Wednesday October 14th 2026
Edinburgh Storytelling Festival programme laucng with storytellers David Hughes, Ruth Kirkpatrick and Festival Director Daniel Abercrombie (photo by Neil Hanna)
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Edinburgh will welcome storytellers and musicians from around the world as the Scottish International Storytelling Festival returns later this month with more than 200 events planned across Scotland.
The 37th annual festival runs from October 21 to 31, bringing together performers from Scotland and overseas to share traditional tales, music and new works inspired by the natural world.
Organised by Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland (TRACS), the festival is described as the world’s largest annual celebration of storytelling.
This year’s theme, Bird and Beast, will explore the relationship between stories, wildlife and the natural environment.
More than 20 visiting storytellers and musicians will travel to Scotland from countries including Canada, England, Ireland, Türkiye and Italy.
Among the international guests are Dawne McFarlane, former artistic director of the Toronto Storytelling Festival, and traditional storyteller Shonaleigh.
Festival favourite Peter Chand will return with stories from the Indian subcontinent and beyond, while Irish storytellers Gráinne Holland and Sinéad O’Brien will take part in a retelling of the Ossian cycle.
Turkish storytellers Roza Erdem and Nazlı Çevik Azazi will also participate, alongside Professor Evrim Ölçer Özünel, an expert in intangible cultural heritage.
With support from the Italian Cultural Institute in Edinburgh, the programme will include performances from Rome-based Raccontamiunastoria Storytelling Company, featuring Paola Balbi and Davide Bardi.
They will present a poetic and musical story about Leonardo da Vinci’s early years, accompanied by Italian singer-songwriter, producer and priest Mario Costanzi.
Bologna-based Fraternal Compagnia APS will also perform an adaptation of Dedalus and Icarus, based on the work of Dario Fo and Franca Rame. The performance marks the centenary of Nobel Prize-winning playwright Dario Fo.
The festival will feature 15 new pieces of work, including Finnish tales from Riikka Palonen, accompanied by musician and cow-call teacher Satu Lankinen.
Lithuanian storyteller Daiva Ivanauskaitė-Brown will present Bird of Truth, exploring folklore, family history and legacy alongside Edinburgh’s Sutartinės Lithuanian folk singers.
Another new work from Ailsa Dixon will explore the history of feral sheep on the island of North Ronaldsay in Orkney, known for their unusual diet of seaweed.
Alongside performances, the festival is introducing a series of new events called Circles, designed to encourage informal storytelling and conversation.
These include Morning Circle sessions led by storytellers and guests, a Song Circle organised with the North Atlantic Song Convention at Edinburgh’s Waverley Bar, and an informal Story Circle where participants can bring along a tale to share.
The festival will also feature a Closing Circle, giving attendees an opportunity to reflect on the programme and discuss ideas for its future.
Festival director Daniel Abercrombie said: “With one week to go until the full festival kicks off, we cannae wait to welcome audiences, storytellers and visiting guests to join in with the story cèilidh.
“There are already family events beginning to happen and story sessions around the country in our Go Local programme, so now’s the perfect time to delve into this wonderful programme and ink some plans into the diary, as we celebrate and explore our Bird and Beast theme. Mon in!”
Culture Cabinet Secretary Màiri McAllan said the festival had spent nearly four decades celebrating Scotland’s storytelling traditions and bringing together voices from around the world.
She said: “As we mark 20 years of the Scottish Storytelling Centre, this year’s programme theme, Bird and Beast, captures the deep connection between our stories and the natural world we share.
“The largest ever Go Local programme underlines the importance the festival places on community, and bringing people together, through events in towns and villages across Scotland.”
The festival receives support from the Scottish Government’s Expanded Festivals Fund, Creative Scotland’s multi-year funding and the City of Edinburgh Council.
The full programme is available at sisf.org.uk.
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