The 2025 Edinburgh International Book Festival is now fast approaching, with almost 700 events lined up and 641 writers scheduled to attend.
Among these talented authors are a number of previous Booker Prize nominees and winners, including last year’s winner Samantha Harvey and the legendary Ian McEwan.
And with the 2025 Booker Prize longlist set to be announced on Tuesday, July 29, there is no better time to reflect on past nominees for one of the world’s most significant literature prizes.
With this year’s festival taking place from August 9 to 24 in its new home at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, tickets are now available with some already having sold out.
So if you’re ready to book and are in need of some inspiration, here are the 25 past Booker Prize nominees attending the 2025 Edinburgh International Book Festival.
9. Tash Aw
Two-time Booker Prize nominee Tash Aw will appear at the Book Festival for a discussion panel with fellow author Alan Hollinghurst on Saturday, August 9 at Courtyard Theatre. Aw was first nominated for the Booker Prize in 2005 for The Harmony Silk Factory and again in 2013 for Five Star Billionaire. | Contributed
10. Alan Hollinghurst
English author Alan Hollinghurst will appear during two events at the 2025 Edinburgh International Book Festival, first alongside Tash Aw for Intimate Histories on Saturday, August 9. He will then take part in Queerly Beloved on Sunday, August 10 at Spiegeltent. Hollinghurst has been nominated for two Booker Prizes, and won in 2004 for his novel The Line of Beauty. | Getty Images
11. Nicola Barker
Three-time Booker Prize nominee – for Clear (2004), Darkmans (2007) and The Yips (2012) – Nicola Barker will discuss her new novel TonyInterruptor at the Edinburgh International Book Festival during Our Big, Strange World with fellow author Nell Zink and host Camilla Grudova on Sunday, August 10. | AFP via Getty Images
12. Richard Flanagan
Richard Flanagan won the Man Booker Prize in 2014 for his novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North – which was recently adapted into a miniseries starring Jacob Elordi – with his recent awards including the 2024 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction for his 12th book Question 7 which Flanagan will discuss during his appearance at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on Tuesday, August 19. | AFP via Getty Images