The St Andrew’s Book Festival, created by Scots in London, which returns to London on 27th – 30th November after the success of last year’s inaugural festival, has announced the next five events for its 2025 edition.
London’s leading Scottish literature and culture festival, described by Judy Murray as showcasing ‘Scotland’s finest,’ announced its first tranche of speakers earlier this year, with headliners Val McDermid, Nicola Sturgeon, Sally Magnusson, Irvine Welsh and John Niven all confirmed to take part. With talks and discussions close to the Scottish national identity, the festival line-up also includes rugby writers Peter Burns and Rob Robertson, who will celebrate 100 years of iconic matches at Murrayfield with former Scotland international and broadcaster Rory Lawson.
St Andrew’s Book Festival are also pleased to announce new sponsors TrinityBridge. Their financial planning and investment management services have been helping individuals, families, professionals and businesses make confident financial choices for more than 30 years, with teams and offices across the UK.
Ahead of this evening’s (Tuesday 23rd) programme launch at Scotland House with guest speaker Baroness Ayesha Hazarika, tickets are now on sale for the next five festival events:
- Acclaimed poet Michael Pedersen and author Damian Barr summon tenderness and truth in their new works, bridging history and heart with lyrical precision and luminous storytelling. Pedersen’s Muckle Flugga sails to the edges of love, grief and friendship, while Barr’s The Two Roberts reimagines war, art and intimacy.
- Dr Jim Swire and Peter Biddulph talk about their powerful new book Lockerbie. Drawing on decades of investigation, personal loss and relentless pursuit of justice, they reveal untold truths behind the tragedy in which Jim lost his daughter. Jim has recently been played on screen by Colin Firth in the Sky drama Lockerbie: A Search for Truth. Interviewed by Hugh Pym.
- Claire Mitchell and Zoë Venditozzi join broadcaster Nicola Meighan to talk about the publishing sensation of 2025, How to Kill a Witch, uncovering Scotland’s dark history of witch trials. Together, they examine injustice, myth and memory, asking how past persecutions shape present conversations.
- Del Amitri frontman Justin Currie joins Craig McLean to discuss The Tremolo Diaries, his moving, darkly funny memoir charting life as a touring musician after a Parkinson’s diagnosis. From raw diary entries to poetic reflections on illness, art, and ageing, Currie’s candid account is a powerful meditation on love, loss and music.
- Denise Mina (The Good Liar) and Polly Clark (Ocean), are in conversation with Marcus Railton, revealing the sharp edges of human experience in their new books. Mina’s storytelling crackles with crime, history and justice, while Clark’s work probes wilderness, survival and desire.
The festival coincides with St Andrew’s Day and aims to celebrate Scottish culture and heritage in central London, the city with the third highest population of Scottish people in the UK after Edinburgh and Glasgow.
On the 2024 festival, Judy Murray said: “It’s an opportunity to showcase Scotland’s finest. It’s wonderful to be able to come down and support this in the heart of the city of London.”
On the 2024 festival, Sir Ian Rankin said:“Scotland is always punching above its weight in terms of writing, non-fiction and fiction, poetry, you name it. But sometimes, being on the periphery of the UK it’s hard to get that message seen. My message with this festival, as with other literary festivals, is to keep going – because the world needs writers, and the world needs great books. We need different voices, and we need to be hearing those voices.”
St Andrew’s Book Festival website: https://www.standrewsbookfestival.org/
Tickets are on sale from: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/standrewsbookfestival
