Scottish International Storytelling Festival 2026 Programme Revealed
The Scottish International Storytelling Festival returns to Edinburgh from 21 to 31 October 2026, with this year’s Bird and Beast programme bringing together folklore, live storytelling, music, family events and international guests.
The programme for the 37th Scottish International Storytelling Festival has been revealed, with events taking place at the Scottish Storytelling Centre and other venues across Edinburgh from Wednesday 21 to Saturday 31 October 2026.
This year’s theme is Bird and Beast, looking at the relationship between people, animals and the natural world through traditional stories, myths, music and newly created work. Tickets for the 2026 programme are now on sale.
What’s in the 2026 programme?
The festival has announced 15 new storytelling performances, alongside visiting storytellers from Türkiye, Italy, Ireland, Canada and England. Its wider Go Local programme will also feature more than 100 events in communities across Scotland.
The opening event, Aderyn/Bird, brings together Ailsa Dixon and Ffion Phillips following their Edinburgh Fringe run, combining Welsh and Scots language with stories centred on birds.
Elsewhere, Italian performers Paola Balbi and Davide Bardi will tell a musical story inspired by the early life of Leonardo da Vinci, while Bologna’s Fraternal Compagnia APS will present a retelling of Daedalus and Icarus as part of events marking the centenary of playwright Dario Fo.
Scottish stories feature heavily too. Donald Smith will lead two extended Rewilding Scotland’s Epics sessions based around St Columba and Ossian, with storytellers from Scotland and Ireland joining the performances.
Scottish Storytelling Centre marks 20 years
The 2026 festival also coincides with the 20th anniversary of the Scottish Storytelling Centre, which opened on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile in 2006.
One anniversary event on Friday 23 October, Culture, Democracy and the Stateless Nation, will feature an in-conversation event with former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and theatre critic Joyce McMillan.
Another anniversary programme will revisit The Man Who Planted Trees, 20 years after the show was first created.
Family events during the October holidays
Families don’t have to wait until the main festival begins. The wider family programme runs from 10 to 31 October, covering much of the school holiday period.
One of the main free events is Family Storytelling Day at the National Museum of Scotland on Saturday 24 October.
Other family activities include Samhuinn crafts, storytelling sessions at Edinburgh Zoo, sensory stories and workshops giving children aged seven to 10 a chance to practise telling stories themselves. Andy Cannon will also premiere The Last People on Earth, based around the Battle of Mons Graupius.
BSL events and accessible performances
The festival includes a dedicated programme of BSL-led and BSL-interpreted performances.
Events include BSL Stories of Birds and Beasts on 27 October, Deaf Storytelling in Scotland on 29 October and a BSL-led scary storytelling workshop on Halloween.
Several other performances, including Aderyn/Bird, Year of the Horse, Mossycoat – Into the Wildwood and Battle of the Birds: A Darker Tale, will have BSL interpretation.
Tickets and Festival Pass
Individual ticket prices vary by event, with booking available through the official Scottish International Storytelling Festival programme.
A £24 Festival Pass is also available for people planning to attend several events. It includes discounted tickets for many performances at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, 10% off at the Centre’s bookshop and Haggis Box Café, plus an invitation to the Festival Opening Reception on 21 October.
The main festival base is the Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street, although events also take place elsewhere in Edinburgh and across Scotland through the Go Local programme.
Browse the full Scottish International Storytelling Festival programme