A festival celebrating rare and collectable books and book history
Featuring the Edinburgh Book Fair
Edinburgh Book Fair
20th and 21st March 2026
Intercontinental The George Hotel, George Street
Entry is free, but but register here for news and reminders!
Book Fair
Scotland’s largest and most prestigious rare book fair, featuring dozens of specialist booksellers from around the country
Edinburgh Book Fair 2026
Friday 20th and Saturday 21st March 2026
Intercontinental The George Hotel, George Street
Talks
Edinburgh Book Fair Opening
20th March, Intercontinental The George Hotel
Collector and scholar Bill Zachs, Director of Blackie House Library and Museum, will open the Edinburgh Book Fair, Scotland’s premier event for rare and collectable books.
Scotland’s Economics Festival
20th March, 1:50pm, Out of the Blue Drill Hall
About Adam Smith, the man, his morals, and some myths
The Adam Smith Global Foundation has been researching Smith’s life in Kirkcaldy. Dr Gordon Povey FRSA will present some of this work to uncover the real Smith, what he stood for, and how relevant he is today.
Culture Edinburgh
20th March, 2pm, Assembly Rooms
John Kay and the Golden Age
A Lecture to mark the Bicentenary of John Kay’s Death
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
24th March, 1:15pm, Surgeon’s Hall Museums
Lunch Time Talk: A Legacy in Pages- The History of the RCSEd Library
Discover how the RCSEd Library has preserved centuries of medical knowledge and the stories hidden within its remarkable collections.
Join us for this bite sized lunch time talk exploring and celebrating some of Edinburgh’s rarest books.
Seed Talks
24th March, 6:45pm, Assembly Roxy
The History of Folk Horror
Join Dr Joan Passey, Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Bristol, in tracing the history of folk horror from the nineteenth century to the present, reflecting on ghoulish imaginings through figures like M. R. James, Thomas Hardy, and Arthur Conan Doyle through to films like The Witchfinder General and The Wicker Man.
EDITION Spring Lecture
27th March, 4:00pm, Project Room (1.06), 50 George Square
The Edition Spring Lecture 2026 will be given by Emily Wingfield, Professor of English and Older Scots Literature at the University of Birmingham. It is titled ‘Initial Steps Towards an Edition of the Poetry and Related Writings of Mary, Queen of Scots’, and will include a discussion chaired by Dr Kate Ash-Irisarri.
Exhibitions
National Library of Scotland
Treasures Gallery
Through March 2026 a new Treasures exhibit will tell the story of how the National Library of Scotland was established, featuring the 1925 Act of Parliament and the first reader’s ticket.
National Library of Scotland
Dear Library
Open until 25 April 2026
To mark our 100th birthday, the National Library of Scotland presents a special exhibition, ‘Dear Library’.
Made in collaboration with partners across the country, this love letter to libraries will intrigue, energise, and galvanise you.
National Galleries of Scotland
Found! | Raeburn’s Lost Portrait of Robert Burns
A ‘once-in-a-lifetime discovery’. Sir Henry Raeburn’s elusive portrait of poet Robert Burns is found after more than 220 years and compared with its original inspiration.