SISF 2025 will take place from Wednesday 22nd October to Saturday 1st November. This year we look to our northern cousins under the theme ‘Lights of the North’.
SISF now invites two kinds of proposals for consideration:
- SISF 2025 programme: Storytelling event proposals aligning with this year’s theme and meeting SISF’s core purpose, aims and values.
- The Andy Hunter Storytelling Bursary: Storytelling project proposals fulfilling the aims of the Andy Hunter Storytelling Bursary for SISF’s Go Local programme 2025 and/or 2026.
SISF 2025 Programme
The Scottish International Storytelling Festival (SISF) explores the traditional art of live, oral storytelling in contemporary society. It takes place annually each October in Edinburgh and across Scotland, with local community events extending through November. SISF encourages collaboration with other artforms, including music, song, dance and traditional crafts. It also works in partnership with other festivals and cultural organisations.
The programme includes adult events, family events, workshops and digital offerings.
SISF is committed to:
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- Scotland’s Languages, including BSL
- Cultural Safeguarding
- Environmental Sustainability
- Fair Work
Storytellers are invited to submit a storytelling event proposal aligning with this year’s theme and meeting SISF’s core purpose, aims and values (as outlined above). If selected, the event will be featured in the SISF 2025 programme and presented in Edinburgh and/or another local venue in Scotland.
The Andy Hunter Storytelling Bursary
The Andy Hunter Storytelling Bursary is a fund set up to commemorate the life and work of storyteller, cycling guide, and advocate for our natural environment, Andy Hunter, who died in 2015.
The bursary aims to facilitate a continuation and development of Andy’s passion for the earth, the people in it and live oral storytelling, giving other storytellers the resources to progress their own storytelling journey. The bursary is rooted in the ethos of traditional storytelling, seen as a culture of gifting and sharing, and as a creative practice where meanings are co-created by tellers and listeners: an artform that connects people on an equal basis and beyond boundaries.
The fund has been generously provided by Andy’s widow, fellow storyteller Anne Hunter, and is administered by TRACS.
8 bursaries to the value of £2,500 each will be awarded. For more information about the Andy Hunter Storytelling Bursary, click here.
Storytellers are invited to submit a project proposal that expresses some aspects of Andy’s legacy (as outlined here). Selected projects will contribute to the Scottish International Storytelling Festival’s Go Local programme in 2025 and/or 2026.
They may include:
- a performance (i.e. a story walk or a storytelling event in a local venue)
- a community event
- a workshop (i.e. learning how to combine traditional crafts and storytelling)
Submitting your Proposal
Eligibility
Creative practitioners of 18 years of age or over, who are living and working in Scotland and are rooted in the traditional artform of live, oral storytelling.
Collaboration with other artforms and/or international artists is also welcomed.
How to apply
- Eligible artists (see above) are invited to make one submission only – for either the SISF Programme or the Andy Hunter Storytelling Bursary
- Please complete and submit the relevant Google form (1b or 2b linked below) by Monday 21st April:
- SISF Programme
- The Andy Hunter Storytelling Bursary
- You will receive an acknowledgement email from the Festival team as soon as possible, confirming receipt of your proposal
- All applicants will receive a final decision on their proposal by Friday 30th May
Access
We will provide any required support to make this process as accessible as possible. Please address any access requirements to storytellingfestival@tracscotland.org.
Enquiries
Any general enquiries should be addressed to storytellingfestival@tracscotland.org in the first instance.
