and community programmes.
The Scottish International Storytelling Festival returns to The Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh from 21 to 31 October, its 37th edition since it launched in 1989. This year's theme is 'Bird and Beast', and the programme brings together storytellers from Italy, Türkiye, Canada, England and Ireland. The hub is the Scottish Storytelling Centre, the world's first purpose-built centre for live storytelling, owned by the Church of Scotland and home to TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland).
Among the highlights, Donald Smith performs his Rewilding Scotland's Epics cycles, focusing on Columba and Ossian. There's a GAS fireside chat on the 12th-century Aberdeen Bestiary, and Morvern Graham's Folkloria! exhibition, which draws from her book Seasonal Folktales. The Rain exhibition at the National Library of Scotland also runs alongside. Beyond the main hub, the Go Local programme takes storytellers to local venues across Scotland.
The festival is rooted in the Scottish ceilidh tradition — a community gathering of tales, anecdotes, music, songs and ballads. It's one of the largest storytelling events in the world in terms of programming and participation, drawing storytellers from across the globe. Part of that community focus is the Big Scottish Story Ripple and the BSL Apprenticeship Programme, both aimed at nurturing confidence and amplifying underrepresented voices.
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There's a Family programme running from 10 October, and BSL signed and led events are offered throughout. The podcast Another Story extends the festival's reach beyond the dates. The main festival runs from 21 to 31 October at The Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh.
