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The Herald Scotland

Scottish Government plugs book festival Baillie Gifford gap

The deal, which will help reduce the cost of school trips to the festival, was signed off by ministers several months ago but has not been previously announced. Read more: It is part of an enhanced package of support for the event, which has seen its government funding more than doubled in the space of 12 months, to a record £820,000. A further £160,000 increase planned for the next financial year is expected to see the festival's government funding rise by more than £1.5m by 2027-2028 compared to the last three years of Baillie Gifford's involvement with the event, which it supported through its schools and children's programme. The Edinburgh International Book Festival has an extensive programme of events for children and school pupils. (Image: Aly Wight/Edinburgh International Book Festival) Although the EIBF has this year introduced a £4 ticket per pupil charge for events in its schools programme, which were previously free of charge, the new support is expected to help more schools meet the costs of getting to and from the festival. Teachers and librarians can also apply for free tickets for pupils who would otherwise miss out. The Edinburgh International Book Festival is now based at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. (Image: Chris Scott) The plug was pulled on the Edinburgh-based finance firm's involvement in the book festival last spring after the escalation of a campaign triggered the previous summer over its links with the fossil fuel industry. Climate activist Greta Thunberg pulled out of a sold-out appearance at the 2023 festival, protesters staged a walk-out from an event and 50 writers threatened to boycott the EIBF in future if it did not sever its links with Baillie Gifford. The Fossil Free Books campaign went on to target book festivals across Britain, including the Edinburgh event, last May by demanding that they sever all links with Baillie Gifford due to its involvement in the coal, oil and gas sectors. Hundreds of writers backed an open letter warning festivals to 'expect escalation, including the expansion of boycotts, increased author withdrawal of labour, and increased disruption.' Announcing the ending of the partnership with Baillie Gifford just two weeks after the open letter was published, the Edinburgh book festival said its ability to deliver a safe and successful event had been 'severely compromised.' At the time, EIBF director Jenny Niven said: 'It will be infinitely harder to build and sustain well-funded cultural institutions in the future than it is to put them out of business today." Allan Little, the then book festival chair, said: 'Without the support of our partners and donors, the future of festivals like is in jeopardy.' First Minister John Swinney later accused campaigners against Baillie Gifford's sponsorship of jeopardising cultural events and of running a 'misplaced' campaign against the company. A number of leading Scottish writers, including Alexander McCall Smith, Andrew O'Hagan, Chris Brookmyre, Denise Mina, Doug Johnstone, David Greig, Liz Lochhead and Val McDermid, backed a separate open letter describing the targeting of book festivals as 'deeply retrograde' and 'ill thought-out.' Many of the writers who backed the Fossil Free Books campaign are taking part in this year's Edinburgh book festival, including Ali Smith, Hannah Lavery, Jess Brough, Raymond Antrobus, Chitra Ramaswamy, Andrés N Ordorica, Harry Josephine Giles and Katie Goh. The bulk of the government's support for the Edinburgh book festival comes via its arts agency Creative Scotland. A new deal confirmed in January saw the event's core funding increase from £919,000 over the last three years to £1.88m over the next three. As well as the £300,000 ringfenced for the festival's schools programme over the next three years, the EIBF has also seen its annual support from the government's Festival Expo Fund doubled, to £200,000, after ministers agreed to boost support for events in Edinburgh and Glasgow by £1.1m. The newly-announced support for the book festival has emerged after the government agreed to invest an additional £4 million in cultural events across Scotland in this financial year. It announced one-off support to the tune of £300,000 for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society in March. Ms Niven, who is overseeing her second festival as director, said: "The work the book festival does for children and young people is a cornerstone of what we do. "Publishing for children and young people has never been more vibrant, and the benefits of reading never better evidenced. "The festival is perfectly positioned to help children engage with the amazing range and breadth of stories around them, to support teachers to use books imaginatively and creatively in learning, and to supply older kids with the tools to think critically, and learn to evaluate the deluge of info around them. "This aspect of what we do is vital, and we're delighted to have specific public funding support to develop this work further in the coming years. 'We've identified the cost of transport as a key barrier to a wider cohort of schools joining us in August, and are committed to maintaining free access for as many children as possible. "We're delighted that the Scottish Government's increased support for festivals has delivered public funding to develop this work further in the coming years. We look forward to widening our reach across Scotland and exploring further the digital potential of what we do.' Richard Lochhead, the government's minister for business and employment, said: "The Edinburgh International Book Festival is one the country's most significant cultural institutions. "Its schools programme has been crucial in fostering literacy and cultural engagement among young people, with thousands of pupils benefiting annually from free events and resources. 'This funding secures those benefits for young readers across Edinburgh, helping schools that might otherwise struggle with travel costs, and ensuring they have the same opportunity to take part in one of the world's leading literary festivals.'