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.
17. Daisy Johnson
In 2018 Daisy Johnson was the youngest author ever to be shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize with her debut novel, Everything Under. During the 2025 Edinburgh International Book Festival, she will sit down with fellow horror author Susan Barker to discuss writing thrilling reads on Sunday, August 24. | AFP via Getty Images
18. A.L. Kennedy
Scottish writer and stand-up comedian A.L. Kennedy was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2016 for her novel Serious Sweet. During this year’s Edinburgh Book Festival she will chat about her latest novel, Alive in the Merciful Country, with Zoe Venditozzi on Wednesday, August 13. | Henning Kaiser/EPA/Shutterstock
19. Colum McCann
In a talk with festival director Jenny Niven, Colum McCann will discuss his dark new novel, Twist. McCann has won several awards in the past – including the National Book Award for Let the Great World Spin – and has been nominated for the Booker Prize in 2013 for TransAtlantic and in 2020 for Apeirogon. | AFP via Getty Images
20. Michelle de Kretser
Nominated in 2008 for the Man Booker Prize, Michelle de Kretser’s The Lost Dog is about a man searching for his missing pooch in the Australian bush. During the book festival in Edinburgh, she will sit down with Linn Ullmann for their talk Linn Ullmann where she will discuss her new novel Theory & Practice on Sunday, August 17. | Contributed