EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL TO HOST HEADS OF TWO OF CANADA'S LARGEST BOOK EVENTS

This August, the Edinburgh International Book Festival will welcome Roland Gulliver, Director of Toronto International Festival of Authors, and Shelley Youngblut, CEO & Creative Ringleader of Wordfest (Calgary), to Edinburgh as part of Global Ink 2026, its international forum bringing together leading literary festival directors from across the world. 

As heads of two of Canada’s most established and internationally recognised literary festivals, Gulliver and Youngblut will join peers from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Australasia for a global exchange focused on readership, international writing and the evolving role of festivals in an increasingly connected literary landscape. 

Global Ink takes place 17–19 August 2026 during the Edinburgh International Book Festival (15–30 August), bringing together 18 festival directors for closed‑door director sessions, public‑facingconversations and industry exchange, and reflecting the festival’s long‑term commitment to international collaboration and cultural dialogue.  

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)