Scottish International Storytelling Festival

Inspired by the Scottish ceilidh tradition and its sense of togetherness, the Scottish International Storytelling Festival (SISF) offers a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the extraordinary tales, music and characters that bring both our traditional and contemporary culture to life.

Since its establishment in 1989, SISF has continued to evolve and grow, with record numbers now attending an array of performances, workshops, talks and children’s events from its home in the Scottish Storytelling Centre – the only purpose-built home for storytelling in the UK.

Over the 11 days of the festival some of Scotland’s finest storytellers will welcome and share the stage with guest storytellers from Türkiye, Italy, Ireland, Canada and England, exploring the rich relationship between storytelling and the natural world through this year’s theme of Bird and Beast.  

Highlights from this year’s programme include:

• The festival’s opening event, Aderyn/Bird, with Ailsa Dixon and Ffion Phillips, whose sell-out show during this year’s Edinburgh Fringe weaves together Welsh and Scots language with magical tales of birds.
• Italian storytellers Paola Balbi and Davide Bardi sharing a poetic and musical tale about the early years of Leonardo Da Vinci. 
• Recently appointed Scots Scriever Claire White sharing music, film and stories from Shetland.
• Lithuanian storyteller Daiva Ivanauskaite-Brown blending folklore, family legacy, and history in Bird of Truth, accompanied by Edinburgh’s Sutartinės Lithuanian folk singers.
• Riikka Palonen sharing tales from the cow sheds of Finland, and Satu Lankinen teaching a Nordic cow-call ‘kulning’ and exploring traditional herding songs.

Plus, Nana Tomova launches her new book Bulgarian Folk Tales; Deaf storyteller Tania Allan and a group of BSL Storytelling Apprentices share stories of birds and beasts; Màiri MacMillan leads a session When the Birds Spoke Gaelic, weaving song with bird calls and music; and Traveller storyteller Jess Smith presents the fairy tale Mossycoat, with live harp and dance.

Family highlights include a free Family Storytelling Day at the National Museum of Scotland; craft workshops to celebrate Samhuinn; new storytelling sessions at Edinburgh Zoo; and the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s announcement of this year’s winners of the Words of the Wild nature writing competition.

This year’s workshop programme also looks at tips on live story translation; ghost storytelling, and how to make stories accessible for all audiences particularly those who speak different languages.

For festival-goers planning on attending multiple events, the Festival Supporter Pass offers discounted tickets to many festival events, as well as a discount at the Scottish Storytelling Centre’s bookshop, Haggis Box Café and an invitation to the festival launch event on 21 October.

For more information and to view the full programme, visit Scottish International Storytelling Festival.