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Edinburgh Bookshop Hosts Year-Round Literary Festival With Authors and Reading Groups

Topping & Company Booksellers runs an all-year-round literary festival with readings, author events and reading groups at its Edinburgh bookshop.

By Edinburgh Culture Desk · Published 19 July 2026

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Edinburgh Bookshop Hosts Year-Round Literary Festival With Authors and Reading Groups — AI illustration

Topping & Company Booksellers brings its all-year-round Literary Festival to its bookshop in Edinburgh, offering a packed calendar of events that range from readings in the bookshop to evenings with literary stars.

Author-Led Discussions

One upcoming event features Melanie Challenger with Dr Güneş Taylor discussing the book Alive: The Hidden Intelligence of the Living World. The session is scheduled for Wednesday 22nd July at 7pm and centres on Challenger's work as a writer, researcher and broadcaster.

Genre-Specific Reading Groups

The Science Fiction Reading Group meets on the same evening, Wednesday 22nd July, at 7.15pm. This marks the seventh book of 2026 for the group, which gathers at the bookshop to explore works of the genre. A separate Mary's Feminist Fiction Reading Group is listed for Monday 3rd August, providing another regular gathering focused on feminist fiction titles.

Poetry Evenings

Further events include An Evening of Poetry with Scottish Carcanet, featuring poets Capildeo, Jay Gao and Colin Bramwell. These sessions form part of the bookshop's ongoing programme of literary gatherings that run throughout the year.

The calendar at Topping & Company Booksellers supports consistent local engagement with literature through its combination of one-off author appearances and recurring reading groups. Details for each session, including how to view the full schedule or reserve a place, are available on the bookshop's events page at https://www.toppingbooks.co.uk/events/edinburgh/. The programme continues to list new dates across the coming months, allowing readers to select sessions that match their interests in fiction, poetry, science writing or genre-specific discussion.

Visitors can check the bookshop site for updates on additional readings and group meetings that extend the festival format beyond single evenings. The structure of in-store events provides a direct way to take part in Edinburgh's literary activities without needing to travel beyond the city centre bookshop location.

References Sourced but Not Limited to:

toppingbooks.co.uk · Edinburgh

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