## **EDINBURGH WOMEN’S FICTION FESTIVAL TRUSTEES` ANNUAL REPORT PERIOD FROM 01.04.2025 TO 31.03.2026**
## **Charit Contact Information y**
**NAME: EDINBURGH WOMEN’S FICTION FESTIVAL**
SCOTTISH CHARITY NUMBER: **SC052494**
CHARITY’S PRINCIPAL ADDRESS: **29 Howe Street, EDINBURGH**
POSTCODE: **EH3 6TF**
EMAIL ADDRESS: **info@edwomensficfest.co.uk** WEBSITE: **https://www.edwomensfcfest.co.uk**
SOCIALS: **Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky: @EdWomensFicFest**
Page 1
## **Charit Trustees y**
TRUSTEE NAME: OFFICE: DATES ACTED: (if not full year)
Jane Anderson Treasurer
Olivia Kekewich Chair
Fran Woodrow Secretary
Grace Baird
Emma Steele
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Trustees, 2025
**----- End of picture text -----**
Page 2
## **REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATION DETAILS**
**Names of all other charity trustees during the period, if any, (for example, those who resigned partway through the financial period)**
None
**STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE, AND MANAGEMENT**
**TYPE OF GOVERNING DOCUMENT**
The Edinburgh Women’s Fiction Festival is a single-tier Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SC052494). The charitable trustees are all unpaid volunteers. The board consisted of five people in 2025, including a Chair, Treasurer and Secretary.
**TRUSTEE** Olivia Kekewich, Jane Anderson, Fran Woodrow, and Grace Baird remain trustees and office bearers. We were sad to **RECRUITMENT AND** lose Emma Steele at the end of this financial year. We are **APPOINTMENT** delighted to welcome two new trustees to take the charity towards the 2026 festival. Sarah Birrell Ivory writes book club and women's fiction and is an active member of the Edinburgh Writers Forum and Jericho Writers. Previously she was a Senior Lecturer at The University of Edinburgh Business School, published two textbooks with Oxford University Press, and won a prestigious international teaching award. Amy Penrose is a publishing professional who works for the Society of Young Publishers Scotland and Publishing Scotland.
We are also assisted by three non-trustee volunteers. Kristin Pedroja and Robin Facer continue to work on the Festival's behalf. We also welcome Lindsay Miller, a Napier student interested in working in the literature sector.
Page 3
## **Objectives and Activities**
## **Charitable Purposes**
The Edinburgh Women’s Fiction Festival was set up in 2023 to celebrate writing for, by, and about women. It is an inclusive event that welcomes everyone who finds joy in reading women’s fiction— commercial, romance, historical, literary, book club, and beyond.
Key Objectives are:
- To provide a platform for women’s genre fiction – typically overlooked by other literature festivals. To encourage, respect and celebrate all readers of women’s fiction, including romantic fiction. To reach a broad spectrum of readers including those from socio-economic backgrounds who do not normally attend literature festivals. To promote the mental health benefits of reading.
- To create a community of writers and readers of women’s fiction in Scotland.
The festival showcases authors of genres that are often overlooked. Our aim is to give readers the opportunity to meet and hear from their favourite authors. We also hope to foster a community through lively discussions, meaningful conversations, and authentic connections.
Our festival includes panels featuring popular authors, writing workshops, and an event with literary agents. Linked events included a series of pre-recorded Masterclasses for writers, which expanded in 2025 to include editor Lucy Stewart sharing editorial advice for first drafts and Jayne Castel sharing tips on how to write market-proof books.
## **Summary of main activities in relation to these objectives**
In 2025 we ran the Edinburgh Women’s Fiction Festival over two days, including seven author panels, three writer workshops, and a literary agent event. We welcomed over 250 readers, reaching our target of offering participants a wide range of women’s fiction authors with a continued focus on romantic fiction, as well as introducing both gothic and thriller panels this year. We attracted several well-known authors, including Jenny Colgan, Lucy Mangan, Amita Murray, Mairi Kidd and Rosie Hewlett.
We trialled livestreaming in 2024 and once again offered professional standard livestreaming and recordings in 2025. We were able to cover the cost of livestreaming through crowdfunding, including donation matching from Creative Scotland. We saw growth in this area with over 175 people registered to watch our events online and 100 people tuned in live or on catch-up. For 2026, we intend to continue to offer recordings to a broad spectrum of readers at a low cost.
Page 4
## **Achievements and Performance**
## **Summary of the main achievements of the charity**
We welcomed 23 authors and chairs at the 2025 festival. Not all the authors of colour we approached to join our panels were able to attend, but in a year with only eight panels we were delighted to include two authors of colour and four members of the LGBTQ+ community.
We ran a voluntary feedback survey. Most of the respondents mentioned the friendly and welcoming vibe of the festival, the professional standard, and the variety of panels on offer. The agent event also received high praise. We were thrilled to see the word “brilliant” was used in half a dozen responses.
Feedback we will improve on includes keeping the website updated, adding more time for discussion and relaxing with others between panels, and including more diversity in our panels. A few agent event participants misunderstood that they would be receiving feedback rather than getting an agent, so we will ensure our language around this event is reinforced. Some complaints were to do with things outwith our control; the discomfort of the church pews, the availability of parking at the church, and personal opinions about the author events.
This year saw a slight dip in ticket sales, with 270 sales over all the events. This includes 26 patron passes and 22 full event passes. We believe some of the sales drop can be linked to venue problems in 2024 but we are reflecting on how to better promote the festival to ensure readers know about it. The vast majority of sales (70%) were to EH (Edinburgh) post codes. However a few visitors travelled from England, Europe, and even North America.
We offered all our authors, chairs and workshop leaders a £200 fee. We ran one fewer event than in 2024. The total income this year was £15,055 against an expenditure of £15,513. This year’s loss of £459 (when rounded to the nearest pound) eats into our surplus from previous years, but we still have almost £4,000 in the bank and to cover our liability of £1,398 for our independent examiner, and a plan to scale back and regroup for the 2026 festival.
The free pre-festival event at Craigmillar Library on 7 September, featuring a writing workshop with local commercial fiction author Angela Jackson and two author panels was successful for both authors and participants. We are exploring ties with a different library for 2026. Once again we are offering attendees to library events free tickets on Festival day.
To help promote the 2026 event we will be extending our reach by collaborating with book clubs and local students and offering them discounts on festival passes.
Page 5
## **Financial Review**
## **Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves**
We have ended the year with a small deficit, but remain in a strong financial position due to a surplus from 2024. These funds will fund early expenses and allow us to offer panel livestreaming in 2026, when we aim to run four author panels with eight authors and four chairs on Saturday 24th October, with a repeat of our popular agent speed date event on Friday 23rd.
_**** No donated facilities or services ****_
Page 6
Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees.
report above.
Signed on behalf ol tye charity S Truste
Signature(s)
Ful n8rn8{s)
Positjon {8.g Cyair'i
Date
Tru8lees. 2025
Pago 7
Enter SC No. below **SC052494**
APPENDIX 2
Enter charity name below
## **Edinburgh Women's Fiction Festival**
|**Receipts and payments accounts**
**For the period**
**from**
Period start date
Period end date
**to**
01
April
2025
Day
Month
Year
Day
Month
Year
31
March
**2026**|**Receipts and payments accounts**
**For the period**
**from**
Period start date
Period end date
**to**
01
April
2025
Day
Month
Year
Day
Month
Year
31
March
**2026**|**Receipts and payments accounts**
**For the period**
**from**
Period start date
Period end date
**to**
01
April
2025
Day
Month
Year
Day
Month
Year
31
March
**2026**|**Receipts and payments accounts**
**For the period**
**from**
Period start date
Period end date
**to**
01
April
2025
Day
Month
Year
Day
Month
Year
31
March
**2026**|**Receipts and payments accounts**
**For the period**
**from**
Period start date
Period end date
**to**
01
April
2025
Day
Month
Year
Day
Month
Year
31
March
**2026**|**Receipts and payments accounts**
**For the period**
**from**
Period start date
Period end date
**to**
01
April
2025
Day
Month
Year
Day
Month
Year
31
March
**2026**|**Receipts and payments accounts**
**For the period**
**from**
Period start date
Period end date
**to**
01
April
2025
Day
Month
Year
Day
Month
Year
31
March
**2026**|**Receipts and payments accounts**
**For the period**
**from**
Period start date
Period end date
**to**
01
April
2025
Day
Month
Year
Day
Month
Year
31
March
**2026**|**Receipts and payments accounts**
**For the period**
**from**
Period start date
Period end date
**to**
01
April
2025
Day
Month
Year
Day
Month
Year
31
March
**2026**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Day||Month|Year|**to**|Day|Month|Year|
||01||April|2025||31|March|**2026**|
## **Section A Statement of receipts and payments**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Expendable Permanent
Unrestricted Restricted Total funds Total funds last
endowment endowment
funds funds current period period
funds funds
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
A1 Receipts
Donations 1,967 1,967 989
Legacies -
Grants -
Receipts from fundraising activities 3,300 3,300 1,250
Gross trading receipts 9,788 9,788 14,703
Income from investments other than
land and buildings -
Rents from land & buildings -
Gross receipts from other charitable
activities -
-
A1 Sub total 15,055 - - - 15,055 16,942
A2 Receipts from asset &
investment sales
Proceeds from sale of fixed assets -
Proceeds from sale of investments -
A2 Sub total - - - - - -
Total receipts 15,055 - - - 15,055 16,942
A3 Payments
Expenses for fundraising activities 1,618 1,618 1,768
Gross trading payments -
Investment management costs -
Payments relating directly to charitable
activities 13,896 13,896 13,481
Grants and donations -
Governance costs: -
Audit / independent examination -
Preparation of annual accounts -
Legal costs -
Other -
-
A3 Sub total 15,513 - - - 15,513 15,249
A4 Payments relating to asset and
investment movements
Purchases of fixed assets -
Purchase of investments -
A4 Sub total - - - - - -
Total payments 15,513 - - - 15,513 15,249
Net receipts / (payments) ( 459) - - - ( 459) 1,693
A5 Transfers to / (from) funds -
Surplus / (deficit) for year
( 459) - - - ( 459) 1,693
**----- End of picture text -----**
APPENDIX 2
**SC052494**
**Edinburgh Women's Fiction Festival**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Section B Statement of balances
Unrestricted Expendable Permanent Total current Total last
Restricted funds endowment endowment
Categories Details funds funds funds period period
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
B1 Cash funds Cash and bank balances at start of year
4,404 4,404 2,711
Surplus / (deficit) shown on receipts and
( 459) ( 459) 1,693
payments account
-
-
Cash and bank balances at end of year 3,945 - - - 3,945 4,404
(Agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s)) - 0 - - - - 0 -
Fund to which asset belongs Market valuation Last year
Details
to nearest £ to nearest £
B2 Investments
Total - -
Details Fund to which asset belongs Cost (if available) Current value (if available) Last year
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
B3 Other assets 250 250
Simon & Schuster sponsor fee
Total - 250 250
Details Fund to which liability relates Amount due Last year
to nearest £ to nearest £
B4 Liabilities 1,500 1,398
Independent examniers fee
Total 1,500 1,398
Details Fund to which liability relates Amount due (estimate) Last year
to nearest £ to nearest £
B5 Contingent liabilities
Total - -
Signed by one or two trustees Date of
on behalf of all the trustees Signature* Print Name
approval
Jane Anderson - Treasurer
**----- End of picture text -----**
HL UPD PBC OSCR form EWFF 2025-26 / Statement of balances
2
December 2007
APPENDIX 2
**SC052494**
**Edinburgh Women's Fiction Festival**
## **Section C Notes to the Accounts**
**C1 Nature and purpose of funds** _(may be stated on analysis of funds worksheets)_
## **C2 Grants**
## **C3a Trustee remuneration**
## **C3b Trustee remuneration - details**
## **C4a Trustee expenses**
## **C4b Trustee expenses - details**
## **C5 Transactions with trustees and connected persons**
## **C6 Other information**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Individual / Number of grants £
Type of activity or project supported institution made
Total
-
If no remuneration was paid during the period to any charity trustee or person connected to
a trustee cross this box (otherwise complete section 3b)
£
Authority under which paid
If no expenses were paid to any charity trustee during the period then cross this box
(otherwise complete section 4b)
Number of £
trustees
Transaction Balance
amount (£) outstanding at
Nature of relationship Nature of transaction period end (£)
**----- End of picture text -----**
HL UPD PBC OSCR form EWFF 2025-26 / Notes
3
December 2007
APPENDIX 2
**SC052494**
**Edinburgh Women's Fiction Festival**
## **Additional analysis (1)**
## **Analysis of receipts and payments**
## **1 Donations**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Unrestricted Expendable Permanent Total current Total last
Restricted funds endowment endowment
funds funds funds period period
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
General donations 1,967 1,967 989
-
-
-
Total 1,967 - - - 1,967 989
- - - - - -
2 Grants
Unrestricted Total current Total last
Restricted funds
funds period period
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
-
-
-
-
Total - - - -
- - - -
3 Gross receipts from other charitable activities
Unrestricted Expendable Permanent Total current Total last
Restricted funds endowment endowment
funds funds funds period period
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Total - - - - - -
- - - - - -
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **4 Payments relating directly to charitable activities**
||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|**Restricted funds**
**to nearest £**|**Expendable**
**endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|**Permanent**
**endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|**Total current**
**period**
**to nearest £**|**Total last**
**period**
**to nearest £**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Ticket/terminal fees (Stripe/Ticket Tailor,
CCast,Cfund,Sum Up)
Ticket Refunds
Author Chair fees
Church Venue Hire
Insurance
Festival Expenses
Computer costs
Website
Sundry expenses
Independent Examination Fee|**419**
**394**
**7,430**
**1,200**
**124**
**2,402**
**96**
**434**
**1,398**||||**419**
**394**
**7,430**
**1,200**
**124**
**2,402**
**96**
**434**
**-**
**1,398**
**-**|**732**
**348**
**6,175**
**1,174**
**110**
**2,877**
**96**
**330**
**319**
**1,320**|
|**Total**|**13,896**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**13,896**
0|**13,481**
- 0|
||||-|-|||
HL UPD PBC OSCR form EWFF 2025-26Additional notes (1)
December 2007
APPENDIX 2
**SC052494**
## **Additional analysis (2)**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
5 Breakdown of unrestricted funds
Unrestricted Unrestricted Unrestricted Unrestricted
fund 1 - enter fund 2 - enter fund 3 - enter fund 4 - enter
name of fund name of fund name of fund name of fund
below below below below
Total Total
unrestricted unrestricted
funds funds last period
Receipts
Donations 1,967 1,967 989
Legacies -
Grants -
Receipts from fundraising activities 3,300 3,300 1,250
Gross trading receipts 9,788 9,788 14,703
buildings -
Rents from land & buildings -
Gross receipts from other charitable activities -
Sub total 15,055 - - - 15,055 16,942
-
Receipts from asset & investment sales
Proceeds from sale of fixed assets -
Proceeds from sale of investments -
Sub total - - - - - -
Total receipts 15,055 - - - 15,055 16,942
-
Payments
Expenses for fundraising activities 1,618 1,618 1,768
Gross trading payments -
Investment management costs -
Payments relating directly to charitable activities 13,896 13,896 13,481
Grants and donations -
Governance costs: -
Audit / independent examination -
Preparation of annual accounts -
Legal costs -
-
-
Sub total 15,513 - - - 15,513 15,249
Payments relating to asset and investment
movements
Purchases of fixed assets -
Purchase of investments -
Sub total - - - - - -
-
Total payments 15,513 - - - 15,513 15,249
Net receipts / (payments) ( 459) - - - ( 459) 1,693
Transfers to / (from) funds -
Surplus / (deficit) for year ( 459) - - - ( 459) 1,693
Nature and purpose of funds
**----- End of picture text -----**
HL UPD PBC OSCR form EWFF 2025-26Additional notes (2)
December 2007
APPENDIX 2
**SC052494**
**Edinburgh Women's Fiction Festival**
## **Additional analysis (3)**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
6 Breakdown of restricted funds
Restricted fund Restricted fund Restricted fund Restricted fund
1 - enter name of 2 - enter name of 3 - enter name of 4 - enter name of
fund below fund below fund below fund below
Total restricted Total restricted
funds funds last
period
Receipts
Donations -
Legacies -
Grants -
Receipts from fundraising activities -
Gross trading receipts -
Income from investments other than land and
buildings -
Rents from land & buildings -
Gross receipts from other charitable activities -
Sub total - - - - - -
-
Receipts from asset & investment sales
Proceeds from sale of fixed assets -
Proceeds from sale of investments -
Sub total - - - - - -
Total receipts - - - - - -
-
Payments
Expenses for fundraising activities -
Gross trading payments -
Investment management costs -
Payments relating directly to charitable activities -
Grants and donations -
Governance costs: -
Audit / independent examination -
Preparation of annual accounts -
Legal costs -
-
-
Sub total - - - - - -
-
Payments relating to asset and investment
movements
Purchases of fixed assets -
Purchase of investments -
Sub total - - - - - -
-
Total payments - - - - - -
-
Net receipts / (payments) - - - - - -
Transfers to / (from) funds -
Surplus / (deficit) for year - - - - - -
-
Nature and purpose of funds
**----- End of picture text -----**
HL UPD PBC OSCR form EWFF 2025-26Additional notes (3)
December 2007
## **APPENDIX 3**
## **’ Independent examiner s report on the accounts V2**
||**Independent examiner’s report on the accounts V2**|**Independent examiner’s report on the accounts V2**|
|---|---|---|
|**Report to the**
**trustees/members of**
**Registered charity**
**number**
**On the accounts of the**
**charity for the period**
**Set out on pages**
**Respective**
**responsibilities of**
**trustees and examiner**
**Basis of independent**
**examiner’s statement**
**Independent examiner’s**
**statement**
**Signed:**
**Name:**
**Relevant professional**
**qualification(s) or body**
**(if any):**
**Address:**|
Charity name
**Edinburgh Women’s Fiction Festival**||
||**SC052494**||
||Period start date
Period end date||
||Day
Month
Year
Day|Month
Year|
||1
April
2025
**to**
31|March
2026|
||1-3|(remember to include the page
numbers of additional sheets)|
||||
||The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance
with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) 2005 Act and the
Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The charity trustees
consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations
does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section
44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.||
||My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the 2006 Accounts
Regulations. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the
charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes
consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeks
explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken
do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and, consequently, I do
not express an audit opinion on the viewgiven bythe accounts.||
||In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
1.
which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the
requirements:
•
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and
Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and
•
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with
Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations
have not been met, or
2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper
understanding of the accounts to be reached.||
||**Date:**
`18/05/26`||
||`Jaslin Bhagrath CA`||
||`ICAS`||
||`Level 5, The Stamp Office, 10-14 Waterloo Place,`||
||`Edinburgh `||
||`EH1 3EG`||
*Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply. If the words do apply, set out those matters which have come to your attention on the following page.
## **APPENDIX 3**
## **Disclosure section**
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material problems.
**Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose**