Now in its third year, Global Ink will in 2026 span five continents for the first time – bringing senior figures from 20 of the world’s leading festivals and cultural organisations to Edinburgh this August for three days of exchange and collaboration within the wider Edinburgh International Book Festival programme (15–30 August).
The Edinburgh International Book Festival will welcome 20 festival directors from 17 countries to Edinburgh this August as part of Global Ink 2026, its flagship international forum, with support from the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland Festivals EXPO Fund. Taking place from 17–19 August, within the wider Book Festival programme, Global Ink brings together senior figures working across Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America for sustained dialogue, collaboration and shared learning.
A delegation spanning global cultural ecosystems
The 2026 delegation reflects the wide range of contexts in which festivals operate today: long‑established international events and regionally rooted programmes; organisations working at scale alongside those focused on more intimate audiences; UNESCO Cities of Literature and cities building new cultural identities. Many delegates lead year‑round public programmes as well as flagship annual events, working across disciplines, genres and forms.
Confirmed participants include directors of the Sydney Writers’ Festival, Toronto International Festival of Authors, Gothenburg Book Fair, Ubud Writers & Readers Festival and San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Festival, alongside festivals and cultural organisations from India, Argentina, China and across Europe’s major cultural centres.
A forum built for lasting collaboration
Global Ink was established to create the conditions for long‑term relationship‑building between people doing similar work in very different contexts. The programme combines industry discussions with public‑facing events, structured around shared learning, partnership development and long‑term impact. Delegates do not only meet in formal sessions, but are embedded in the wider life of the Festival – attending events with Scottish writers, experiencing the city’s cultural institutions and Edinburgh as the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, and sharing informal social moments, including a traditional ceilidh, that help create lasting partnerships.
It takes place at a moment of growing international appetite for translated writing and cross‑border cultural exchange. Marking its tenth anniversary in 2026, the Booker Prize Foundation reports that sales of translated fiction in the UK have doubled since the International Booker Prize, in its current form, was first awarded in 2016, with UK print sales reaching a record £26m in 2023 alone. Nearly half of those buyers are now under 35 – an age profile that inverts the wider fiction market.
For the Edinburgh International Book Festival, this momentum builds on decades of international work. The Festival has hosted writers in translation and embodied internationalism as a core part of its programme for generations, increasingly with the support of international consulates and embassies. Through Global Ink, that long‑standing commitment is extended into structured peer exchange, while also creating opportunities to platform Scottish writers and creatives to an international network of festivals, stages and audiences.
Global Ink 2026 is supported by the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland, the national public body for the arts, through the Festivals EXPO Fund. Alongside this, the Edinburgh International Book Festival is currently working with the Scottish Government to shape joint opportunities involving delegates throughout this global forum, strengthening international connections and cultural exchange rooted in Scotland.
In August 2026, Global Ink will run alongside both Publishing Scotland’s international fellowship and the British Council‑supported Momentum programme (delivered by Festivals Edinburgh and Creative Scotland), maximising opportunities for collaboration and underlining Edinburgh’s role as a truly international cultural city that month.
Jenny Niven, Director of Edinburgh International Book Festival, said:
When Global Ink began three years ago, our ambition was to build something more durable than a conference – a network of trust between people doing similar work in very different contexts. What’semerged is broader than a festival network alone. Global Ink is also about recognising the many partners, organisations and individuals involved in making literature international, and the collective effort behind international exchange. Seeing this year’s group come together – from Kraków to Kerala to Calgary – it feels like that shared momentum is really taking hold.
Global Ink 2026: Confirmed delegates
Oceania
Ann Mossop – Sydney Writers’ Festival (Australia)
Rosemarie Milsom – Adelaide Writer’s Week (Australia)
Lyndsey Fineran – Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki (Aotearoa New Zealand)
North America
Roland Gulliver – Toronto International Festival of Authors (Canada)
Shelley Youngblut – Wordfest, Calgary (Canada)
Jodi Pincus – San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Literary Festival (Mexico)
Amanda Bullock – Literary Arts / Portland Book Festival (USA)
Marianne DeLeón – Texas Book Festival (USA)
South America
Daniela Ini — FILBA (Argentina)
Europe
Lucie Campos Mitchell – Villa Gillet / Littérature Live (France)
Perdita Maria Luise Krämer – Bremer Krimifestival CRIME TIME (Germany)
Aimée van Wylick – International Literature Festival Dublin (Ireland)
Judith Uyterlinde – Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival, The Hague (Netherlands)
Marit Borkenhagen – Norwegian Festival of Literature (Norway)
Carolina Pietyra – Kraków Festival Office / UNESCO City of Literature (Poland)
Oskar Ekström – Gothenburg Book Fair (Sweden)
Middle East
Ahlam Bolooki – Emirates Literature Foundation / Emirates Airline Festival of Literature (UAE)
Asia
Govind Deecee – Kerala Literature Festival / DC Books (India)
Janet DeNeefe – Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (Indonesia)
Beijing International Book Fair (China)
At a glance
Dates: 17–19 August 2026
Location: Edinburgh International Book Festival (15–30 August 2026) at Edinburgh Futures Institute
Delegation: 20 festival directors from 17 countries across five continents
Supported by: Scottish Government and Creative Scotland (Festivals EXPO Fund)