'New era' as two major Scottish festivals announce partnership

The Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) and Celtic Connections have announced a multi‑year partnership featuring a series of original commissions designed to celebrate Scottish creativity, reach new audiences and create new opportunities for Scottish artists.

The Golden Road, inspired by the book by William Dalrymple will see the author appear at the Citizens Theatre on 31 January as part of Celtic Connections alongside India Alba, a collective of Indian and Scottish musicians whose fusion of Indian classical and Scottish traditional backgrounds has created an exploration of world culture. India Alba will be joined at Celtic Connections by renowned cellist Su‑a Lee and guitarists Ali Hutton and Graeme Stephen.

Meanwhile, poet and playwright Ms Lochhead will collaborate with renowned Highland fiddler Duncan Chisholm in a new Celtic Connections commission as part of Rhymes and Reels, while harpist Esther Swift presents her musical settings of Jackie Kay’s poetry, with Ms Kay herself reading from The Heartstrings of Poetry, commissioned by EIBF and first premiered at the 2025 festival.

Also part of Rhymes and Reels, award‑winning poet and novelist Angus Peter Campbell appears with his daughter Brìghde Chaimbeul, blending readings in English and Gaelic with accompaniment from small pipes.

The partnership builds on recent moves within the EIBF programme to create cross-disciplinary work, including the Hamish Hawk project Life in a Scotch Sitting Room, Vol. 0, a lyrical homage to poet‑eccentric Ivor Cutler that blends Cutler's original works with new stories and songs. The project included the festival’s first ever record release. The festival also created Perambulations of a Justified Sinner Experience in 2024, an immersive audio‑visual walk through Edinburgh's Old Town.

Jenny Niven, director of Edinburgh International Book Festival, said: "We're delighted to embark on this multi‑year partnership with Celtic Connections, uniting two of Scotland's most dynamic festivals in a celebration of creativity and collaboration. This new era for the Book Festival is about opening doors - bringing together writers, musicians, and audiences in ways that spark new ideas and reach further into our communities.”

Donald Shaw, creative producer at Celtic Connections said: "Celtic Connections has always been about forging new paths and bringing artists together across genres and traditions. We’re incredibly excited to be partnering with the Edinburgh International Book Festival, allowing us to celebrate the stories, sounds, and voices that make Scotland's cultural scene so vibrant.

“By working together, we're creating space for ambitious new work and for audiences to experience the magic that happens when music and words meet on equal terms."

Scottish Government Expo funding has been secured for elements of the programme.

Celtic Connections began in 1994 with 66 events at one venue and now offers hundreds of events in locations across Glasgow. It runs from 15 January to 1 February.